Table of Contents
Introduction
Till this day, art has made a big impact in the world of creative thinkers. In the past there were many amazing artists who helped shape the world of design today. Famous names like Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van gogh, Leonardo DaVinci are all names that any artist can easily recognize today. From their unique styles to their most well known works they have influenced many upcoming artists over time. This paper will cover the works and influences of some of the artists from the modernism movement. “Modernism refers to a global movement in society and culture that from the early decades of the twentieth century sought a new alignment with the experience and values of modern industrial life.
Building on late nineteenth-century precedents, artists around the world used new imagery, materials and techniques to create artworks that they felt better reflected the realities and hopes of modern societies (1).” To be considered a modernist artist, these artists had to incorporate specific elements into their artwork. For example, they would need to stray from tradition. They would begin to think outside the box and use colors, shapes, and symbols that they never thought to use before. Modernism also has a very abstract depiction. Artists would create ordinary symbols of everyday life and make them “abstract” which in turn would be considered modernistic.
Cubism
Cubism was founded in the early 1900s by Spanish painter Pablo Picasso and his close associate Georges Braque. Together they began a new form of art that revolutionized design at the time. Cubism was a form of style that transformed everyday objects, landscapes, and people into geometric shapes. The way cubists would think was completely different to what was traditional at the time. One of the major factors that cubism was about was this idea of creating the illusion of space. By introducing a design concept independent of nature, cubism began a new artistic tradition and way of seeing that challenged the four-hundred-year Renaissance tradition of pictorial art (book).
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Traditionally the illusion of space Is formed and created by what is known as perspective. To create this technique, artists would create object bigger the closer they are and smaller the further they are in order to create a sense of space between the objects. They would also play around with shadows to emulate perspective, whether something is soft, solid, round, three dimensional. All techniques that artists are generally used to creating. However, the cubist way of thinking about the illusion of space was completely different. They believed that this particular way of thinking created a false sense of reality and did not give a true view of what the object truly looks like. The idea was to show things how they really are not how they appear to be. To do this, they would focus on giving the viewer different viewpoints and angles by using flat geometric shapes. With this style they would use these shapes as oppose to the traditional perspective and shading that other artist were creating. Their belief emphasized that since a painting is created on a flat surface, the design should still behave as one.
There were two different phases that cubism had but still were upheld to the same principles. The first was known as analytical cubism. Which like had mentioned was “characterized by a fragmentary appearance of multiple viewpoints and overlapping planes (2).” And the later known phase Synthetic cubism. Synthetic Cubism still followed the traditional principles of analytical cubism but rather simplified it. Artist would use shapes that were simpler and brighter in color. The attempt of this phase was to classify the works of cubism. “Analytical cubism was about breaking down an object (like a bottle) viewpoint-by-viewpoint, into a fragmentary image; whereas synthetic cubism was about flattening out the image and sweeping away the last traces of allusion to three-dimensional space (3).”
Pablo Picasso not only has been one of the most influential artists for designers and artists today but was one of the most important artists that influenced modernism. Born 1881 in Malaga Spain, Picasso styles included his well-known founded style cubism, realism, surrealism, expressionism, Neoclassism, and abstraction. His studies in art from several different locations helped shape and become close to other well-known artists such as Georges Braque. One of his most profound and famous pieces that ultimately led to the discovery of the cubism movement was named demoiselles d’avignon, ‘ladies of Avignon (fig 1)’ created in 1907 (4). With this piece Picasso would reject the traditional method of painting and the illusion of space and became the beginning of cubism.
In this piece we can see how he emphasized the flat geometric shapes to create dimension and form a painting with four women. This piece will then later establish him leader of the Avant-grade art. Some of Picasso’s main influences came from ancient Iberian and African tribal art, African sculptures, masks and fabrics which is why we can see these women wearing some sort of masks on the painting. Of course, we also can’t forget that Georges Braque was also part of this influence. This piece is very important piece in modernism as it marked the beginning of new thinking, processes, and design.
Futurism
“Futurism was an Italian art movement of the early twentieth century that aimed to capture in art the dynamism and energy of the modern world (5).” This art movement was founded after Italian poet Filippo Marinetti published his Manifesto of Futurism in 1909. He described this movement as a test against the new realities of scientific and industrial society. The manifesto voiced enthusiasm for war, the machine age, speed, and modern life. It shocked the public by proclaiming,” We will destroy museums, libraries, and fight against moralism, feminism, and all utilitarian cowardice (book).” Futurist painters techniques included elements of cubism to create works that expressed dynamism and energy of the modern world.
One of the first major influencers of futurism was Umberto Bocconi born in 1882 in Reggio di Calabria, Italy. Influenced after Filippos Marinetti’s Manifesto he adapted his theories and beliefs and incorporated them into the visual arts where he then became the leader of futurist art. His first works of art was known as Riot in the Gallery created in 1909. This style would use influence of pointillism and demonstrated the ideas of futurism through its aggressive and energetic composition. “Pointillism, also called divisionism and chromo-luminarism, in painting, the practice of applying small strokes or dots of colour to a surface so that from a distance they visually blend together. The technique is associated with its inventor, Georges Seurat, and his student, Paul Signac, who both espoused Neo-Impressionism, a movement that flourished from the late 1880s to the first decade of the 20th century (6).”
A lot of Boccioni’s work was influenced by Picasso’s cubism movement as most of his works have a geometric shape style with the mix of the futurist’s theory. He then later became interested in sculpture and applying futurism into his works. “In 1912 he published the manifesto of futurists sculpture in which he anticipated developments in modern sculpture (6). Boccioni was constantly finding new ways to express dynamic forms in his works. Futurism created an impact to modernism as it brought new emphasis to the importance of the future. Something that today artists and designers are still being influenced by.
Surrealism
Surrealism was a design movement founded by poet Andre Brenton and was an artistic and literacy movement in the 1920s. Surrealism evolved out of the ‘anti-art’ Dada movement, most of whose members became surrealists. The main focus of the movement was literature, but this rapidly broadened to encompass painting, sculpture and other forms of contemporary visual art. All sorts of techniques and phenomena were employed to achieve this subconscious creativity, including dreams and hallucinations. Surrealism came to be regarded by the public as the most extreme form of modernism, or ‘the avant-garde of Modernism.
André Breton defined Surrealism as ‘psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express – verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner – the actual functioning of thought (7).” In other terms, he stated that artists would use their imagination and unconscious mind to create forms of arts. While surrealists often created works so personal that communication became impossible, they also produced images whose emotional content, symbolism, or fantasy triggered a collective, universal response in large numbers of people. Breton and his friends speculated about the possibility of surreal painting. They discovered the work of Giorgio de Chirico (1888–1978) and declared him the first surrealist painter (Book).
One of the most influential artists of surrealism was Salvador Dali born Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquis of Dalí de Púbol 1903 in Figueres Catalina, Spain. Dali was originally a drafter but was known for his works in part of the surrealism movement. His most famous work created in 1931 The Persistence of Memory demonstrated his amazing imagination and striking style. This piece has many hidden meanings behind it and is part of the form of surrealism. One of the main things about surrealism is that there can be different meaning to different people. There is not correct or true answer. For example, the melting watches can represent how time is eternal and always flowing how time is complex and not fixed. This may not be this case however since Dali was mostly influenced by birds and the time pieces can represent some sort of this. Another common thing in Dali’s painting are ants which can represent degrade or disintegration.
Surrealism and the painting that came with it have been a major impact in modernism and still has an impact in the world today. Surrealism has been referenced countless times in the world today and his been one of my favorite movements in modernism. Most of the designs that I create are influenced by modernism. One of my favorite things about this movement in particular, is that the art is only limited by your creativity. Something that means something to you can be interpreted differently to someone else.
