Abstract Art

  • Occurs 1910s to 1950s
  • Also known as Nonobjective art or nonrepresentational art
  • The portrayal of things from the visible world plays little to no part
  • Abstract artists are mainly concerned with the design on the canvas and how different parts relate to each other (harmony), which is different from expressionists.
  • Explored through: Cubism, futurism (dynamic energy), De Stijl (From Holland)
  • Artists: Kandinsky, Picasso, Boccioni, Mondrian

<<Kandinsky:<<

  • Created the first abstract painting in the history of art (1911)
  • Loved to paint music; and circles (symbolic because of their central point)
  • Looks for harmony (universal law for visual art)
  • ex. Color Study (circles in rows), Composition VIII (random circles and lines)

<<Picasso (Cubism):<<

  • Born in Spain 1881
  • Invented cubism with Braque
  • Very flat; uses geometric shapes
  • Vibrant colour in some art
  • The viewer sees the front face and side profile at the same time (represents psychological imbalance)
    • “The Weeping Woman”
  • Used Cézanne’s ideas and use of square-ish brustrokes to fill canvas
  • Inspired a new wave of ideas
  • ex. Girl with a Mandolin (Fanny Tellier) (paper girl)
    • ]]About Cubism:]]
    • Cubists wanted to revitalize art
    • Reached its peak from 1907-1914
    • Lead by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque
    • Inspired by Cézanne
    • Not concerned with emotion or personal feelings
    • Cubists deviated from traditional 3D space; they painted 2D figured from multiple perspectices to convey a sense of totality
    • Simplified natural forms into geometric shapes
    • “Cubist” got its name from a French critic who commented on the liberal use of cubes
    • They don’t duplicate the world around them - they distill the essence of their subject with abstract forms
    • Characteristics:

       1. Fragmented, distorted, disjointed 2. Geometric forms 3. 2D, flat * Picasso’s Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon was influenced by abstract African masks and primitive African art * Cubism is also inspired by Futurism, Constructivism, Dada

<<Boccioni (Futurism):<<

  • Movement in all directions
  • “Technical manifesto of futurist painting”
  • “To paint a human figure, you must not paint it, you must render the whole of its surrounding atmosphere … movement and light destroy the materialistic aspects of humans”
  • “Motion and light destroy the materiality of bodies”
  • ex. Unique Forms of Continuity in Space(statue is charging and walking), Dynamism of a Soccer Player (smoky abstract)
    • ]]About Futurism:]]
    • Early 20th century (Italian movement)
    • Joseph Stella was influenced
    • Mechanized advancement of society and the destruction of all symbols of the past (museums, academics, large cities) because they held progress.
    • “Dynamism”, “lines of force”
    • Duchamp’s Nude Painting is basic to futurism

<<Mondrian (Destijl, “Dutch Style”):<<

  • Primary colours, very flat
  • No distance or perspective or 3D elements
  • ex. Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow (primary colour squares)