Modernism

Modernism Overview:
– Definition: Modernism is a movement encompassing new forms of art, philosophy, and social organization, departing from traditional art forms.
– Characteristics: Modernism embraces abstract art, stream of consciousness novels, and atonal music, rejecting realism and certainty of Enlightenment thinking.
– Influential Figures: Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Solomon Guggenheim Museum are notable examples.
– Impact: Modernism is socially progressive, encouraging re-examination of existence and aiming to restore order and purpose in the contemporary world.

Philosophical and Social Influences:
– Philosophical Influences: Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Charles Darwin, and Karl Marx challenged traditional beliefs, influencing societal structures.
– Industrial Revolution Impact: Technological advancements like the Crystal Palace and the Eiffel Tower transformed urban environments.
– Beginnings in the Late 19th Century: Modernism in painting is linked to artists like Seurat, Baudelaire, and Manet, with Impressionism and Symbolism emerging in France.
– Main Period and Evolution: Scholars debate whether modernism continues into the 21st century or evolves into late modernism, with postmodernism representing a departure.

Artistic Innovations and Movements:
– Artistic Innovations: Baudelaire’s essay inspired artists to break from tradition, with Impressionism focusing on light and Symbolism on suggestion.
– Cubism and Expressionism: Paul Cézanne influenced Cubism, which involves abstracted forms and multiple viewpoints, while Expressionism reacted to industrialization.
– Impact on Art and Literature: Henri Matisse’s Fauvist paintings revolutionized the Paris art world, with Picasso and Matisse rejecting traditional perspective in art.

Architectural Modernism and Design:
– Architectural Modernism: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and Josef Hoffmann’s Palais Stoclet are famous examples, with modernist architecture embracing innovative designs.
– Der Blaue Reiter: A German Expressionist movement founded in 1911, with members like Kandinsky and Marc, characterized by avant-garde traditions.
– Futurism: A modernist movement emphasizing geometric or abstract painting, controversial for its primitivism and pessimism.

Expressionism and Theatre:
– Expressionism Characteristics: Developed in early 20th century Germany as a reaction to industrialization, marked by rejection of realism and avant-garde traditions.
– Expressionist Theatre: Notable in early 20th century German theatre, characterized by extreme simplification of characters and influenced by playwrights like Strindberg and Wedekind.

Modernism (Wikipedia)

For other uses of the word, see Modernism (disambiguation). For the period in sociology beginning with industrialization, see Modernity.

For related terms, see Modern, Contemporary, and Postmodernism.

Modernism is a philosophical, religious, and art movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, and social organization which reflected the newly emerging industrial world, including features such as urbanization, architecture, new technologies, and war. Artists attempted to depart from traditional forms of art, which they considered outdated or obsolete. The poet Ezra Pound's 1934 injunction to "Make it New" was the touchstone of the movement's approach.

Modernist innovations included abstract art, the stream of consciousness novel, montage cinema, atonal and twelve-tone music, divisionist painting and modern architecture. Modernism explicitly rejected the ideology of realism and made use of the works of the past by the employment of reprise, incorporation, rewriting, recapitulation, revision and parody. Modernism also rejected the certainty of Enlightenment thinking, and many modernists also rejected religious belief. A notable characteristic of modernism is self-consciousness concerning artistic and social traditions, which often led to experimentation with form, along with the use of techniques that drew attention to the processes and materials used in creating works of art.

While some scholars see modernism continuing into the 21st century, others see it evolving into late modernism or high modernism. Postmodernism is a departure from modernism and rejects its basic assumptions.