The Modern Period
1910-1980
John Cage 1912-1992
John Cage was inspired by Zen
which is an Eastern philosophy
 He was very spontaneous when he
created his work

He would flip a coin to determine the
length of the notes
 One of his works 4’33” is one of his
famous pieces. It was 4 minutes and
33 seconds of silence

“Totem Ancestor”
 One
instrument predominates, the
electric piano.
 One rhythm plays constantly
throughout the song, establishing
the tempo, which is moderately
fast.
 The main melody has no pattern to
it whatsoever.
“Totem Ancestor”
Continued…
 The
articulation played is very
pointed, very accented, and
staccato (short).
 The dynamics change at least twice
from medium loud to very loud
 The tempo speed changes about
three times, at one time playing very
fast, another time playing slow, and
another time without a discernable
tempo.
Authors of the Modern Period:
John Steinbeck (1902-1968)

Examined the lives of struggling
characters, esp. working class, and
migrant workers during the Dust Bowl
and Great Depression, and the idea of
the “American Dream.”

Uses mostly simple and compound
sentences with little figurative
language so as not to sugarcoat the
situation, but to tell how life was for
people during this time.
Steinbeck’s portrayal of the
American Dream
In his work, Of Mice and Men, George
and Lennie’s dream was to “get…[a]
little place an’ live on the fatta the
lan…” and be able to tend to rabbits
(Lennie’s dream).
 His entire work presented the idea that
even the best made plans can go awry

Ernest Hemingway
 Uses
short, choppy dialogue and
doesn’t identify the speaker in his
works, and experimented with taboo
topics.
 Uses own experiences as an
ambulance driver, and an expatriate
in Paris as a base for A Farewell to
Arms and The Sun Also Rises.
Hemingway continued…

In his short story, “Hills Like White
Elephants,” Hemingway introduces the
unheard-of topic of abortion indirectly.

Even though the man in the story believes
that “It's really an awfully simple
operation…” and that “it's all perfectly
natural,” the woman is still concerned
because she wants to have the child, that
she “could have everything…”
Artists of the Modern Period:
Edward Hopper

Used defining, rich colors and smooth lines
in both his oil and pastel paintings.
New York Movie 1939
Hopper cont…

His art was complex, detailed, and focused
on one particular image, emphasizing the
isolated feeling of the era
Hotel Room 1931
Hopper cont…

All portraits presented everyday events as
they were without embellishing them.
Hotel Lobby
1943
Sidney Goodman

His subjects were portrayed as
unfocused and isolated from each
other.
Figures in a
Landscape
1972-1973
Goodman continued…
 Used
dim, varying colors
The Quick and the Dead
1980-1981
Goodman continued…
 Used
smooth, not hard, lines.
Night Burn
1986-1987
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986)

At first painted according to imitative
realism, but changed to emphasize
personal expression through the
harmonious arrangement of line, color,
and notan (Japanese system of lights and
darks).
Cottonwood
III 1944
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986)

Known for her paintings of flowers, rocks, shells,
animal bones, and landscapes, turning concrete
objects into abstract images.
Red Hills and
Bones 1941
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986)

Painted smooth, curved forms with subtle
tonal transitions of different bright colors.
Pelvis Series
– Red with
Yellow 1945
Modern Connections

Present the themes of aimlessness, loss
of focus, the beauty and the dangerous
reality of the world, the successes and
the failures of the “American Dream.”
– Ex. George and Lennie’s dream in Of
Mice and Men, to own a farm and
live on their own fails after George
shoots Lennie, in an effort to spare
him from a slow painful death at the
hands of Curley after Lennie kills
Curley’s wife.
Modern Connections
cont…

Experimented with different techniques,
some of which were risky in that they
brought up controversial issues in their
works. Other techniques proved to be very
expressive of one’s mind.
– Ex. O’Keeffe expressed her feelings
toward nature and life in her painting
Red Hills and Bones by showing the
different stages of life through a richlycolored landscape.
Modern Connections

The method they used to present their
ideas was often vague and left for
interpretation by the reader.
– Ex. Any of the examples of artwork
shown in this presentation can be
interpreted in many different ways.
– John Cage’s composition can be
interpreted as lacking any sense or as
unique since no other song sounds like
it.
Modern Period Vocabulary










Aimless
Simplistic
Vague
Expressive
Experimental
Bright
Vivid
Reflective of the past
Evolved
Spontaneous