Art Movements of 1930s through the 1950s
(Dadaism, Cubism, Surrealism, Progaganda)
Art Movements: 1930s-1950s
Social/Intellectual Art: Political/PropagandaArt
Cubism Nazi Art
Dadaism Soviet Art
Surrealism Propaganda Posters
Expressionism &
Abstract Expressionism
Pop Art
Photorealism
BIG IDEA 1:
Simply put: technology is influencing art. The invention of the camera around 1860 fundamentally changed how art was made. Art was often used for portraiture. The camera permanently changed that.
portraiture: realistic, expensive painting of people.
Portrait: ("pore-treht")
Girl With a Pearl Earring, J. Vermeer:
BIG IDEA #2:
The anguish, horror, and destruction (triadic phrasing! i'm a nerd) of World War One and World War Two had a tremendous, HUGE impact on Europe.
Socially, Intellectually, Religiously, Europe was profoundly changed permanently & forever.
Modernism & Abstract Expressionism show, in a sense, that society is in a way broken (after all, why the Holocaust?). They also indicate humanity is trying to make sense of everything. "Art was trying find a way to express what had never happened before." (Adam K. Wilson, artist & editor, New York)
"Another factor that might be notable as to why art became more abstract during this time: with industrialization taking off, art materials would have been falling in price and commercial opportunities for artists increasing. Not a ton of new opportunities, but since most artworks from Middle Ages, Renn, etc, were commissioned on a patronage system, artists were getting a new freedom to try new things.
Art supplies weren't as cheap or ubiquitous as today, but think of how hard things were to get just a hundred years before--both art materials & a patron!" (Adam K. Wilson, artist & editor, New York)
Cubism:
Major Artists:
Pablo Picasso
George Braque
Juan Gris
Jean Metzinger (Picasso)
Braque:
Juan Gris:
DADAISM: (rejected capitalism as a source of
greed and a cause of war)
-intellectual
movement as
well as an
artistic &
literary mvmt.
-used nonsense
as a form of commentary.
Expressionism:
-echoes of Romanticism
-Van Gogh's influence can be felt here
major artists: Oskar Kokoschka (Russia)
Abstract Expressionism:
-post World War II American movement
-helps shift the center of the art world from Paris to New York (political symbolism, too: the nexus of world power is shifting from Europe to America.)
Major Artists: Jackson Pollock
Mark Rothko (he hated this term)
Willem de Kooning
Jackson Pollock:
Pollock:
Willem de Kooning (born in Netherlands, moved to
US after WW2)
Mark Rothko: (born in Russia, moves to USA)
Surrealism:
major artists:
Andre Breton
Max Celebe
Salvador Dali (hyper real; a hint of the fantastical
and elements of dream imagery)
The Elephant
by Max Celebe
Breton:
Dali:
L'Ange du Foyer ou le Triomphe du dfadfdfdfsdfsdfsdfsfby Max Ernst, 1937
Triumph of Surrealism, Max Ernst:
Pop Art:
* a reaction to commercialism
but also a commentary on
commercialism
*very big in the United Kingdom,
1950s
Famous Artist(s):
Andy Warhol Roy Lichtenstein
Warhol:
Photorealism:
Big Idea #3:
Things come full circle. Photorealism shows how Art (and Society) is now interested in capturing the realism of a subject. We see this too in politics, intellectual movements, & religion.
(Connections to Prior Knowledge:)
Romanticism
Realism
Big Idea #4:
The 20th century sees propaganda and art used as a tool of social control.
All countries do this, but a few stand out: United States, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union (Russia).
Propaganda:
a form of communication that is
aimed toward influencing
the attitude of a community
toward a cause or
position
a) usually one sided
Nazi Art:
-militarism
-obedience
_hard work
Nazi art was also very sterile & boring...
The Nazis believed art should only be done by Aryan (northern white European/Nordic) artists. As a result the Nazis banned Jewish and other artists. This so called "degenerate" art was banned in Hitler's Europe.
Ironically, though, the Nazis stole billions of dollars worth of European art owned by prominent Jewish families like the Rothschilds and Abrabanels.
"Degenerate" Art: