Chapter 3.9 Late Modern and Early Contemporary Art in the Twentieth Century PART 3 HISTORY AND CONTEXT The Dada and The Bauhaus ▪ Radically changed world after World War I ▪ The brutality of mechanized war sent shock waves around the world – disillusionment, prosperity, the Jazz Age, more freedom socially ▪ Global expansion in commerce, politics, cultural traditions, communications, and travel ▪ Two different art movements that supported radically opposing reactions and ideas about modern society Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields Chapter 3.9 Late Modern and Early Contemporary Art in the Twentieth Century PART 3 HISTORY AND CONTEXT Dada ▪ Anti-art art ▪ Reaction against “rational” and the material -thought that led to devastation of WWI ▪ Name “Dada” is a nonsense word ▪ Focused on individuality, irrationality, chance, and imagination, nonsense and not making “things” Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Third Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields Marcel Duchamp 1917 Fountain Dada Art Founder Readymade & Conceptual Art Dada – The anti-art artists! stressed nonsensical. Born from the destruction of the war machines and technology of World War I, the idea of not “making” anything. Saw meaninglessness in the modern world and celebrated meaninglessness. Conceptual art- Duchamp thought of this as art, and the Unapologetically rebellious viewer’s reactions and thought about the work were the art. So, against all societal constraints his thoughts and ours are the art, not the actual object. Chapter 2.7 Alternative Media and Processes PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Conceptual Art ▪ Promotes ideas as artworks in and of themselves ◆ Downplays artworks as products ▪ Influenced by the Dada movement, which began in 1916 ◆ Marcel Duchamp’s readymades ◆ Opened up possibilities for artmaking Including everyday objects popular imagery, even just ideas Duchamp Readymades Bottle Rack 1914 & In Advance of the Broken Arm 1915 Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Max Ernst Switzerland. Birthplace of Dada 1920 Hans Arp According to the Laws of Chance 1933 He threw these shapes and where they landed is where they “stayed”. Part of his exploration of randomnesss and chance in art. Pablo Picasso, Bull’s Head, 1942. Assemblage of bicycle seat and handlebars, 13¼ x 17⅛ x 7½”. Musée Picasso, Paris, France Chapter 2.9 Sculpture PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Pablo Picasso, Bull’s Head ▪ Picasso once took the handlebars and the seat of a bicycle and combined them ▪ The artist’s intent was both a serious and a humorous attempt to redefine art ▪ A readymade- Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Louis Sullivan, Wainwright Building, 1890–91, St. Louis, Missouri Sullivan obeys his famous phrase “form follows function” by providing versatile interior space Because the steel frame supports the building, and because it is mostly located at its outer edges, the space of the interior can easily be reconfigured to meet the specific needs of the user The Wainwright Building reflects the elements of a column (base, shaft, capital) in the organization of the exterior Walter Gropius 1925 Black Shop, the Bauhaus The Bauhaus “Manifesto” Strong design, simple color use, craftsmanship, modern materials and modern technology to create the work. Art and craft boundaries were blended, one not more important than the other. A marriage of art and industry. The machine aesthetic, or “beauty of the machine” was celebrated, therefore geometric shapes and forms, simple color use and clean, simple design are the visual links to the mathematical geometry of machines. The “less is more” of Mies van der Rhoe. New modern materials and artforms were explored as well Mies van der Rohe, Neue Nationalgalerie, 1968, Berlin, Germany Chapter 2.10 Architecture PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFSe2WBtcyE Villa Savoye Tour Frank Lloyd Wright, Falling Water, 1939 Bear Run, Pa. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuZ0x5Qkgzg Falling water video Chapter 2.10 Architecture PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Contrasting Ideas in Modern Architecture: Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater ▪ Two buildings constructed about the same time, yet are based on radically different ideas about architecture ▪ Le Corbusier’s architectural designs were part of the International Style that was promoted as a universal aesthetic form that could be built in any geographical or cultural environment relatively inexpensively ◆ Saw architecture as a “machine for living” ▪ Wright did not think that a house should be a machine ◆ He believed the design of a house should respond organically to its location Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Chapter 2.9 Sculpture PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES Light and Kinetic Sculpture ▪ Sculptors who work with movement and light express their ideas in ways that would not have been possible just a century or two before ▪ These moving and lighted sculptural works, like those of the Constructivists, rely on mechanical engineering as well as the creative input of the artist Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields The Bauhaus, a group of artists and designers who celebrated the MACHINE AESTHETIC (beauty of the machine and technology), where Moholy had worked until 1928, was a hotbed of innovation in stage design, advertising, furniture design and costume design. There was a lot of interest in abstract plays, in electrical lighting devices, in rotating stages. It’s a very rich history of experimentation, and Moholy is at the center of it, and the Light Prop is a key example of that commitment. The piece was meant to produce an “architecture of light” and was part of the experimental theater experience. It was not meant to be viewed this way, it literally was meant used as a character in a movie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVnF9A3azSA The light prop if seen today… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0x730uP2yI The actual movie, and how it was meant to be viewed… László Moholy-Nagy, Light Prop for an Electric Stage, 1929–30. Exhibition replica, constructed 2006, through the courtesy of Hattula Moholy-Nagy. Metal, plastics, glass, paint, and wood, with electric motor, 59½ x 27⅝ x 27⅝”. Harvard Art Museums, Busch-Reisinger Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts Chapter 2.9 Sculpture PART 2 ▪MEDIACreated AND PROCESSES as a stage lighting device, Light Prop eventually became the main character in a film by Moholy-Nagy ▪ The work hasLászló a motorMoholy that moves-Nagy, a series of perforated discs so that they crossLight in front Prop of forthe anlighting Electric unit Stage ▪ This creates a constantly changing sculptural object, and the changes in lighting influences the environment ▪ Is it art, toy, device-what are your thoughts? ▪ The Bauhaus, where Moholy had worked until 1928, was a hotbed of innovation in stage design and costume design. There was a lot of interest in abstract plays, in electrical lighting devices, in rotating stages. It’s a very rich history of experimentation, and Moholy is at the center of it, and the Light Prop is a key example of that commitment. ▪ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVnF9A3azSA ▪ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0x730uP2yI Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields.