History of Modern Art
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History of Modern Art
We are still drawing on walls and Modern Graffiti is more popular than ever especially since it is growing in acceptance as a legitimate art form. However, in many instances graffiti is still considered to be vandalism. Whatever view you hold, it is still an expression of creativity.
My inspiration for this lens comes not only from my interest in Art History, which I have a minor degree in, but also as a result of a resurgence in the popularity of modern graffiti and why people are compelled to draw on walls anywhere and everywhere. My thinking is that we have to express our creativity somehow, and maybe for some, it doesn't occur to them that it is safer and legal to put it on canvas or our own walls, or maybe they don't have the means to buy art supplies or maybe just maybe, they want to make a social statement. It could be one or some or a little of all of the above. My intention is not to discuss the delinquency or legality of this phenomenon, but what 'motivates this need' in some.
Because of 'evidence' all around us, I can safely assume that we as a human race have an inherent need and desire to express ourselves. I am an artist and have this drive to express myself and what better way to learn about other people and other cultures, past, present and future than through their 'art'. (Accepted and not so accepted).
In this lens, I will attempt to illustrate several influential artists in the modern art movement but of course this will be a brief overview and not a comprehensive history. I will provide links for those of you who would like to delve more deeply into this. I will undoubtedly be more subjective in my endeavor and feature some of my favorite artists and their works.
I will also share resources including links to museums, books and videos, where you can find out more about what modern art is.
I had the good fortune to visit MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) with my art history class and it was AWESOME. I can't wait for an opportunity to go back. On that same trip we also went to The Guggenheim, The Whitney Museum of American Art, and of course
The Metropolitan Museum of Art It was a great trip. Seeing some of my favorite paintings in person, brought me to tears (happy ones).
We have a world reknowned art musuem in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. I try to visit The Cleveland Museum of Art 1 to 4 times each year.
We have some great collections and much of the museum is newly renovated. Visit CMA Website
FOR A LIFE ENRICHING EXPERIENCE, VISIT AN ART MUSEUM!!!">
What Is Modern Art?
What makes this art...anybody can do this?
The notion of modern art is closely related to Modernism.[3]
Wikipedia
Read more...
Yellow, Orange, Blue
Study of Color and Form
This piece is my interpretation of how color interacts with surrounding color and form. This is an 18" x 18" painting that I created in Photoshop, with the intention to print it on canvas. Color Theory was one of my favorite subjects in art school, and is the inspiration for this painting. Our text book for the class was "Interaction of Color" by Joseph Albers.Learn more about
Joseph Albers
Josef Albers (March 19, 1888 - March 25, 1976) was a German artist, mathematician and educator whose work, both in Europe and in the United States, formed the basis of some of the most influential and far-reaching art education programs of the 20th century. -Wikipedia
Another artist that I was inspired by while studying color theory and modern art was Piet Mondrian. See information about him below and a neat video showcasing his work accompanied by the music of Philip Glass.
Piet Mondrian, Dutch,1872-1944
Piet Mondrian, Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1930
Dutch painter, theorist and draughtsman. His work marks the transition at the start of the 20th century from the Hague school and Symbolism to Neo-Impressionism and Cubism. His key position within the international avant-garde is determined by works produced after 1920. He set out his theory in the periodical of De Stijl, in a series of articles that were summarized in a separate booklet published in Paris in 1920 under the title Le Néo-plasticisme (see Neo-plasticism) by Léonce Rosenberg. The essence of Mondrian's ideas is that painting, composed of the most fundamental aspects of line and colour, must set an example to the other arts for achieving a society in which art as such has no place but belongs instead to the total realization of 'beauty'. The representation of the universal, dynamic pulse of life, also expressed in modern jazz and the metropolis, was Mondrian's point of departure. Even in his lifetime he was regarded as the founder of the most modern art. His artistic integrity caused him to be honoured as a classical master by artists who were aligned with entirely different styles, as well as by musicians and architects. He was able to make a living from the sale of his works in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, England and the USA.
To Learn More
Moma, Collections
© 2009 Oxford University Press
Piet Mondrian - A Journey Through Modern Art
A Montage of Piet Mondrian's Art with music by Philip Glass
What is modern art......some enlightening reads...
Selected Books on The History and definition of Modern Art
Modernism And Abstraction, Miranda McClinick
Further Treasures from The Smithsonian Museum
Modernism and Abstraction (Further treasures from the Smithsonian Museum)
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Modernism & Abstraction is an outstanding arrangement of 20th-century artwork with many landmark works by giants of the American avant-garde.American artists.
Marc Chagall, Russian/French, (1887-1985)
"I And The Village" -1911
Marc Chagall was born in Liozno, near Vitebsk, now in Belarus, the eldest of nine children in the close-knit Jewish family led by his father Khatskl (Zakhar) Shagal, a herring merchant, and his mother, Feige-Ite. This period of his life, described as happy though impoverished, appears in references throughout Chagall's work. Currently the Chagall's house on Pokrovskaya Street in Vitebsk is restored as part of the Marc Chagall's Museum.[1]After he began studying painting in 1906 under famed local artist Yehuda Pen, Chagall moved to St. Petersburg some months later, in 1907. There he joined the school of the "Society of Art Supporters" and studied under Nikolai Roerich, encountering artists of every school and style. From 1908-1910 Chagall studied under Leon Bakst at the Zvantseva School of Drawing and Painting.
Read more about
Mark Chagall
Marc Chagall
The Essential: Marc Chagall (Essential (Harry N. Abrams))
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Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch, (1853-1890)
The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night, 1888
I am including Vincent Van Gogh who is a Post Impressionist not only because I like his work but also because Van Gogh is a pioneer of what came to be known as Expressionism. He had an enormous influence on 20th century art, especially on the Fauves and German Expressionists.Wikipedia
Read more about Post-Impressionist, Vincent Van Gogh
"Van Gogh and The Colors of Night"
Vincent Van Gogh
Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night
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Product Description
Throughout his career, Vincent van Gogh attempted the paradoxical task of representing night through color and tonality. His procedure followed the trend set by the Impressionists of "translating" visual light effects with various color combinations, yet this goal was grafted onto his desire to interweave the visual and the metaphorical in order to produce fresh and original works of art. These different artistic concerns found themselves powerfully bound together in Van Gogh's nocturnal and twilight paintings and drawings. This illuminating volume, published to accompany the first exhibition to focus on this aspect of Van Gogh's career, presents new insight on Van Gogh's depictions of night landscapes, interior scenes and the effects of both artificial and natural light on their surroundings. Representing all periods of the artist's career, this volume features more than 100 images of superlative quality, including large reproductions of works by Van Gogh, details of iconic paintings and images of works by other artists that were important to the development of Van Gogh's oeuvre. Essays by the exhibition organizers provide historical and personal contexts for better understanding the artist's motives and offer in-depth studies of the technical and stylistic aspects of Van Gogh's work.
Pablo Picasso, Spanish, (1881-1973)
Violin and Grapes, 1912
Spanish painter, sculptor, draughtsman, printmaker, decorative artist and writer, active in France. He dominated 20th-century European art and was central in the development of the image of the modern artist.Pictured at right is "Violin and Grapes", oil on canvas from spring/summer 1912. Analytic Cubism.
Read more about Picasso
With Georges Braque, Picasso was responsible for Cubism, one of the most radical re-structurings of the way that a work of art constructs its meaning.
© 2007 Oxford University Press
Pablo Picasso on Cubism:
"Cubism is no different from any other school of painting. The same principles and the same elements are common to all. The fact that for a long time cubism has not been understood and that even today there are people who cannot see anything in it, means nothing. I do not read English, and an English book is a blank to me. This does not mean that the English language does not exist, and why should I blame anyone but myself if I cannot understand what I know nothing about?" - Picasso
_The Art Archive, Biography by Charles Moffat
What is Cubism?
Pablo Picasso
The most famous artist of the 20th century.
The Blue Nude, 1902- An earlier work from The Blue Period
You can learn a lot about Picasso
Picasso in this biography by Charles Moffat.
Biography from The Art History Archive
Pablo Picasso
The Ultimate Picasso
The Ultimate Picasso
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The Ultimate Picasso is a comprehensive study of one of the forerunners of The Modern Art Movement.
Marcel Duchamp, French (1887-1968)
Nude Descending a Staircase
This painting is my FAVORITE WORK of Duchamp, I love it!Oil on Canvas, 1912 Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Nude Descending a Staircase No.2
Main article: Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2
Duchamp's first controversial work, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (Nu descendant un escalier n° 2) (1912), depicts the motion of the mechanistic nude with superimposed facets, similar to motion pictures. The painting shows elements of both the fragmentation and synthesis of the Cubists, and the movement and dynamism of the Futurists.
He first submitted the piece to appear at the Cubist Salon des Indépendants, but jurist Albert Gleizes asked Duchamp's brothers to have him voluntarily withdraw the painting, or paint over the title that he had painted on the work and rename it something else. His brothers did approach him with Gleizes' request, and Duchamp quietly refused. Of the incident Duchamp later recalled, "I said nothing to my brothers. But I went immediately to the show and took my painting home in a taxi. It was really a turning point in my life, I can assure you. I saw that I would not be very much interested in groups after that."
Later he submitted the painting to the 1913 Armory Show in New York City -- officially the International Exhibition of Modern Art -- which displayed works of American artists and was the first major exhibition of the modern trends coming out of Paris. American show-goers, accustomed to realistic art, were scandalized, and the Nude was at the center of much of the controversy.
Wikipedia
Read more about marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp
The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp (2 Volumes in 1)
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DADA and SURREALISM
What is surrealism?
Pictured on the right is "The Elephant Celebs", 1921 by Max Ernst German artist who was very influential in the Dada & Surrealist Movement.To find out more about this international intellectual movement in modern art, click on this link...
SURREALISM
Max Ernst
Max Ernst: A Retrospective
Max Ernst: A Retrospective (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications)
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Release Date: 12/31/1969
Salvador Dali, Spanish, (1904-1989)
"The Persistence of Memory" -1931
"The Persistence of Memory" shown to the right, is one of Dali's most well known paintings.Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquis of Púbol (May 11, 1904 - January 23, 1989), was a Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain. Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters.[1][2] His best known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in 1931. Salvador Dalí's artistic repertoire also included film, sculpture, and photography. He collaborated with Walt Disney on the unfinished Academy Award-nominated short cartoon Destino, which was completed and released posthumously in 2003. He also collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock on the dream sequence from his 1945 film Spellbound. -Wikipedia
More about Dali
Dali
Paul Moorhouse
Dali (Mallard Fine Art Series)
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Dali by Paul Moorhouse, features 60 of Dali's most representative works, reproduced in large format full color. The detailed commentaries shed light on their complex and disturbing imagery.
SURREAL!
What an Entrance!
The Philadelphia Museum of Artused a surreal entrance display including its steps, for the 2005 Salvador Dalí exhibition.
Rene Magritte, Belgian, (1898-1967)
"The False Mirror, 1928, Oil on Canvas
Belgian painter, draughtsman, printmaker, sculptor, photographer and film maker. He was one of the major figuresof Surrealism and perhaps the greatest Belgian artist of the 20th century. His work, while lacking the drama of conventional stylistic development, continued to be admired during the later years of his life, in spite of changes in fashion, and can be said to have continued to grow in popularity and critical esteem after his death.
© 2007 Oxford University Press
Read more about this artist...
RENE MAGRITTE
Getting to know Rene Magritte
Thoughts Rendered Visible....
Rene Magritte 1898-1967: Thoughts Rendered Visible (Basic Art)
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This book is worth spotlighting because Magritte is essential artist of Surrealism and Modern Art.
Giorgio de Chirico, Greek, Italian (1888-1978)
Love Song, Oil on canvas, 1914
Giorgio de Chirico was very influential in the pre-Surrealist and Surrealist Art Periods. He co-created the Italian Metaphysical Art Movement with artist Carlo Carra.
Read more about Pittura Metafisica
Wikipedia
Henri Matisse, French (1869-1954)
The Dance, 2nd version, 1909
Henri Matisse (31 December 1869 - 3 November 1954) was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid, brilliant and original draughtsmanship. As a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but principally as a painter, Matisse is one of the best-known artists of the 20th century. Although he was initially labeled as a Fauve (wild beast), by the 1920s, he was increasingly hailed as an upholder of the classical tradition in French painting.[1] His mastery of the expressive language of colour and drawing, displayed in a body of work spanning over a half-century, won him recognition as a leading figure in modern art.Wikipedia
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Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse: A Retrospective
Museum Of Modern Art
Henri Matisse: A Retrospective
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An exhibit catalogue is usually worth having in your art library, especially if it is an artist you are fond of. And this was an exhibit from the MOMA. It is the hardcover edition.
Release Date: 12/31/1969
Joan Miro, Spanish (1893-1983)
Surrealism, Dada
Shown on right is "La Lecon de Ski" by Miro.Joan Miró i Ferrà (April 20, 1893 - December 25, 1983) was an ethnic Catalan (of Spanish nationality) painter, sculptor and ceramist born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride. In numerous interviews dating from the 1930s onwards, Miró expressed contempt for conventional painting methods as a way of supporting bourgeoise society, and famously declared an "assassination of painting" in favor of upsetting the visual elements of established painting.[1]
Wikipedia
Read more about Miro
Miro by Jacques Dupin
Miro, Hardcover
Miro
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Georgia O'Keefe, American (1887-1986)
Orchid, Pastel on paper, 1941, Museum of Modern Art
Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887-March 6, 1986) was an American artist. She is associated with the American Southwest, where she found artistic inspiration, and particularly New Mexico, where she settled late in life. O'Keeffe has been a major figure in American art since the 1920s. She is chiefly known for paintings in which she synthesized abstraction and representation in paintings of flowers, rocks, shells, animal bones and landscapes. Her paintings present crisply contoured forms that are replete with subtle tonal transitions of varying colors. She often transformed her subject matter into powerful abstract images.Wikipedia
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Georgia O'Keefe by Britta Benke
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ART BOOKS are a must for any library.
Links to Related Lenses
Graffiti
- The (Street) Art of Stencil Graffiti
- Stencil graffiti is growing in popularity worldwide. This street art can be a few simple words, or a grand scale art piece. Because it is cheap, quick, and easy, this style of graffiti has grown tremendously. Often the stencils express political and social opinions of the artist, or are simply images of pop culture icons. Stencil street art adorns public areas around the world. It has become part of urban living. Love it or hate it, stencils aren't going away soon.
Museums and Galleries
Explore these museum & gallery sites on contemporary and modern art.
- Cleveland Museum Of Art
- I am proud to say that we have one of the finest art museums in the world, right here in Cleveland, OH. Renovations are still underway but parts of the museum are open.Visit our Collections Departments
to find out what kind of modern art treasures await you when you visit. - Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA)
- Official Website
- Museum of Modern Art
- Destination Modern Art -an interactive virtual tour of the MOMA with a cute animated intro, which is optional.
- Museum of Contempory Art, Los Angeles
- Official Website
- Museum of Contempory Art, Cleveland
- Official Website
- Art Institute of Chicago, Modern Art Collection
- "Considered one of the finest and most comprehensive in the world, the Art Institute's extraordinary collection of modern art includes nearly 1,000 works of art by artists from Europe and the Americas."
-from The Art Institute of Chicago, Web Page, Modern Art Collection
COMING SOON at The Art Institute of Chicago
The Modern Wing is scheduled to open May 16, 2009
LEARN MORE
Links to Contemporary Fine Artists
- Mary Ellen Salo
- Mary Ellen is a painter who is adept in the mediums of acrylics, oils, and watercolors. She specializes in landscapes and cityscapes. She also paints portraits on commission.
Abstract Art from ArtByUs
NakedArtStudio
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MODERN ART - One of those subjects
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I find that most people either love it or hate it, maybe a few are indifferent....so am I right or wrong...let's find out
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Selavi Jan 27, 2012 @ 10:25 am | delete
- great job on the lens.I really had good time reading this.
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ShellB
Jun 3, 2011 @ 10:56 pm | delete
- Great lens! I know very little about modern art and found your lens very informative!
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fotolady49 Jun 3, 2011 @ 11:09 pm | delete
- Hello ShellB...glad you learned some new info from my lens...thanks for visiting and your comments!
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dogodor
Dec 30, 2010 @ 8:37 pm | delete
- I love your lens. I especially loved the Picasso post.
Also...Your photos are great. What type of lens do you use?
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- I'm sorry I'm just getting back to you now. I think I was having internet connection problems when you left this post, and I forgot to get back to reply. Thank you for visiting and your comments. Right now I am using a Canon 30D DSLR and a 17-55mm Tamron lens, mostly. Many of my images were taken with an Olympus OM-1 film camera and a 70-200mm zoom with a close focus 'macro' feature on it. I love that lens. I am hoping to purchase a similar lens for my Canon. I have been digitizing my film images little by little to get them archived in digital format.
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artyfax Sep 16, 2010 @ 4:44 pm | delete
- wonderful lens, so much info and so informative. Will nedd to revisit to let it all soak in. I am aware of most of these artists and the work you have selected as example but there is always something to learn
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by fotolady49
Hello world. I am Terri 'Zamiska' Harper. The medium of photography has been my main vehicle of expression over the years. I have explored black and white... more »
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