WHAT IS MODERNISM?
Arrun Majhu
ILLUSTRATION
Blog Address https://arrunmajhu1406334.wordpress.com/
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CONTENTS
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
Introduction
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Chapter 1
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Chapter 2
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Chapter 3
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Conclusion
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Illustrations
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Bibliography
INTRODUCTION
Long before the Modernism Era was the Age of reason, or otherwise known as the
Enlightenment period. This is a time when communications, philosophy, politics and
also science drastically changed. In the long duration of the 18th century, ‘Enlightenment
thinkers in Britain, in France and throughout Europe questioned traditional authority and
embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change’.
(www.history.com/topics/enlightenment). These great thinkers challenged society and
the things in it, they demanded change. This Era had an outcome of different things
such as inventions, new scientific findings; it also produced new laws and wars as well.
The enlightenment was initiated by small things escalating into bigger ones. ‘Before
Europe and the world knew it, almost two centuries of philosophizing and innovation
had ensued. These studies generally began in the fields of earth science and
astronomy, as notables such as Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei took the old,
beloved “truths” of Aristotle and disproved them’
(www.sparknotes.com/history/european/enlightenment). The Enlightenment concluded
with the French Revolution. The revolution tried to impose civil representative
assemblies but these implementations weren’t lightly accepted and things quickly went
south turning into violence and disorder. The Enlightenment was the cause of the
unsteadiness in society, with the violence seen as proof of that, it also showed that a lot
of people could not manage themselves. Shortly after the end of the Enlightenment, we
were introduced to the time Modernism. The beginning of Modernism dates back all the
way to the Industrial Revolution, a cycle which spanned through the 18 th century to the
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19th. Modernism was a period of change and realization for art culture and design.
During the Era of Modernism a lot of art and artefacts were produced that influenced
how we now perceive art, design and technology in a modern world. A lot took place
during the 18th and 19th century. One life changing event for many that took place at this
time was World War One; at this time artists and designers used this great shock to
create art that represented how the general public felt at that particular moment in time.
This art proved to be quite striking and powerful. On a lighter note, modernism was also
a time in which famous and important artists were increasingly active in producing
thought-provoking art and artefacts which then influenced important products and
artefacts that are still in view and use today.
Modernism is a historical age that reigned between 1910 through to 1939. Modernism
refers to a past era and a rational movement which is distinct in itself as the latest
fixation. Most of us will agree that modernist work is perceived as difficult, and that its
difficulty is associated with unfamiliarity and difference. D.H.Lawrence (1885-1930).
Modernism can also be looked at as a state of mind and a drastic rejection of traditional
out perceptions of the world and the things in it. Modernism also looks at great
advancements in technological things, most notably in architecture and transportation.
This was around the time that new materials were coming into play; materials such as
cast iron enabled us to build structures which were significantly larger and more stable.
People were also beginning to see Automobiles introduced into the world and we can
safely say that Modernists were particularly fascinated in swiftness and locomotion. In
the year of 1917 Marcel Duchamp created the Fountain, an Artefact which was looked
at to be revolutionary and innovative. This piece of work changed people’s perception of
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what art can be; it’s even safe to say it even broke art boundaries. During the time of
Modernism, Art was becoming more subjective; this made artists more aware of the
work they were producing, due to the immediate cast of being put in the limelight.
Modernism can also be looked at as being a time filled with experimentation of new
ideas and techniques. New materials played a big part to allow new ideas and
techniques to come through because items such as oil paints and tubes allowed artists
to work outdoors and compressed charcoal gave art a new outlook on how messages
can be portrayed through art. In the modern day, some say it’s not really possible to
create art with meaning without having a relationship to modernism. Personally I think
that Modernism was a time filled with new ideas, fresh viewpoints on art and other
aspects of life, I believe that since a lot was achieved during modernism, we are now
currently stuck in an Era of repetition, reinventing and adjusting what we already have
and not really creating something new. A wide array of artists and designers reigned
during the time of modernism, Great artists such as Pablo Picasso are looked at as the
Pioneers of Modern Art , particularly his painting titled “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”,
Picasso's distortion of the women's faces makes the painting a famous example of
primitivism in modern art. (http://modernism.research.yale.edu/). Another significant
figure in the Modernism Era is Henri Matisse. Matisse’s work would spark a lot of
debate, wonder and sometimes it would even be considered as controversial. “Perhaps
Matisse did suffer from fear and loathing like the rest of us, but there is no trace of them
in his work. It’s safe to say that Matisse wasn’t afraid to speak his mind through his
work” (henri-matisse.net). I’m going to explore different notions of what Modernism is
defined as throughout and significant things that took place at the time of Modernism.
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CHAPTER 1
When we look at Modernism we immediately think of Art and the industry behind it, the
revolutionary Pioneers such as one Pablo Picasso is considered to be a really important
figure in the Modernism Era, Particularly looking at one of his paintings titled
‘Demoiselles D'Avignon’, (shown as Fig.1 in Illustrations). In my eyes this painting can
be seen as of the most important and iconic paintings of the 20th century because
there’s so much meaning behind it. So why is the Demoiselles d’Avignon believed to be
one of the most important paintings of the 20th century? In 1907 Picasso began painting
‘ Demoiselles D'Avignon’, a painting that would arguably be viewed as the beginning of
modernism and at the same time the most important piece of art of that time. Originally
the painting was intended to show present a narrative in a Brothel with 5 prostitutes and
2 men, but as it progressed it began to take a different shape. ‘Picasso painted over the
clients, leaving the five women to gaze out at the viewer, their faces terrifyingly bold and
solicitous’ (www.sparknotes.com) the abstract features and style of the faces of the
women in the paintings were enthused by a prehistoric sculpture that Picasso had
witnessed in the past.’ The features of the three women to the left were inspired by the
prehistoric sculpture that had interested him in the summer; those of the two to the right
were based on the masks that Picasso saw in the African and Oceanic collections in the
Musée d'Ethnographie du Trocadéro in Paris’(www.sparknotes.com). These collections
of masks and art caught Picasso’s eye and he then used them as a key influence for the
following years in his work. The reason that This particular piece by Picasso was so
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groundbreaking is because it shook the foundations of art, it questioned what we
believed art to be, People at this time had never seen anything like it, it raised so many
questions from the way it looked down to the subject it portrayed, it essentially made
people uneasy mainly because a lot of them had a foundation encrypted in their minds
on what the basis of art is and what it is meant to look like. The emotions that the
painting portrayed were very real. The painting was regarded as modern because it
presented something new and fresh in terms of ideas and execution, the way Picasso
painted aspects of the painting made it seem aggressive and sharp. People believe
that this work was a response to the work of Matisse titled ‘Joy of life’, this painting by
Matisse seemed to present a similar subject line in the fact that there was also naked
forms of women scattered around a happy scenery, the painting was very colorful and
well executed with free-flowing lines and brush strokes, whereas Picasso’s painting
seemed to be more compressed and painted with hostility, the bodies of the women
seemed to lose form as it was replaced with sharp lines and shapes, with more darker
colours and a more bold execution altogether. Picasso’s painting generated a lot of
buzz and interest for the reason that it gave people a breath of fresh air in terms of Art
in the Modern Era. It raised a lot of questions due to the nature of the subject of
prostitution, a topic that a lot of people where very aware of at the time, there’s also the
subject of why he replaced the women’s faces with African inspired masks, to this day
people i still trying to make sense of the painting as a whole.
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CHAPTER 2
Duchamp as an iconic artist throughout the Modernism period, He created a lot of mixed
emotions and opinions in the work that he produced and presented as art particularly,
when we look at Duchamp’s Fountain (shown as Fig.2 in illustrations), it can be thought
that he was experimenting with the boundaries of what Art is. Many people see it as if
he was almost trying to insulting the world of Art by using an object that can be found in
a Plumber’s shop and therefore using it as Artistic Sculpture. I personally think that
before Duchamp even unveiled the sculpture to the public, he already knew that it was
going to cause offence and stir up controversy. In other people’s minds it can be seen
as if Duchamp was testing what was acceptable and also what people viewed as Art.
The fountain by Duchamp was seen as the pinnacle of the Dada movement, an artistic
and literacy movement which started in the year of 1916 in Switzerland, it was triggered
by World War 1.Duchamp ranked up as high as Picasso in the Modernism world
because they both did something that no one else wanted to, they dared to be different
in the way they produced their work and what they see as Art. “Whether Mr. Mutt with
his own hands made the fountain or not, has no importance: he CHOSE it. He took an
ordinary article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under the new
title and point of view- created a new thought for that object.”(Marcel Duchamp – The
Blindman 1917). Marcel Duchamp heavily impacted the development of 20th century
sculpture when he created the fountain during the time of Modernism, the public eye
viewed what he’s so called creation as shocking and revolutionary and it is now
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regarded as the sole most significant piece of modern Art. Duchamp was centered on
the term ‘readymade’ which initially meant, taking an everyday item that’s been mass
produced and removing in from its original context and transforming its purpose and
status into art. The fountain is famously known for its massive outrage that it broke out
in the Modernism art world. The fountain was looked upon as being indecent and in
some people’s eyes not being a good representation of what art should be. Whether
what Duchamp created can be regarded as art is still debatable but no one can question
the impact that it had during the 1900s in its own right, the meaning behind the piece
out ways the question of ‘is it actually art’ for the reason that even the initials painted on
it saying ‘R.MUTT 1917’ still raise a lot of questions in the terms of what they really
stand for? There’s many theories being thrown out there such as one that Duchamp
liked to play with words and there for changed the word Mott to Mutt and Mott being the
shop where he purchased the urinal before transforming it into a work of art. To sum up
Duchamp was a major figure in the world of modernism that changed the face of art and
shocked the world and brought it to its knees with his rather outrageous creation titled
the Fountain.
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CHAPTER 3
Edvard Munch’s painting titled The Scream (shown as Fig.3 in illustrations) is
recognized as major symbol of modern art. Whilst also being one of the most famous art
works in the world. Munch made four versions of this painting between 1893 and 1910,
using different media, in 1893 he created two versions the tempera on cardboard and
crayon on cardboard then followed by pastel on cardboard in 1895 and then he finished
off with tempera on cardboard in 1910. The version created in 1895 broke the auction
record when it sold for almost 120 million dollars at an auction in May 2012. The scream
has been described as being dark and eerie, but at the same time it’s both stunning and
creatively fresh in terms of ideas and execution. ‘It impacts the mind with exaggeration,
a sense of impending paranoia, urban aridity and an internal chaos’ (princesswithapen,
2012). Munch’s painting has seen its fair share of arguments arise, there have also
been different interpretations of it but the painting still holds its place as a powerful piece
of art in modernism. Munch cleverly transforms what would have been a beautiful
landscape and turns it into something quite dark with a bleak atmosphere. ‘The
Scream represents a key work for the Symbolist movement as well as an important
inspiration for the Expressionist movement of the early twentieth century’ (Dr. Noelle
Paulson). Edvard Munch is regarded as one of the most influential and innovative
figures within the Modernism ERA. Munch was seen as a strong believer in his own
ideas; this sometimes led to some criticism towards him. Munch had a unique way of
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painting his work; he liked to experiment with original techniques whilst also using a
certain unique expressive style to convey certain emotions. ‘For us today, it may be
hard to understand that some people got really offended by his way of painting’
(Thescreamfromnature.com).Munch’s way of painting was different from other
mainstream artists, he liked to show the paint dripping, with hard brush strokes and he
would also scratch the canvas to give of different effects and portray different emotions.
Edvard Munch along with other significant figures such as Picasso and Matisse
changed our perception of what art is, they brought along new ideas, creativity and
meaning to modern art, they dared to be different and break boundaries. Munch is seen
as an Innovative deep thinker who always adds meaning and direction to his work.
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CONCLUSION
To conclude, modernism was a time of realization, imagination, a time of creating the
new and innovative in the form of modern art. Many famous artists pioneered the
modernism era, artists such as Picasso, Munch, Matisse, revolutionized how we view
art, these artists gave us a new perspective by utilizing new ideas and techniques of art
production. Modern Art was looked upon to be quite bold and striking and often seen to
make a statement of some sort, Modern art also saw a large amount of criticism from
the public as the work that they were producing and unveiling to world showed untested
methods, this therefore allowed sometime to pass until people actually began accept it
as art. The 19th century was a prime time for great thinkers and innovators to step
forward and take forward the future of what art is. Even today Modernism is still very
important and also we still look back at it for inspiration because it reminds us of the
great leaps and strides that we took artistically. The period of the Enlightenment paved
the way for the Modernism Era, the enlighten was a time of realization and reason, it
was a time of great thinkers who wanted thinks to change within society, because of this
time, we saw changes to communications, philosophy and scientific developments also
took cause. A lot took place in the duration of the Enlightenment such as Romanticism
and Skepticism, Romanticism being an Era of passion and impulse of reason,
Skepticism however challenged whether we as the society can be perfected in the
course of the use of reason. Shortly after this marked the end of the Enlightenment
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aided by implications of the French Revolution, To sum up personally I think that the
majority of great Art was made and done during the Modernism Era and I believe we
are now stuck in an Era of repetition, an time were we just recycle what has already
been, a lot of products and Art in reality now are just copies of work that was created
many years ago. I believe that the modernism age set very high standards in terms of
art and creativity. Artists and Designers of this time dared to be different and ventured
outside of their comfort zone in order to create art that breaks barriers on what society
accepts as art. They instilled new ideas and perspective into the viewer’s eyes,
ultimately these new ways of working also came with major criticism and un-acceptance
as not everyone viewed this art as wonderful and creative. All in all I feel that
modernism was a very important time and artists who create art to this day can’t create
something great with meaning at the same time without looking back to modernism as a
sense of inspiration.
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ILLUSTRATIONS
Pablo Picasso – The girls of Avignon
Fig.1
Marcel Duchamp – Fountain
Fig.2
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Edvard Munch – The scream
Fig.3
Bibliography
D.H.Lawrence (1885-1930) Modernism A Graphic Guide. Chris Rodrigues &Chris
Garratt
http://modernism.research.yale.edu/wiki/index.php/Les_Demoiselles_d%27Avignon_%2
8The_Young_Ladies_of_Avignon%29 (Accessed 27th March 2015)
http://www.henri-matisse.net/artofmatisse.html (Accessed 27th March 2015)
http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/picasso/section5.rhtml (Accessed 29th March
2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieVw3Mey5GQ (Accessed 31st March 2015)
http://thescreamfromnature.com/?page_id=2 (Accessed 31st March 2015)
http://princesswithapen.hubpages.com/hub/The-Scream-by-Edvard-Munch-Analysismeaning-and-interpretation-of-the-painting (Accessed 31st March 2015)
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-art-history/later-europe-andamericas/modernity-AP/a/munch-the-scream (Accessed 31st March 2015)
http://www.history.com/topics/enlightenment (Accessed 3rd April 2015)
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/enlightenment/summary.html (Accessed
3rd April)
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