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Tradition and Innovation in Modern Painting

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Tradition and Innovation in Modern Painting MODULE ONE Tradition and Innovation in Modern Painting The selected works are among the most iconic in MoMA’s collection. They share a common medium — painting — and represent various steps in the development of new artistic languages at the turn of the twentieth century. They illustrate developments in modern art and demonstrate how celebrated artists have built on and broken with artistic tradition to forge new ground in representation and artistic practice. Given the focus on innovation, the works are arranged chronologically. This sequence allows the conversation to progress historically and shows how each work builds on tradition to bring about innovation. MODULE Discussion Questions and Art-Historical Information ONE 8 Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night. 1889 André Derain. London Bridge. 1906 Ε What do you notice first when you look at Ε What time of day do you think is depicted in this this painting? painting? How can you tell? Ε How would you describe the colors? Ε Why do you think Derain uses the colors that he does? What is the emotional effect of his color Ε How do you feel when you look at this painting? choices on the viewer? What in the painting makes you feel that way? Ε The title of this work is London Bridge. Can you The Starry Night, by Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), imagine London looking the way it is represented is among the most recognizable images in the history here? Why or why not? of art, and certainly one of the most reproduced. It is a landscape Van Gogh painted in Saint-Rémy, in the André Derain (1880–1954) was a member of the south of France. The painting is a quintessential French group of artists who came to be known as example of the artist’s short and textured brushstroke. the Fauves, or “wild beasts.” Their use of color, Furthermore, Van Gogh does not adhere to traditional often not corresponding to reality, earned them this uses of color but instead favors an imaginative, expres- title. In the early twentieth century, Derain left Paris sive palette, as in the rolling blue mountains in the to travel to London, where he painted numerous background and the bright-yellow stars in the sky. His cityscapes, frequently set along the River Thames, style influenced generations of artists who appreciated including this rendition of London Bridge. In his his sense of drama and unconventional use of color. new surroundings, Derain continued his exploration of perception and color in his innovative style. MODULE ONE 9 Pablo Picasso. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. 1907 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Street, Dresden. 1908 Ε What is the first word that comes to your mind Ε What type of place is represented in this painting? when looking at this painting? Ε Does anything in the painting give you a sense of Ε How is the representation of these figures different the time period depicted? from that in traditional paintings? Consider the Ε What words would you use to describe the overall shape of the figures and their facial expressions, mood of this work? proportions, and colors. Ε This painting is eight feet tall and over seven feet During the nineteenth century, the population in wide. What are the emotional effects of the scale Dresden and other German cities skyrocketed, of this work? Why do you think Picasso created yet Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938) wrote, “The such a large painting? more I mixed with people the more I felt my loneli- ness.” As a member of Die Brücke (The Bridge), This work by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) is considered a German Expressionist art movement, Kirchner to be among the most important paintings of the investigated the expressive potential of color, form, twentieth century. Picasso innovated at multiple levels, and composition in depictions of everyday German exploring the formal possibilities of painting and life. In Street, Dresden he highlights the relationship radically shifting the experience of the viewer. Geo- between individuals and their urban environment, metric shapes are used to delineate the women, as if including the other people present. Through formal they are seen from multiple perspectives. Picasso elements he conveys a sense of the highly congested incorporated the traditional motif of female nudes as street and at the same time the separateness and well as African art, as seen in the masklike faces of emotional isolation between the figures. the two women on the right. TURN AND TALK: Share a personal story of a TURN AND TALK: In preliminary sketches Picasso trip to a big city. Did this experience take place included two male figures in this composition— during your childhood or more recently? a sailor and a doctor — but ultimately chose not Do you prefer cities, small towns, or suburbs? to include them. How would these figures have How do you feel when you are in a city? altered the composition and your interpretation of the scene? How would you change the scene? MODULE Art-Making Activity ONE In this module, we looked at different ways artists have altered traditional forms and styles in paint- 10 ing. Ask participants to create a simple landscape image (for example, trees or mountains) using acrylic, tempera, or watercolor paints on paper. They can depict the scene any way that they like. Once the first version of this landscape has been made, ask them to re-create the landscape on a different piece of paper. This time ask them to change either the color palette (for example, use colors that are not representative of what they really see) or the technique for applying paint (for Umberto Boccioni. The City Rises. 1910 example, use the tip of the brush, large brush- strokes, or a smaller paintbrush). Afterward, hold Ε Are there figures or objects that you can recognize the works up side-by-side and discuss how the in this painting? If so, what and where are they? changes made have altered the overall appear- What could they symbolize? ance of the landscape. Ask participants about the motivation behind the changes. Repeat the Ε The title of this work is The City Rises. How activity with different materials and techniques as does knowing this title affect the way you view many times as participants would like or as the the painting? schedule allows. Ε What is the significance of brushstroke in this work? How does it contribute to the mood of the painting? In 1906 Umberto Boccioni (1882–1916) moved from the Italian countryside to Paris, where he was inspired by the modern city and by the new technologies avail- able to him. After meeting Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, founder of the Futurist movement, Boccioni, along with other Italian artists, shifted the movement beyond writing into visual art. The goal of these artists was to abandon nostalgia for Italy’s past and propel society into the future by embracing technological advance- ments. Boccioni integrated notions of modernity and technology into his paintings not only through depic- tions of dynamic cities but also through optical distortion and blurred lines and figures, which capture the move- ment of the city like a camera would. MODULE TWO Images of America The selected works offer glimpses of life in the United States during the twentieth century. The images include scenes created by artists from different countries and offer a range of interpretations of both urban and rural life. The chronological sequence allows for a discussion of the important changes that were occurring not only in American history but also in the development of art. Throughout the discussion, consider how American culture and identity are defined and represented in visual art. Discussion Questions and Art-Historical Information MODULE TWO 12 Edward Hopper. Gas. 1940 Jacob Lawrence. In the North the Negro had better educational facilities. 1940–41 Ε Is there anything in this painting that strikes you as distinctly “American”? Why or why not? Ε Who are the figures in this painting? Where do you think they are? Ε What elements of the landscape are familiar to you, if any? Ε Consider the title of this work. Do you think this work depicts educational facilities in the North or Ε If this painting were to depict a present-day the South? Why? gas station, how would it differ from the one seen here? Ε Have you or your family ever moved to another region, and, if so, what were the motivations for Edward Hopper (1882–1967) studied illustration and the move? painting at the New York Institute of Art and Design, where he and his fellow students were encouraged Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000) is among the best-known to create realistic depictions of modern life. Because twentieth-century American artists. Throughout abstraction reigned supreme then, many critics his lengthy artistic career, Lawrence concentrated on considered Hopper and his colleagues to be painting depicting the history and struggles of African Americans, in a style that was all but obsolete. Eventually, though, and his work often portrays important periods in his work came to be considered an important precur- African American history. Lawrence was only twenty- sor to a generation of Pop artists and Photo-Realist three when he completed the sixty-panel series of painters. Most of Hopper’s paintings concentrate on paintings originally entitled Migration of the Negro. the subtle interactions of human beings with each This series depicts the Great Migration of African other and/or their surroundings. Americans from the rural South to the urban North, of which Lawrence’s parents were a part. The paintings were shown in New York and brought him national recognition after they were featured in a 1941 issue of Fortune magazine.
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