More handpicked essays just for you.
Industrial revolution impact on art
The interplay between technology and arts
The interplay between technology and arts
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Modernism can be defined as the post-industrial revolutionary era, where which the western world began to see a change in all spheres of living. The effects of the industrial revolution became prevalent towards the end of the nineteenth century and the modernist movement drew inspiration from this widespread change. Artists, writers, architects, designers and musicians, all began to embrace the changing world and denounce their pre-taught doctrines and previous ways of producing work. Society felt the urge to progressively move forward toward a modern way of thinking and living.
Although we considerably live in a ‘post-modern’ world, many of the technologies and principles involved in designing and engineering them are draw influence from the innovative culture of the modern era. This essay aims to explore the contextual ideas behind the modern movement, how it influenced today’s artists and thinkers, how ‘Modernization, Modernity, Modernism’ shaped the world we live in.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, around 1860 after man had considerably conquered the machine, a new reality became prevalent in the lives of the newly industrialised world. “Modernism includes more than just art and literature. By now it includes almost the whole of what is truly alive in our culture”(Greenberg 1982:5) This quote can be applied to the earlier days of modernism When jobs had changed from agricultural based employment to corporate and menial based labour. Housing situations had too changed, from rural to urban, as people began to follow the money trail the industrial revolution had left behind. All this change had brought a new way of life for the western world, as things became automated and products were readily available to the con...
... middle of paper ...
...1. Influenced by the futurists and is known to have been one of the founders of Constructivism, he left painting because of its decorative aspect and subjectivity. He was more interested in carrying on a universal language and believed that art should serve a cause. In these harsh terms he completely discarded painting, saying “Down with art if it is an escape route from a meaningless life! Not for art that reproduces the external world, prettifying it with a decorative mantle, but for a constructive art that reflects our way of life.” (The Future is our only Goal) This quote is embedded in my mind as I think of Rodchenko’s line of work and how he was against the painterly aesthetic but managed to undertake painting once again in his last years of his career. A medium that he left forgotten throughout his work describes both the start and end of his career.
Modernism indicates a branch of movements in art (Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism; Cubism; Expressionism; Dada, Surrealism, Pop Art. Etc.) with distinct characteristics, it firmly rejects its classical precedent and classical style, what Walter Benjamin would refer to as “destructive liquidation of the traditional value of the cultural heritage”; and it explores the etiology of a present historical situation and of its attendant forms of self-consciousness in the West. Whereas Modernity is often used as ...
Modernity held movements that paved the path for new ways of thinking and expression as a result of the industrial revolution. Two of these movements are: Surrealism, and the school of Bauhaus. Although these movements are quite different in appearance, they both wanted to challenge the traditional customs of the time. Whether it be eliminating conscious editing of thoughts by the Surrealists or producing a new sophisticated approach to design in Bauhaus, these movements created unique artworks that reflected the times of change they existed in.
Postmodernity is said to be “a reaction against the Modern movement” (Nicol 2009) and has shown a complete disregard for many aspects of art and design that were popularized during modernity, including: legibility, the grid, and use of a clear hierarchy. Postmodernism, as an art movement, aims to create works based on an independent style. Nothing is new in postmodern art, in a sense that something always comes from something else.
To understand post-modernism we must first understand modernism. Modernism is the philosophy that began with the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was an era when science and art flourished. European society used the Enlightenment to object to the oppression of the church. This era emphasized only those things that are observable or measurable (Smith, 1995). The scientific method developed at this time became the standard to which everything is measured. Modernism, although moving away from the confinements of religion, was limiting in its own way.
Modernism was first introduced to the United States in the beginning of the 20th century, and lasted through both World Wars continuing through the 21st century as a movement of art, music, literature and more. It was known as a time the United States began to view the world in a different and more innovative way. American Modernism allowed the nation and other parts of the world to explore a wide array of subjects, styles of art and music, and philosophies. This movement helped define the arts in American culture and allowed individuals to appreciate and embrace its creativity. Modernism had a major contribution to our nations humanities, especially through a variety of music. Jazz was one of the main genres inspired by modernism and because
Modernism represents a shift amongst artists in wanting to create something new. This marked a new era in change within tradition that includes religious, political, and society that creates a new trend of ideas. This movement appeared in France during the late 19th century as a rebellion against the ideas of realism. Artist embraces society with new ideas in terms of social life and art. Modern pieces of art and music give a new free theme that was criticized by the people. Everything that is always inconsistent and always changing is modern.
Modernism described as movement in arts would best be described as a movement that was used to unit America after a period of crisis, it did this by it being centered on explorations into the spiritual nature of men and the value of his society and institutions. In a way it was like realism they too focused on the changes on society. The modernistic writers always wrote in a very formal defined form.
Modernism is defined in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary as "a self-conscious break with the past and a search for new forms of expression." While this explanation does relate what modernism means, the intricacies of the term go much deeper. Modernism began around 1890 and waned around 1922. Virginia Wolf once wrote, "In or about December, 1910, human character changed." (Hurt and Wilkie 1443). D.H. Lawrence wrote a similar statement about 1915: "It was 1915 the old world ended." (Hurt and Wilkie 1444). The importance of the exact dates of the Modernist period are not so relevant as the fact that new ideas were implemented in the era. Ideas that had never before been approached in the world of literature suddenly began emerging in the works of many great authors. Two of the pioneer Modernist writers were Joseph Conrad and T.S. Eliot. The tendencies to question the incontestable beliefs embedded in all thinking and to focus on the inner self dominated. Old viewpoints were tossed aside to make way for the discovery of modern man's personal spirituality. Two works that are considered important forbears in the Modern period are T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
Modernists portray a dull, gloomy and pessimistic picture of culture in America during this time period. This despair is often caused by an apparent boredom and the people’s feeling of uncertainty, of changes to come. Modernism uncovered has an anti-traditionalist theme instilled in it, because of the inevitability that changes will occur. “Modern” itself possesses the qualities, such as being simple and spontaneous along with an indefinite time frame to allow people’s acceptance of unknown. In many ways, this movement is difficult to define, but it can be generally applied to the work o...
In conclusion “The Modernist” movement was a period of change in the world that took place between the end of the nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century. Modernism is something that has happened and no longer represents the now or the contemporary of the world. Modern design is developed of all that came before it and through experimentation, innovation, and, which forward as a society. Modernist such as Kafka, Woolf and Toomer influence literature constantly reform reshape society with a variety of theme of their of personal life and life during the 19th, 20th.
They all stressed the importance of handmade, decorative, ornamental and functional designs. William Morris started the movement as a reaction against the machine and stressed the importance of working with your hands. He didn’t see the beauty in mechanically produced things and neither did Art nouveau artists and Modernista architects. They all collectively stressed the importance of new never before seen structures and styles that would inspire people and bring beauty to a world that was becoming bland and repetitive.
Throughout time, nations have attempted to become independent from one another by discovering means to help their citizens experience more fulfilling lives. The dilemma that troubled each of these countries is whether or not innovations, in technology and society, led to a higher quality of life. In the book, Rites of Spring, Modris Eksteins examines how innovation affected the citizens of Germany. Eksteins conveys that technological and industrial innovations paved the way for social transformations, throughout Germany. These social changes include a newfound appreciation for Art, tolerance of homosexuality, and a new approach towards warfare.
“The term Modernism is widely used to identify new and distinctive features in the subjects, forms, concepts, style of literature and other art in the beginning of the twentieth century.” (M.H. Abrams) The truth on the progressive thought at the end of the nineteenth century had to do with much more than just art though, it involved: science, technology, economics, religion, and politics. Ideas and thoughts that were once accepted fact were now being challenged. The movement was given prestige through the number of greater thinkers whom helped envelop it like Nietzsche, Marx, Darwin, and Freud. The background leading up to the Progressive Movement were a combination of the Industrial and Scientific Revolutions, Marxism, and the introduction of Psychology. The progressive movement could be reflected in the politics of the Classical Liberal Party.
Artistic movements are often categorized by a specific aesthetic. These visual choices are usually a deliberate differentiating reaction to the current culture of art. Though most movements can be categorized by an aesthetic set of rules, such as Cubism, Romanticism, Impressionism, Fauvism, etc… Not all art movements can be defined solely within their visual associations. Nearly all major stylistic shifts in art were based on an ideology as well as a visual language. In the Arts and Crafts movement, the ideas behind the movement were more prevalent than a specific visual style. The Arts and Crafts movement not only changed the way people made objects in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but it also set into motion an ideological stance that persists today.
Many believed that Modernist works were not “art” because they did not always look like real life. But what is “real life”? A new outlook on reality was taken by Modernists. What is true for one person at one time is not true for another person at a different time. Experimentation with perspective and truth was not confined to the canvas; it influenced literary circles as well.