5 Awesome Facts About Modern Art

5 Awesome Facts about Modern Art
BY GABE NELSON

The Modern Art Era is a period of time that started in 1865 and lasted through the 1970s. Interestingly enough, this period of history marks some very tumultuous times. This span of years includes things like the end of the Civil War, both World Wars, The Cold War, and Vietnam. Naturally, we turned to art to try and heal from the physical and emotional scars.

During this span of around 110 years, Modern Art collection became popular as being defined by the throwing off of old art traditions and experimenting with new techniques, subjects, and mediums. Modern art is characterized by experimentation and innovation of shapes, a tendency to use abstraction, art made with an emphasis on technique and process.

Modern art mirrors daily life, the play of light across everyday scenes, an exploration of ways to use simple colors, and definitive forms to express emotions.

Modern Art includes painters that left methods of perspective. Alongside Constructionism, which rejected the idea of art as a separate practice but used it for social purposes.

1. Modern Art Is An Extension Of Poetry

SYMBOLISM, which led to Modern Art, started in the 19th century with a group of French Poets. Symbolism was started as a broadly defined literary group. Symbolist poets and later artists sought to free poetry from expository, and formal functions, and to create room for expressing immediate sensation, and inner life experience.

Some of those poets were Emilie Veheraen, Arthur Rimbaud, and Jean Moreas, along with others. Symbolism, and by connection, Modern art is a revolt against rigid conventions that governed technique, and theme. Symbolism, and by extension Modern Art is an attempt to convey the underly mystery of existence in trying times of our world’s history.

2. Simplistic Expression

Pablo Picasso and George Braque were two famous artists of the Modern Art Era. They have become known for their use of Cubism in their works. Cubism emphasis comes from a flat two-dimensional surface, thereby rejecting traditional techniques of perspective, modeling, and foreshortening.

By leaving the traditional methods, Cubism creates a different reality by using largely fragmented objects. This twist on the traditions of old gave us some of the most known works of fragmentation and abstraction. Artist’s known to popularize this form of art are Piccasso, Cezanne, Juan Gris, and Fernand Leger.

CUBISM had a way of thinking about shapes, perspective, and dimension seldom seen in art before this period. It was such a new style of art at the time that even Picasso and Barque, who were often collaborating with this style, didn’t think it would be repeated along with the same intensity that it had in its creation.

3. World War I Brought Modern Art To America

In 1914-1918 many European artists moved to the United States. In doing so, they introduced Modern Art to the U.S. Until 1913; it was generally believed that to be a “real” artist, you had to live in Europe.

During the beginning of the 19th century, all of the well-known art museums only displayed the traditional classical work of the old masters. The American artists at this time were mainly creating works for each other or keeping it themselves.

Artists during this era were not usually taken seriously, the results of this turning away from a public that wasn’t kind to an artist, created private styles and filled with dreams, the subconscious, mythical images, and much more. Willem De Kooning and Jackson Pollock are the well-known artist of this time in Modern Art.

The “Lavender Mist” is a famous piece by Jackson Pollock in which he throws off traditional methods of applying paint to, and its relationship with the canvas. He experimented so far as to sign this piece with his handprints; it is a prime example of abstract impressionism in the Modern Art Era.

4. Modern Art, Dominates

In a market where old and retro are in, Modern Art pieces dominate the world market. When the top 20 art pieces were categorized, only one of those pieces is by an artist that is considered one of the great classical masters of his time. In 1987 Modern Paintings overtook the old classical masters and became the top sellers.

Some of those top pieces include The Scream by Edvard Munch (1983), Guernica by Pablo Picasso (1937), The Kiss by Gustav Klimt (1907-1908) just to name a few of the Modern greats.

5. Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is a celebration of hand craftsmanship over the speed and efficiency of the Industrial Era. This is an international style of art, applied art, architecture, and decorative design. This style of art was most popular in 1890-1910.

Art Nouveau is characterized by “whiplash lines” asymmetry, and dynamism, and a sense of movement. Most often seen in graphic arts, interior design, iron, glass, and ceramic work. Art Nouveau was a movement to show that craftsmanship, the arts, and various forms of media were still art.

Conclusion:

Modern is a word that is usually used as relating to current or recent times. Thus the name given to the years of this art period might be a slight oxymoron. Art is ever-changing, ever-evolving into a form of communication that each generation of history needs to survive their era, perhaps even to thrive as best they can in their time.

The current reactions to Modern art use intermedia, or installing artworks into specific places for periods of time, called installation art. The Post Modern Art Era even goes so far as to use technology to create and use video in art pieces.

As art continues to change and grow, we’ll see even more examples of Post Modernism that transcend what was thought to be possible in the world of art. “Modern Art” might be a bit of an oxymoron now that it’s 2020, but since it’s the basis for most art created today, it might just be the right name after all.

Read the full article on Art Market Magazine Issue #45