Modern Art in Context Notes

Modern Art in Context

After World War I, modern art began to develop in the first half of the 20th century.
Life in modern society changed rapidly after World War I, influencing the art of the time (contemporary art).
Modern art began to change dynamically from art of previous periods and styles.
New styles emerged as artists expressed ideas reflecting society.
Art can be seen as a reflection of life, capturing the world in a specific medium.
Artists infuse political, social, religious, and personal sentiments into their artwork.

Created in 1937, reflecting the Spanish Civil War.
The painting depicts people in anguish, with a woman screaming and holding a baby.
In April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, German pilots bombed the city of Guernica, resulting in mass civilian casualties (1,600 deaths).
Picasso's reaction to the bombing is seen in the stark, monochromatic color palette (grays, whites, and blacks).
The painting is a hallucinatory nightmare expressing Picasso's sentiments on the brutality of war.
The monochromatic palette reflects Picasso's exposure to the tragedies through newspaper publications.
Distorted female figures and a mother in anguish symbolize desolation and agony.
A screaming horse symbolizes betrayal and the betrayal of innocence, possibly representing the Spanish Republic.
A bull character appears indifferent, potentially representing General Franco overseeing the chaos.
A female figure holds a lantern, symbolizing the electric light and humanity's exposure to the horrors of man's brutality.

Explore the political and social history of the world when the modern art era began.
Examine the impact of World War I, science, and psychology on the creation of modern art.
Discuss the modernists in society and how this affected the art produced in this era.

Context provides meaning and understanding to something that exists on its own.
Modern art has been heavily influenced by events in society: political, religious, psychological, war, and technology.
World War I, science, and psychology are important in understanding modern art.
Modern art can be difficult to understand without context.

Humans have an innate ability to judge, often based on limited information.
Examples:
- Judging a new kid at school based on appearance.
- Judging a coach's behavior without knowing their personal circumstances.
- Judging a teacher's demeanor without understanding their personal struggles.
The U.S. judicial system aims to avoid immediate judgment, gathering information before making a decision.
Understanding the context of artwork helps in appreciating its meaning and the message the artist is trying to convey.

The early 20th century saw a lot of war and tremendous changes.
World War I:
- Major changes to Europe's political systems and societal views.
- New technology implementation: machine guns, gas warfare.
- Mass loss in population.
- Originally known as "The Great War" or "The war to end all wars".
Humanity began to question itself and its capacity for destruction.
1917: Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, overthrowing the monarchy and instituting communism.
Government overthrow in Mexico by the working class.
The United States emerged as a major economic power after World War I.
1929: The stock market crash led to a major economic and emotional depression in the United States.
Fascism grew in Italy under Mussolini, and National Socialism developed in Germany under Adolf Hitler.
World War II: Another mass destruction of humanity.
These events profoundly affected the psyche of artists, influencing their work dramatically.

Rapid technological development in the early 20th century.
New technologies: electricity, radio, automobile, mass production, radar, movies, airplanes.
Albert Einstein's theory of relativity shook the world, replacing Newtonian science with a dynamic and unpredictable world.
Discovery that matter is not stable at the atomic level and can produce tremendous energy.
Altered concept of time and space, where everything is relative, and the world is not stable.
Artists responded to these scientific developments.

The study of the mind developed during this time.
Sigmund Freud and his notion of the human psyche:
- Studies of the human unconscious.
- Book: The Interpretation of Dreams.
- Powerful, irrational, unconscious forces drive human beings.
- The human conscious has tremendous urges for love and power.
- Perpetual search for a balance between the rational and irrational.
Pavlov's studies on conditioned reflexes:
- Animals could be conditioned or trained. (Dogs salivating to the bell).
- Human beings could also be conditioned if the environment and external stimuli were controlled.
- Political leaders used this to their advantage through propaganda and censorship.
  - Nazi Germany was created by using this theory on conditioning people.

Modernists challenged the rapidly changing society and questioned traditions and conventions.
The world was being tipped upside down, and things that were once stable were now unstable.
Modern art reflected this development in modern society.
Modernists' work was often scrutinized and criticized as a publicity stunt, childish, untrained, or politically subversive.
Marcel Duchamp's iron with nails is a metaphor for the world they lived in.

Modern art was greatly influenced by a changing society.
Artwork is a product of experiences in environments.
Changes in technology, politics, war, scientific and social theories, and psychology played a major role in the development of modern art.
Understanding the context of the world helps in observing, studying, and learning about modern art.
Modern art can reveal a lot of information if we know the context and can understand the message the artist is trying to convey.