Title: Cultural Changes that took place during the 20th century as shown in the aesthetics of the period in reference to art.
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Art and culture in the changing times
Art and culture is important feature that guide the lifestyle of a community. Most of the art pieces used by different communities have a story behind it. Art is a representation of a community’s culture and is quite hard to change. Societies defend their art and culture with a passion. Art and culture defines a community. This paper presents change in art in the American society through the early 20th century. The change and modernization in art shifted from reserved and rigid cultural art to art that was more expressive of emotions and feeling.
The armory show
Art enthusiasts and critics had talked about this event for a long while before it actually took place. The show had been arranged and planned for by an architect turned art enthusiast Mr. Oscar. People all around America knew that the armory show would cause a huge wave in the art scene not only in America but all around the world as America was the pace setter for the world. The hype was doing rounds in all art forums, way before the event had occurred but somehow people knew that it would not disappoint. Expectations were high (Matisse,).
The show took place at a time when art and architecture were having a revolution. New designs had been introduced in Europe from which people had not talking about. Those who were pro-cubism received both insults and praises from different groups of people. The most significant reaction at this time was protests by students from the Chicago art institute. Henry Matisse a creative artist at the time who supported cubism was one of those who received the most insults. Critics of this new form or art claimed that it was degrading the human image and morals. At this time the world was quite reserved and such rapid changes in art were not warmly welcomed(Matisse,). The sculptures molded in this form of art were thought to be obscene and immoral, given that they were put in public places for display.
One thing during the armory show that caused an outburst was the nude descending of Duchamp on the stair case. To him it was an expression of modern art and design while to those who had attended it was bringing out the worst image in an art forum. 1913 was too early to introduce a new dimension in art presentation. The world had not seen anything like this and in some way art was generally considered immoral. People did not quite understand that art was a form of expression(Matisse,).
This was the best time to introduce this form of art to the world. Something had to be done to make art dynamic and bring a spur in the field. It took great art enthusiasts to bring a revolution in art and culture, a step which seemed to be at the wrong time but set the pace to a different form of art. The art designs that were available at the time had been exhausted, this was something new. Criticizing this step would not be right because it was the rebirth of art(Matisse,).
The Harlem renaissance
Visual art presented a different way to view culture and the artist as an individual. The type of art that an artist presented made him or her get judged using the interpretation of the art.by this time people had begun seeing the good side of this kind of art and they had embraced it. Literature writers had begun writing about this form of art and critics had begun softening their hearts towards this form of art(Matisse,). The beauty was now visible; it was something new the paintings and portraits were attractive and could be interpreted to bring out so many meanings.
Art in the periods preceding 1913 was used to directly represent society’s culture. The revolution changed that, art was now a form of expression. Emotions and special moments would now be captured through art and preserved for future memories. Artists were able to ignore criticism and continue making their pieces until they managed to defend cubism.
Modernism in the 20th century
This is modern age philosophy in art. It involves looking deep into art and interpreting it to read the mind of the artist see the beauty of art pieces and connect with the mind of the artist. Aesthetics involves seeing what the artist saw as he or she created an art piece. People do this to take time and appreciate art designs and see out of the main picture(Zivas,). This was and is mainly done by people who take time to meditate, analyze and think deeply about a piece of art. In connection to world war one and world war two, historians refer to this in relation to bad things that took place. The events of the two world wars were horrific.
With modernization, war seems as punishment from God. In previous periods, war had a personal approach where people at war fought physically and victory was achieved by those who were physically fit. The effects of modernization were felt during the war, as it was more dangerous and less physically demanding. War was mechanized, where guns and ammunition were used and this was termed as weapons of mass destruction. From the beginning of the 20th century, all we could do about war is watching it happen(Zivas,).
People in the world seemed less human and more evil. They seemed to care less about how their actions would hurt or benefit those who were around them. Everything became modernized, from art to war. In art, there was a great revolution where cubism was introduced in painted art. At the same time a revolution in music and poetry was taking place. The world was changing and new designs and approaches were taking place(Zivas,).
In conclusion
Art is a representation of a society`s culture; during the past art and culture were directly linked as members of different society`s presented their culture through art like paintings, songs and dance. Changing or introducing a new dimension in art is not an easy task; it requires people who are ready to receive criticism and insults. However persistence and ignoring criticism is the best approach to bringing a change in art. Society will always be rigid and resist change to something that they hold so dearly. Art is one of those things that society takes time to adapt changes.
References
Matisse, H. (n.d.). As Avant-Garde as the Rest of Them: An Introduction to the 1913 Armory
Modernism and the 20th century: angst, aesthetics, and the abysses of horror. (n.d.). Retrieved from fiu.edu: http://www2.fiu.edu/~harveyb/HI-ModernismAngst.pdf
Raphael’s School of Athen. (n.d.). Art and Visual Culture. Retrieved from students.sbc.edu: http://www.students.sbc.edu/lollis04/ArtandVisualCulture9.htmZivas, D. A. (n.d.). Architectural aesthetics in the 20th century.
