HUM1020 Test 3: Romanticism to Digital Age

Romanticism

A cultural movement (1780-1880) that emphasized emotion, imagination, intuition, and a deep appreciation of nature. It developed as a reaction against the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and the failed promises of the French Revolution.

Industrial Revolution

A period of rapid industrial growth that led to polluted cities, harsh factory conditions, and widespread child labor. Romantics rejected these conditions and turned toward nature, emotion, and individual experience in response.

French Revolution

Beginning in 1789, it was first inspired by Enlightenment ideas of liberty and rights. It later descended into the Reign of Terror and eventually ended with Napoleon becoming emperor, disappointing those who hoped for true reform.

Transcendentalism

An American branch of Romanticism that taught that true knowledge comes from intuition and spiritual experience, especially through direct contact with nature. Key figures include Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

The Sublime

A Romantic idea describing the overwhelming emotional response to nature's vastness, power, and beauty. It combines awe, fear, and admiration. This concept is strongly represented in the work of J.M.W. Turner.

Longing for the Past

Romantics idealized the Middle Ages as a simpler, more meaningful time. They viewed it through 'rose-colored glasses,' imagining heroism and adventure instead of the real poverty and violence of the era.

Pantheism

A belief that God exists within nature and all living things, instead of being separate from the world. Romantics were drawn to this idea because it elevated the spiritual value of the natural world.

The Slave Ship

A major example of the Romantic Sublime. The painting depicts a slave ship caught in a violent storm. Turner emphasized nature's power, intensity, and overwhelming force, showing how small and fragile human beings are in comparison.

Frankenstein

A Gothic novel that reflects Romantic themes. It explores the dangers of scientific ambition without moral responsibility and highlights the importance of emotion, family, and human connection.

Industrial Revolution's Contribution to Romanticism

It created terrible factory conditions, including child labor, which made people long for escape. It also filled cities with pollution and harsh industrial life, pushing Romantics to turn toward nature.

Motivation behind the French Revolution

The French wanted natural rights, freedoms, and a republican government based on Enlightenment ideas—similar to the American desire for liberty and self-rule.

How the French Revolution ended

After chaos, the Directory took control, and then Napoleon became emperor in 1799. Eventually, after Waterloo in 1815, the monarchy was restored.

Why Romanticists preferred nature

Nature offered beauty, purity, renewal, and emotional truth, especially compared to the filthy, industrial cities full of smoke and suffering.

Meaning of Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism teaches that intuition is more valuable than reasoning. People gain the deepest knowledge by communing with nature and discovering their spiritual selves.

Belief of Pantheism

Pantheism holds that God is present in all of nature and the universe. Traditional religion usually views God as separate from creation, which Pantheists reject.

The Sublime in Turner's art

Turner painted storms, fires, and vast forces to show nature as immense, powerful, and overwhelming. 'The Sublime' is the mix of awe and fear people feel when facing nature's grandeur.

Materialism

the belief that science, technology, and industry can know all truth, solve all problems, and create human happiness.

Eiffel Tower / Skyscrapers vs. Load-bearing Walls

The Eiffel Tower introduced a new iron skeleton framework to replace the traditional load-bearing wall style of construction (basic wood frame with a wall in the center supporting the weight of the structure's roof). This skeletal technology was the direct predecessor to the steel beam construction used shortly after to build skyscrapers.

Colonialism

the idea of more industrialized nations (Europe, United States, etc) colonizing or controlling less industrialized nations (vast parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America)-- driven by the need for raw materials and markets to produce manufactured goods.

Socialism

the idea that the stockholders and industrial workers should be the same people; belief in common ownership and managing how goods are produced and distributed for the common good of the public (instead of most of the power and money going to an elite few stockholders with no role in working to produce the goods).

Communism

the idea that all human history has been a conflict between the oppressors and the oppressed (haves and have-nots). Religion and spirituality were viewed as a means to control people and make them content with less money and material goods. End goal- a society completely without social classes and a call for revolution where workers take over the means of production and get rid of private ownership.

Impressionism

an art movement moving away from more realistic art and replacing it with a focus on light and color more than form and outline. Brush strokes could be clearly seen, and illustrations were meant to be an 'impression' of the real thing, not a perfectly detailed representation.

Karl Marx

co-writer of the Communist Manifesto, more radical and violent form of social reform than predecessors; adamantly opposed capitalism.

Van Gogh

widely regarded as one of the most influential Post-Impressionist artists; his art expressed deep emotion, and aimed to capture a subjective visual impression of real life scenes.

Starry Night by Van Gogh

The Starry Night is a defining Post-Impressionist masterpiece by Vincent van Gogh using vibrant, swirling color and dramatic, thick brushstrokes to translate the vast, turbulent energy of the night sky into a powerful expression of the artist's intense emotional inner world.

Industrial technology

including steam, coal, and iron allowed Western nations (Europe and North America) to take over less developed nations.

Renovation of Paris

a major public works program including the demolition of crowded and unhealthy medieval neighborhoods, the building of wide avenues, parks and squares, the annexation of the suburbs surrounding Paris, and the construction of new sewers, fountains and aqueducts.

Traditional load-bearing wall

provided a middle wall to support the weight of the building, while the Eiffel Tower was constructed from an iron framework; later, reinforced steel was introduced and made it possible to construct skyscrapers.

Skyscrapers as a symbol of corporate power and prestige

To build something that tall needed money and resources; skyscrapers were often the headquarters of corporations.

British Empire

the most powerful Empire during the Age of Materialism.

Entrepreneur

a person who organizes and operates a business, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.

Capitalist

an individual who invests capital in a business with the expectation of financial returns.

Message of Monopoly

Capitalism makes most people bankrupt.

Original alternate win condition of Monopoly

Players end up with shared wealth.

Karl Marx's two groups of people

Haves (oppressors) and have-nots (oppressed).

Marx's view on materialism

Believed that economics are the foundation of everything.

Marx's dislike of religion

He believed that religion was a way that the powerful control the weak; he called it the 'opium of the masses.'

Marx's dislike of Socialism

He thought socialism was similar to capitalism, and a stepping stone to communism.

Marx's suggestion for communist revolution

Violent revolution.

Property Ownership in Capitalism

Total ownership.

Property Ownership in Socialism

Limited ownership.

Property Ownership in Communism

No ownership.

Government Regulation in Capitalism

Some regulation.

Government Regulation in Socialism

Some regulation.

Government Regulation in Communism

All regulation.

Class Distinction in Capitalism

Significant class distinction.

Class Distinction in Socialism

Limited class distinction.

Class Distinction in Communism

No class distinction.

Impact of photography on painting

Making art more accessible and new developments in painting.

Impressionists' focus

Emotion and an 'impression' of real-life scenes.

Post-Impressionists' focus

Transcendence and emotions through symbolism.

Id

The seat of human instinct and the source of all physical desire.

Ego

The manager that functions to adapt the needs of the Id to the real world.

Superego

The moral monitor or 'conscience' that operates according to the rules of society.

Trauma

The emotional and psychological response to a distressing, life-threatening, or overwhelming event.

Unconscious

The part of the mind which is inaccessible to the conscious mind but which affects behavior and emotions.

Surrealism

An art movement that aims to unlock the unconscious mind through dreamlike, illogical imagery.

Sigmund Freud

Known for developing psychoanalysis, a theory of personality and a form of therapy centered on the unconscious mind.

Salvador Dali

Known for his wild art and a public personality to match.

The Persistence of Memory

Often interpreted as a surrealist exploration of the fluidity and relativity of time.

Lobster Telephone

A Surrealist object by Salvador Dalí that symbolizes the connection between food, sex, and communication, exploring subconscious desires through a bizarre combination of objects.

Freud's philosophical approach

Freud is considered more of a 'philosopher of the mind' rather than a scientist due to his philosophical approach to understanding the mind and its relation to the body and the external world.

Awareness of the unconscious

We are aware of the unconscious/subconscious through representation in a disguised or distorted form, by way of dreams/neurotic symptoms, slips of the tongue, and jokes.

Emotional and mental defense mechanisms

Developed to protect the ego from anxiety, stress, and inner conflict by unconsciously distorting reality, which can prevent emotional growth and hinder self-awareness.

Talking therapy and trauma

Talking therapy leads one back to the source of trauma through discussion of dreams and memories, allowing patients to work backward to their trauma sources.

Oedipus Complex

A male's unconscious desire for his mother and rivalry with his father.

Electra Complex

A female's unconscious desire for her father and rivalry with her mother.

First trauma according to Freud

Being born, which is traumatic because it involves separation from the safety and dependency of the mother's womb into a terrifying world.

Freud's Map of the Mind

Id: The seat of human instinct and the source of all physical desire; Ego: The manager that adapts the needs of the Id to the real world; Superego: The moral monitor or 'conscience' that operates according to societal rules.

Surrealists' interest in Freud

Surrealists were interested in Freud because his theories on the unconscious mind, dreams, and hidden desires offered a way to unlock creativity beyond rational thoughts.

Visual Pun in Surrealism

A combination of objects that plays on the double meaning of words to create unexpected and dreamlike images, such as an image of a clock with wings captioned 'Time flies.'

Significance of random art

It focuses on emotion, personal interpretation, and qualities of color, line, and form, rather than depicting recognizable objects for the real world.

World War I

Began on June 28th, 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, leading to Austria declaring war on Serbia with the involvement of Germany, Russia, and France.

Dada

The most outrageous art movement of the early 20th century, rebelling against enlightenment ideals and progress, motivated by World War I, spreading the idea that the world is irrational and a product of chance.

Automatic painting

Pioneered by André Masson in 1924, where he created works by letting his hand move without conscious control to access the subconscious.

Behaviorism / Progressive Parenting

Watson's approach that focuses on behavior and what will stimulate that behavior, deeming the mind superfluous and emphasizing stimulus and response.

Marcel Duchamp

One of the leading founders of Dada, was already a classically-trained and accomplished painter and chess theorist.

John Watson

Can refer to several notable individuals, most prominently the psychologist John B. Watson, who founded the school of behaviorism.

The Fountain by Marcel Duchamp

A urinal purchased from a New York plumbing shop, turned upright and submitted to an art gallery, submitted under a pseudonym, 'R. Mutt', meant to be absurd; the committee agreed that all submitted work must be shown, and they were unable to reject it.

L.H.O.O.Q. by Marcel Duchamp

Indicates Duchamp's newfound distaste for painting, seeing it as the embodiment of the bourgeois taste, but in reality, just a commodity to be bought and sold.

Machine guns

New technologies that caused World War I to be fought differently than any other war.

Mustard gas

New technologies that caused World War I to be fought differently than any other war.

Dadaists

Believed that World War I disproved the ideals of the Enlightenment, showing that the world was irrational and that science was destructive.

Reason and progress

Proved that they did not make the world better during World War I, causing mass deaths.

The Fountain's emphasis

Emphasized that art is the idea of an artist, rather than the skill of an artist; it was an everyday object that he didn't make but saw the beauty in.

L.H.O.O.Q. as criticism

Criticized the elite art community; in contrast with The Fountain, it's a work of art but really just a product.

Cold War

Conflict called the Cold War because the two sides fought indirectly.

Chess during the Cold War

Showed which country was more intelligent.

Space Race

Important during the Cold War as America vs Soviet army raced for the moon landing; rockets were created for this purpose.

American public against space travel

Thought it was a waste of money; Walt Disney tried to convince the public to invest in space travel by normalizing the future with short films and creating Tomorrowland.

Astronaut vs Cowboy

Astronauts replaced Cowboys as the American cultural hero; Cowboys celebrated the man, while Astronauts celebrated the technology.

Technocracy

Life would be better with the investment of scientific advancement and giving them authority.

Punk movement's view of society

Said that society was insane because they thought that people were thinking everything was normal even though it wasn't.

The Clash's song 'Know Your Rights'

Criticizes the idea that we don't really have rights even though they say we do; it criticizes the government's protection of rights.

'Going mainstream'

Means becoming more known; seen as good because it raises awareness of the movement, but bad because the meaning becomes diluted.

Grunge movement vs Punk movement

Grunge combined lumberjack and punk aesthetics; they accepted going mainstream as it was inevitable.

World War II

By 1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II against France and Great Britain; Germany took over France and invaded Russia in 1941.

Proxy Wars

Example of proxy wars includes NATO allies supplying arms and aid to Ukraine to fight against Russia.

President John F. Kennedy

Elected in 1960, he made space travel a primary goal of his administration and promised to bring a man to the moon and back by the end of the decade.

Punk Movement

Questioned the idea that through science and technology, society would build a better future, viewing technology as a means of oppression and war.