- 'Modern', 'Modernity'
- Modernity - Industrialisation. Urbanisation - The City
- Modern Artists' response to the city
The handout we received:
Modernity and Modernism Richard Miles, 2011
1.
‘Modern’
as a term is important to explore for the reason that it has become
ingrained in the cultural consciousness, popularised and
institutionalised (take for example the popular awareness this
country has for such an institution as Tate
Modern).
The word ‘modern’ has received usage in English from the 16th
C. By the mid 19th
C. the term meant ‘contemporary’, thus, between 1843-1860, John
Ruskin in his volume of writings ‘Modern
Painters’,
was really using the term to refer to painters of the day, such as
Pre~Raphaelites, who we today would not consider to be ‘modern
artists’. However, by the end of the 19th
C. and into the early 20th
C., the term ‘modern’ began to take on a flavour of something
‘improved’, ‘better than before’. This 20th
C. meaning of ‘modern’ as something ‘improved’ is
inextricably linked to a modern
consumer culture
in which products are sold on the basis of a ‘new is better’
philosophy: take for example washing powder and the way its
manufacturers rattle on in their adverts; “new improved”, “whiter
than ever before”. Thus we can conclude that the term ‘modern’
implies positive meanings, so much so, that even politicians – Tony
Blair for example – will talk about “a ‘modernised’
Labour Party” and “a ‘modern’
Britain”.
2.
Modernity.
The
idea of ‘modern’ then, is linked to the idea of progress.
The idea of progress is central to our understanding of ‘modernity’
and the significant changes that took place broadly between
1750-1950. This process of modernisation did not, obviously, happen
overnight, although we can fix it historically as being aligned to
the processes of industrialisation
and urbanisation.
Central features of ‘modernity’ are: The
City
– the city has become the site for ‘modern’ experience and
developed as a magnet for those in the country during the period of
industrialisation. Communication
–
with the advent of rapid transport systems, rail and road (the rail
network had become fully established by 1840), steamships and the
telegraph, communications flourished, changing the character of
society (people’s mobility – but also the mobility of the printed
image). Effective communications are necessary to promote the idea of
change. Progress
– implicit in the notion of modernity is the idea that change is
for the better. The goal of modernity has been to create a better
life for people. There is therefore a utopian ideal inherent within
the idea of modernity. Rationality
& Reason
– aligned to the ideas of progress are the ideas that the only way
to improve humanity is to reject religious systems of rule and
replace them with the notion of the civilised state. Scientific
progress and intellectual investigation (Enlightenment concepts), are
taken as being a far better route to further our existence than
religion. We therefore see in the period in question a secularisation
of our society; fewer people go to Church or follow religion, and
societies are today ruled by governments, with the Church playing
much more of a minor role.
3.
Modernism
is
the term used to describe the cultural expressions of modernity in
relation to the experience of modernity. Theoretical
features identified with modernism in art & design include:
SOCIAL
MORALITY- In
essence, there was a ‘utopian’ flavour to the modernist
‘project’. TRUTH
- In
design, it was agreed that designs should not be illusionary or
create false impressions. TECHNOLOGY
- Modernists
embraced new technologies. Also, design initiative had to allow for
the mass production of goods – thus, simple forms were preferred
over complex ones. FUNCTION
- The
idea that design was functional was of prime importance. And, a key
idea within modernist design was that the form of an object should be
dictated by its function; “Form Follows Function”. The shift away
from ornate decoration was politically inspired – fancy decoration
and ornamentation was equated with the bourgeoisie and decadent
frippery. PROGRESS
- Implicit
in the notion of modernity and modernism is the idea of change for
the better. The goal of modernity and modernism has been to create a
better life for people. The modernist project therefore sought to
embrace the tools of technology. In the aftermath of World War 1 (The
Great War 1914-1918), it was felt that such a tragedy and waste of
life could not happen again. The feeling therefore in the 1920’s
was one of optimism and that modernism would direct the way towards a
progressive society. ANTI-HISTORICISM
- Previous
styles tended to draw from older historical styles; e.g., Victorian
gothic and classical styles. The modernists attempted to eschew
historical references altogether. INTERNATIONALISM
- For
the modernist, it was an appealing idea that a design/artwork would
be instantly recognisable to an international audience. Part of this
internationalist tendency derived from the post WW1 attitude towards
the need to bring countries together. TRANSFORMATION
OF CONSCIOUSNESS - There
was a belief held amongst modernists that design and art could change
the way people think. Underlying the Town Planning Movement and mass
housing projects was the idea that such projects would improve the
people who made use of them. THEOLOGY
- Modernism
was adopted almost as a religion. It constituted a set of beliefs
which sat within a context where people felt they were living in a
‘new age’. The term ‘Zeitgeist’ refers to this feeling of
“the Spirit of the Age”.
Bibliography
Meecham, P.
& Sheldon, J. (2000) Modern
Art : A Critical Introduction
london routledge
dawtrey, l.
(1996) investigating
modern art
london open university
frascina, f
& harris, j. (1992) art
in modern culture london,
phaidon
WOODHAM,
J 20TH
CENTURY DESIGN,
OXFORD
Slide
List,
John
Ruskin
William
Holman Hunt The
Hireling Shepherd (1852)
Paris
Exposition Universalle – 1900
Paris
Exposition Universalle – 1900 – trottoir Roullant
View
of Paris – Postcard
View
of Paris Photograph – 1900
Caillebotte
Paris A Rainy Day
(1877)
Caillebotte
– Jeune Homme (1875)
Caillebotte
– A Balcony (1880)
Manet
– The Balcony (1868)
Psychology
Lab c. 1880s
Caillebotte
– Le Pont de L’Europe
(1876)
Seurat
– Isle de la Grande
Jatte (1886)
Degas
Absinthe Drinker (1876)
Manet
- Bar at the Folies
Bergere (1881)
Kaiserpanorama
Kaiserpanorama
William
Powell-Frith The
Railway Station (1862)
Monet
– Gare St. Lazare
(1876-7)
Alfred
Stieglitz – In the
New York Central Yards (1905)
Rodchenko
– Gathering For
Demonstration (1928)
Charles
Marey – Running Man
c. 1880s
Giacomo
Balla – Girl Running
on a Balcony (1912)
Giacomo
Balla – Dynamism of a
Dog on a Leash (1912)
Picasso
– Les Demoiselles
D’Avignon (1907)
Cutlery
from the Great
Exhibition 1851 –
Bauhaus
Style Cutlery
Bauhaus
teapot
Bauhaus
College of Building at Dessau
Walter
Gropius House – Dining Room / and Bauhaus Lamp
Mies
Van der Rohe- Barcelona
Chair
Mies
Van der Rohe – Portrait
of Mies in Chair
Marcel
Breuer – B3, Wassily
Chair
Examples
of Bauhaus Book Design
Le
Corbusier - Plan Voisin
Herbert
Bayer – Bauhaus Typeface
Stanley
Morrison- Times New Roman Typeface
Fraktur
Typeface
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