The Cubist painter renounced the work of artists who drew only what society wanted to view as art. Instead of painting for the appraisers of conventional art, Cubist painters assembled shapes and movement from different angles to create a completely innovative artistic perspective. Like the Cubist artist, Gertrude Stein, a modernist writer of the 20th century, rejected the expectations of a society that required writing to model the speech of the English language just as it required art to model the visions and still life images of everyday situations and experiences. Stein's writing is often compared to the visual art of modernist painting, such as Duchamp's work from the 1913 Armory Show, Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2, in which he uses Cubist techniques.
Duchamp and Stein rely heavily on illusion to move audiences from the constraints of conventional art to a modernist mindset of viewing art for what it is instead of a representation of something else. These two artists accomplish this idea through the speed and rhythm contained in each work, unlikely associations made between the elements of each piece, and the creation of multiplicity and simultaneity within each work.
Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase No.2 maintains a constant speed through the illusion of movement. Duchamp used the technique of overlaying phases of the movement of a figure descending a staircase to create angles that do not present a still-life frame of a figure posed in one specific movement, but instead create a scene of constant movement that is not halted within the frame of the painting. Similarly, in Stein's "Tender Buttons," she creates a rhythm within the text by overlapping disconnected words and thoughts into separate sections. This tec...
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... resemble the paintings of the Cubist movement. The work of Cubist painters such as Marchel Duchamp is stylistically paralleled to Stein's writing. The Cubist movement stressed the power of the individual mind to create an artistic image separate from the expectations society had for art. The work of Gertrude Stein, in the same way, aims to channel the reader into a self-directed interpretation of words in order to form a personalized image found in Stein's art just as the Cubist artists used techniques to remove the mind of the viewer from social constraints.
Works Cited
Stein, Gertrude. "Tender Buttons." The Norton Anthology of American Literature:
Volume D. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: Norton & Company, 2003. 1164-1174.
"The 1913 Armory Show ." (Gallery I): Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2. 2001.
American Studies at the University of Virginia. 13 Oct 2006 .
Lie spent much of his youth studying art in Paris and Norway (Rollins 2). While studying in Paris, Lie found great inspiration from the works of Impressionist artist, Claude Monet. After returning from Paris, Lie moved to New York city, giving art classes for aspiring young artists (Caldwell 2). During this period, Lie painted Dusk on Lower Broadway, and through this piece, one is able to see the heavy influence of Impressionism and the techniques of Claude Monet reflected
Another element of art used to guide the viewer through the artwork is movement. Both Caron and Albani use different scenes with different people who seem to have nothing in common with one another to come together and create a focal point for their paintings. In Augustus and the Sibyl, The people on the top of the stairway towards the left seem to be moving in the direc...
...elationship between the people in the composition and their feelings in each other’s company. The viewer is forced to think critically about the people in the painting and their feelings and body language.
Futurism celebrated advanced technology and urban modernity. Destroy older forms of culture and demonstrate the beauty of modern life, the beauty of the machine, speed,
Throughout history art has played a major role in society. It started out with paintings and went to photography and eventually to films. Artistic interpretation depended on whom the artist was and what he or she wanted to present to the audience. When it came to portraiture, whether it was paintings or photography, the idea of mimesis was very important. However important this may have been, the portraits were mostly products of the media and fashions during that time period. Whatever was popular during the time was used such as columns or curtains in the background. The face was the main focus in the painting and there was little focus on the body. Later on during photography the body was focused on more. Even though photography was used much later after paintings were used, it allowed the artist even more artistic interpretation because of the ability to play a different role and not having to be ones self. The artists that will be focused on are Frida Kahlo and Cindy Sherman. They lived during different periods and their artistic intentions varied because of that. They also had similarities in that they thought outside of the conventional roles. These women were both self-portraiture artists and although they were considered that their interpretations did not always make their portraits self-portraits. Traditionally the artist was an outsider, but when it came to self-portraiture they became the subject and the audience became the outsider. The similarities and differences of Frida Kahlo and Cindy Sherman’s art were tied into the strength and also vulnerability they had because of their roles as women. They wanted the audience to see a background story to the portraits and not just an image of a beautiful face.
The Salvador Dali artistic movement is called surrealism in this style there are very strange and imaginative images. He tries to express the unconscious like in a dream. In The Persistence of Memory painting, there are four droopy watches in an eerie landscape. “If Persistence of Memory depicts a dream state, the melting and distorted clocks symbolize the erratic passage of time that we experience while dreaming.”(Legomenon) This is one example of many of the meanings of this precious painting. This painting was made in 1921 and it was made by using oil on canvas.
By several accounts, Gertrude Stein posed for Pablo Picasso more than 90 times during the winter of 1905-6. Each session was never quite correct, with many botched attempts and frustrations. Ultimately Picasso sent her away, stating "I can't see you any longer when I look," then created a new portrait of her nearly a year later without seeing her again. It was regarded as a curious mask-like visage, not really an accurate representation of Stein at the time. When others remarked that Gertrude Stein did not look like her portrait, Picasso stated "She will." Eventually Picasso's belief in the 'premonitory powers' of his portraits was affirmed as Stein came to very greatly resemble her portrait, stating in 1938, "I was and I still am satisfied with my portrait; for me, it is I, and it is the only reproduction of me which is always I, for me" (Rodenbeck).
Unlike science, art is subjective. The artist leaves behind a part of himself in his work. Therefore, each piece has its own distinct perspective. Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits show her view on her life, on how she has faced so many struggles, yet managed to be a strong person. When we see or hear or read an artistic creation, it produces a mood such as calm or loud, fear or safety. For example, the Eiffel Tower gives Paris a majestic awe; everyone who passes by feels the strength of the 113-year-old grand structure. Art also has a texture. Photographs reveal much through their textures; grainy surfaces often make the picture more realistic while smooth ones seem softer. When we hear a piece of music or see a film, a rhythm carries us from one part to another. Not just true for these two genres, rhythm is present in any artistic work. These few properties are characteristic of everything we encounter in the world of art, the world of human expression. Most have other special features also. Most of the time, though, we do not think about these characteristics because we do not have enough time to pay attention to anything for more than a few seconds.
In Confronting Images, Didi-Huberman considers disadvantages he sees in the academic approach of art history, and offers an alternative method for engaging art. His approach concentrates on that which is ‘visual’ long before coming to conclusive knowledge. Drawing support from the field of psycho analytics (Lacan, Freud, and Kant and Panofsky), Didi-Huberman argues that viewers connect with art through what he might describe as an instance of receptivity, as opposed to a linear, step-by-step analytical process. He underscores the perceptive mode of engaging the imagery of a painting or other work of art, which he argues comes before any rational ‘knowing’, thinking, or discerning. In other words, Didi-Huberman believes one’s mind ‘sees’ well before realizing and processing the object being looked at, let alone before understanding it. Well before the observer can gain any useful insights by scrutinizing and decoding what she sees, she is absorbed by the work of art in an irrational and unpredictable way. What Didi-Huberman is s...
During the feminist movement women sought to gain gender equality and they turned to art to get their message out there. Feminist art set the bar higher for women so they can be seen more equal to men. It redefined the way women were seen and gained them a lot more power in the world. Women were able to use feminist art to be able to show the world that they were just as capable of being successful artists just like men were. Artist like Judy Chicago help set ideas of gender equality become a reality. “Inspired by the women 's movement and rebelling against the male-dominated art scene of the 1960s.” (the art story). Judy Chicago stood for women being equal to men and fought against how men were the ones in charge of the world. She used her art as a weapon to combat gender equality. Many other artists like Chicago used their art to fight gender equality. Feminist art helped explore ideas of gender equality and exchanged it around the world. Her art served as a way of breaking societal expectation by incorporating controversial
Edgar Degas had said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see,” this sentiment is critical to understanding Impressionism as an art movement and later as a literary one. Literary Impressionist authors adopted the techniques of the artists. Both artist and author use a layering to construct impressions of their subjects. Berthe Morisot’s painting, Woman at Her Toilette, in which the painting of her subject appears to be wearing jewelry, but closer examination of the work, reveals that she used the layering of the paint to give the painting texture which creates this impression. Like Morisot, Muriel Sparks also uses the layering of her words to create an impression of her subject, Miss Jean Brodie, in her novella, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. This layering contributes depth and complexity that is prevalent in the impressionistic style of art and literature. Jesse Metz, in the introduction of his book, Literary Impressionism and Modernist Aesthetics, speculates that if literature is considered an impression then it “makes surfaces show depths, make[s] fragments suggest wholes,” which also can be seen within the art style (1). Whereas the artist uses paint and brush to create an impressionistic painting, author Muriel Sparks uses the layering character perception to create the subject of her text.
Surrealism and the surrealist movement is a ‘cultural’ movement that began around 1920’s, and is best known for its visual art works and writings. According to André Berton, the aim was “to resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality” (Breton 1969:14). Surrealists incorporated “elements of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and ‘non sequitur”. Hence, creating unnerving, illogical paintings with photographic precision, which created strange creatures or settings from everyday real objects and developed advanced painting techniques, which allowed the unconscious to be expressed by the self (Martin 1987:26; Pass 2011:30).
...nding things; putting them together and making them work. He often used subtle colours in his collages allowing for the occasional use of bold colours to act as a contrast. Similarly he would cut shapes into clear geometric forms, often to make some kind of statement. The influences of Cubism and Constructivism, can be seen in the arrangement and composition of his work.
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.
It was the foundation for other art and architecture styles like Futurism, Constructivism, and Suprematism. Cubism was the new way of modern art, in respect to the evolving world around them. This was a time of new technologies like photography, increased industrialization and motor cars. All which caused people to adapt to there new surroundings. Cubism was the starting point of a whole new approach to change and views of individuals. The movement wasn’t primarily architecture but also a new approach to art pieces and sculptures. An example of Cubism was by the architect Josef Chocol, who designed the Apartment House, Bohemia in 1913-1914. The apartment house resembles cubism because of the appearance of the structure as if alive. It’s designed to show movement and form. The building shows folds as abstract forming. The pediment and how its placed over the windows and doorways. He also uses geometric patterns throughout the building to enforce an appearance as if the building has life. The apartments form follows its function is a new approach to architecture at this time and resembles Picasso’s art