June 5th: Modernism

Modern art, across any medium, shares the common theme of rejection of previous standards. During the Renaissance, the goal of art was pursuit of a supposed “perfect”. Rules governed what was acceptable art and not acceptable art based on this idea of an aesthetic superior to all others. Modern art distinguishes itself immediately by changing it’s goal; modern art focuses on pursuing alternative forms of representation, without concern to previous guidelines.

This alternative form can be seen in the writing of Gertrude Stein. Stein is famous for her use of repetition, as in her quote “A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose” from the poem Sacred Emily. With her use of simple language and repetition, Stein is pursuing how she can use words to create sentences that flow. As a consequence, her writing becomes about rhythm and pattern. In this way, she is exploring the possibilities of writing outside of linear storytelling.

Modern art can also been seen as different from classical art in how it interacts with the viewer. Modern artists use their respective mediums to raise questions and invite the viewer to answer. Through this process, art becomes a continuous dialogue across all art forms. One example of a piece of art that raised questions is Fountain by Marcel Duchamp. By placing a urinal in a gallery exhibition, Duchamp invited the viewer to consider what defines art. Do the materials used determine what is art and what is not? Does the urinal’s presence in a gallery automatically qualify it as art? Modern art often raises more questions than it answers.

Another way modern artists began to ask questions of the viewer was by changing the perspective. Many artists used non-traditional perspectives or incorporated multiple ways of viewing in one piece in order to represent the world in a new way. This style can be seen in the cubist paintings of Picasso and Braque. These painters used geometric forms to represent their view of a space from multiple perspectives on the same canvas. Although they appear very abstract, their paintings maintain a connection with the real world. Modernism is a diverse movement, but it is unified by a similar train of thought. Modern art is about the possibilities of what can be, rather than what should be.