July 2011
7 posts
2 tags
The Ancient Near East
The Sumerians are the first sign of civilization; early peoples give up the dangerous and uncertain life of the hunter/gatherer for the more permanent life of the farmer/herder. Civilization was arranged in city states; they had a code of laws, currency, and value the good of the community over the family (for example, you could not kill a man for family honor because it would damage the community...
5 tags
2 tags
2 tags
3 tags
2 tags
1 tag
up next on artwhat
alright, my summer break comes to a close in around two weeks so it’s time to attend to artwhat again.
what you see here is the entirety of my notes from western art ii, which covered the early renaissance to modern day. in the next few weeks, i’ll be dumping all my notes from western art i, starting with paleolithic europe, just so the complete, broad picture is out there.
...
May 2011
16 posts
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
4 tags
2 tags
Post Modernism
Post modernism literally means ‘after modernism’; strange, because we usually use modern as a word to describe something of the now, new, and fresh. However, this is a case of capitalization; Modernism is a specifically historical period that describes a set of values – enlightenment thinking, emphasis on logic and reason, and that truth can be discovered through progress.
The modern world view...
4 tags
3 tags
2 tags
Minimalism
Like pop art, Minimalism critiques Abstract Expressionism, but in a very different way. It is primarily a sculptural movement. Minimalists, like Pop Artists, create objects that are crafted in such a way that they don’t make the hand of the artists present – no expressive brush marks, very smooth surfaces etc. However, they uphold the ‘Greenburgian’ idea in the purity of the medium. Abstract...
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
April 2011
61 posts
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
2 tags
Abstract Expressionism
During World War II, European artists fled to the United States, shifting the center of the art world from Paris to New York. They try to create a very direct style of painting that is spontaneous, expressional, and universal. They are highly influenced by automatism.
Like the surrealists, the Abstract Expressionists are influenced by psychoanalysis. Instead of Freud, they are reading the Swiss...
3 tags
3 tags
3 tags
2 tags
Surrealism
The Surrealists are reading Freud, and arguably misreading him. The read Freud as almost privileging mental illness, considering it a truer state of being. Dreams were also really important to Freud, and therefore dreams are important to the Surrealists. Andre Breton, a poet, is the leader of the surrealist movement, and is credited with splitting it into two separate ‘types’.
Dali is a Spaniard...
3 tags
3 tags
2 tags
Dada
A lot of artists become disillusioned with the war; those that were fled to Switzerland, which is a traditionally neutral country, and began to exchange ideas. They gathered at Cabaret Voltaire, named ironically for the philosopher that emphasized logic. Going into the war, the government makes a case that it is the only logical, reasonable thing to do. Seeing the death and destruction war causes,...
3 tags
3 tags
2 tags
de Stijle
Founded in the Netherlands, de Stijle is translated as ‘the style’; it was literally intended to be the style. It is a utopian ideal of spiritual harmony and order. All the objects and spaces that we encounter on a daily basis creates a spiritual harmony in our lives.
3 tags
3 tags
2 tags
Constructivism
Active from 1915 – 1930, Constructivism emerges in the wake of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the activities leading up to it. For a few years, artists seek to create a brand new style of art that reflects this utopian government system.
3 tags
2 tags
Suprematism
Although Russia is geographically removed from most of western Europe, they do have a history of ties there. They have a lot of contact with the art centers in France and Germany through its history of publishing and individual collectors. There are collectors and artists aware of avant garde movements in western art and were inspired, and also the government supported the arts at this time.
...
3 tags
3 tags
2 tags
Futurism
The futurists use a cubist style, but they use it for the sake of a political message. Between 1909 and 1914, Italian artists and poets formed the Futurists, and published manifestos outlining their beliefs. Filippo Tomasso Marinetti was the leader of this movement. Futurists focus on the beauty of violence, technology, and speed – even going so far as to say a roaring motor is more beautiful than...
3 tags
3 tags
