American Modernism Research Paper

900 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Critical analysis on modernism

Emily Galvin
Photo history
Essay
November 4, 2015

There is a closely knitted relationship between rise of American modernism and photography classified as fine art. These two movements were conceived around the same time, and began to be introduced and intertwined within each other, into the web of ‘what is art’. While there was the rapid quest to push American Modernism throughout New York city, Alfred Stieglitz’s had a vision of pushing photography as a medium of expression. This vision began in 1890 with his ruthless determination and drive to prove that it could be utilized as an artistic expression, and displayed as equally as fine art just sculpture and painting were. The innovative ideas of modern art took time and extreme effort to …show more content…

New York as a City, was brewing, city life was evolving, construction was happening around every corner. Along side the rapidly changing city, the art world was shifting as well, there were new concepts and ideas beginning to unravel, American Modernism was in the air, and slowly being introduced into various galleries. At the time, Steigliz was unaware of these changes, his focused was geared purely his cause to guide photography closer towards the arts. The light of his passion was not easily or quickly put out, he was elected vice presidency of Camera Notes, a Society of Armature Photographers in New York city. Steiglitz became a magnet in attracting other photographers around him. He began to surround himself, and enlighten people of his vision for the future of photography. “Before the people at large, and for that matter, the artist themselves, understand what photography really means, as I understand that term, it is essential for them to be taught the real meaning of art.” –Alfred Steiglitz. He knew that the vision he had could become a reality, he was ruthlessly determined to create an atmosphere in which photography was respected and regarded as a Fine Art medium. His goal was not to compare or replace photography with any other art medium, rather it was to create a whole new basis for the means of a photograph as a form of artistic expression. Luckily for Steigliz and his vision, the introduction of American Modernism was evolving at a same

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between Henry Peach Robinson And Emerson

    280 Words  | 1 Pages

    For Emerson, the reticent beauty of nature was the motivator. To him, photography should be recognized because its still-life beauty was able to persuade the public’s appreciation of the life and nourishment

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of On Photography By Susan Sontag

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the camera’s popularity grew, the use of it shifted from an art form into a social rite, a statement of authority and security. The act of taking photographs, and the photos produced, act as mementos or proof of the past. Photographs summarize an event all within itself, creating an immortal piece, allowing the people to grasp onto the ownership of area in which they feel insecure. On the other hand, Sontag states that the deed of taking photographs occupies the same need for “cosmopolitans […] as it does for lower-middle-class [citizens]”(177). With that being said, how can there be any power at all in photography, but a fake sensation we created from the act of photography to fill our insecurities. By tapping into the insecurities of the readers, Sontag forces them to connect with the words and consider their actions relating to photography more

    Read More

  • Daguerreotype-Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tolmachev, I. (2010, March 15). A history of Photography Part 1: The Beginning. Retrieved Febraury 2014, from tuts+ Photography: http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/a-history-of-photography-part-1-the-beginning--photo-1908

    Read More

  • Search for Innocence in American Modernism

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    Search for Innocence in American Modernism. American Literature from its very beginning has been centered around the theme of innocence. The Puritans wrote about abandoning the corruption of Europe to find innocence in a new world. The Romantics saw innocence and power in nature and often wrote of escaping from civilization to return to nature. After the Civil War, however, the innocence of the nation was challenged.

    Read More

  • ART CRITICISM PAPER

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the University Of Arizona Museum Of Art, the Pfeiffer Gallery is displaying many art pieces of oil on canvas paintings. These paintings are mostly portraits of people, both famous and not. They are painted by a variety of artists of European decent and American decent between the mid 1700’s and the early 1900’s. The painting by Elizabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun caught my eye and drew me in to look closely at its composition.

    Read More

  • Should Photojournalism or Documentary Photography Be Considred Art?

    2303 Words  | 5 Pages

    Raeburn, John. A Staggering Revolution: A Cultural History of Thirties Photography. Chicago: University of Illinois, 2006. Print.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Ralph Steadman

    1687 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...has his upbringing to thank. Growing up in a post Wold War II England surely had taken its tolls on the Steadman family. The once sense of patriotism and comfort that all of Europe once felt was instantly shattered by the second World War. This extreme tragedy clearly had an impact on Europe, and it was evident in the art. British illustrators of the time, Steadman and Scarfe, were both dealing with satirical subject matter that had been handled before, however with the new set sense of disillusionment they were creating work that was visually more expressive and satirical than ever. It seemed as if they’re sloppy and deconstructed mark making was symbolic of the ruins that Europe was left in after the war. This did nothing but strengthen the already prominent path set by British satire illustrators who felt contempt towards the world they were living in.

    Read More

  • Modernism: The Affluential and the Destructive

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the early 20th century, modernist writers broke free of the consistent pattern on the themes of religion, marriage, and family values, branching out with their actual opinions and observations on society, making more readers aware of the corruption of the traditional morality in America. It became evident that the American people were placing lust, wealth, and material prosperity over their marital vows and traditional values. This idea of amorality is noticeably identified in the literary works, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Major characters in both novels show signs of demoralization, in regards to Tom Buchanan, for example, whom openly cheated on his wife, broke the nose of his mistress, and sold Gatsby’s fate down the river, and Abigail, whom slept with a married man and killed an entire village in spite of the deteriorated affair. In this new, cutting-edge society the concept of materialism is prevalent. Materialistic power became a goal for many Americans in modern America, which is identifiable in The Great Gatsby. People of East and West Egg indulged themselves with parties, pricey automobiles and the latest fashions, meanwhile, the people in the Valley of Ashes merely scraped by. Jay Gatsby out of his desire to 'own' Daisy went to great lengths to appear as a man of great fortune.

    Read More

  • Advancement Of Photography To Film: Alice Guy Blanche

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this essay we will analyze the advancement of photography and its contribution to film, photographers and their contributions to photography and society, and how many major publications have been affected by photography. Photography has changed

    Read More

  • Literary Works of The Lost Generation

    2124 Words  | 5 Pages

    The years immediately after World War I weren’t the most serene. People were not satisfied with the established social and aesthetics conventions at the time and some young artists were trying to do something about it; they gathered to big cities, such as Chicago and San Francisco, in order to protest, exploring their own set of values, the ones that clearly went against what their elders had already established, and to make a new art. Some writers no longer felt the need to...

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Alexander Calder

    1859 Words  | 4 Pages

    The 19th century was a period that underwent a lot cultural change, especially due to the rise of Modernism; this movement was founded by people who primarily wanted to express new ideas using different subjects, styles, and materials. Alexander Calder was one of the most revolutionary modern artists of the time as his passion for engineering was used to create art that could transform a space emotionally, physically, and spiritually. His abstract yet expressionistic works were inspired by the likes of Mondrian, Miro, and Klee. Calder was said to be the first to develop mobile art, a type of kinetic sculpture, that connected industrial and machinelike material to his whimsical, inquisitive, playful mind. Calder’s style evolved

    Read More

  • 19th Century Art

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 19th century, a great number of revolutionary changes altered forever the face of art and those that produced it. Compared to earlier artistic periods, the art produced in the 19th century was a mixture of restlessness, obsession with progress and novelty, and a ceaseless questioning, testing and challenging of all authority. Old certainties about art gave way to new ones and all traditional values, systems and institutions were subjected to relentless critical analysis. At the same time, discovery and invention proceeded at an astonishing rate and made the once-impossible both possible and actual. But most importantly, old ideas rapidly became obsolete which created an entirely new artistic world highlighted by such extraordinary talents as Vincent Van Gogh, Eugene Delacroix, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Claude Monet. American painting and sculpture came around the age of 19th century. Art originated in Paris and other different European cities. However, it became more popular in United States around 19th century.

    Read More

  • Modernismo Research Paper

    430 Words  | 1 Pages

    Modernismo was a literary movement that first appeared at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century. It was Spanish-American and best typified by Rubén Darío, who was a Nicaraguan poet. Modernismo began in the Latin American continent in the late 1800s and later spread to Spain, all the way in Europe, in the beginning of the 20th century. It had many influences such as the Parnassian school of poets, various traits of classical Spanish poetry, as well as French symbolism. It was also influenced by American poets like Walt Whitman and Edgar Allan Poe.

    Read More

  • Modernism And Modernism

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Post-Modernist Movement In The United States Of America

    2064 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Modernist and the Post-Modernist eras were two very important time periods in the history of the United States of America. These two time periods were very defining periods in the United States and were very influential on the lives of many people and the affect the ideals expressed in these two movements had on the society of the country throughout the 20th century. Some artists that were under heavy influence of the modernist movement in the United States include: the writer, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, the painter, Frank Stella, and the musician Irving Berlin. On the other side of the spectra, some artists that reflect any of the ideals expressed in the post-modernist movement include: the writer, David Salinger, the painter, Franz

    Read More

More about American Modernism Research Paper

Open Document