Art Gallery of Ontario: The Great Upheaval: Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Collection 1910-1918 - Essay Example

THE GREAT UPHEAVAL: MASTERPIECES FROM THE GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION, 1910-1918 This great collection of artistic work by renowned artists such as the works of Marc Chagall, Vasily Kandinsky, Pablo Picasso and even Piet Mondrian are on the display. In the run-up to the First World War and during the course of the same, a lot of political, societal and technological changes engulfed the world. In a similar fashion, the artists of the moment were engrossed in the endeavor to absorb the new realities which had set in as the world crossed over from the 19th century to the 20th century, and in different ways of presenting their artistic works. The works hence give a wonderful presentation, most of which are made in the rich experimental duration between 1910 and 1918. It is evident that the works depict an era of pronounced esthetic revolution that gripped the globe especially in the European world where industrialization had taken route and advancing very fast. Other examples of the changes that were on course during this tumultuous period include the economic and social upheavals occasioned by the industrial development, which in turn saw the creation of a large amount of wealth for the urban working class. The desire to create wealth and the assured employment opportunities in towns and cities had driven hordes of people to the urban centers which resulted to further completion and confusion in these centers leading to social problems and political upheavals. In this regard, the artists of the time made radical migrations from just painting the world as it physically occurred. This is mainly because the similarly radical changes that the world was undergoing made realism seem like some kind of quaint relic of other times. The modern art collection by Guggenheim was born when Hilla Rebay, a compatriot of Kandinsky was hired by Guggenheim’s wife to paint his portrait. There are indications that Guggenheim had before this been a collector of boring landscapes, and it is after this that he started keeping the works of Kandinsky. It is the works of Kandinsky, the slate of six paintings, which tracks the progression of artistic works from folksy Impressionism to fully blown abstractionism which he initiated himself, and this was Guggenheim’s favorite. Kandinsky, A Russian with a burning passion for art and the desire to move across borders of different nations had all the reasons to be a worried man in the year i914 when the First World War set in and Russia, his country and Germany being on the opposing ends. Having built his career in Germany, he envisioned his dream living in a borderless world characterized with exploration shattered, now that he was no longer welcome in Munich. Indeed, this is expressed in a catalogue kept in the current gallery of Ontario Exhibition by the name “The Great Upheaval: Masterpieces from Guggenheim Collection, 1910-1918. Among the works of other artists such as Picasso, Mondrian and Modigliani, six of the Kandinsky popular works hang in the display. Another thing which comes out strongly and across the board in all the works of the different artists is the unheard sound in the art gallery. Behind the silence of what one sees on the walls of the gallery there is every loud proclamation of the catastrophes of the First World War. The big mistake done by resolution by the Communists to take over the Russian Empire left behind massive destruction of property and loss of lives which are highly regrettable, and it is all told by the artistic works to anyone with a sense of history (Green 2012). Also, available both on the catalogue of the Art Gallery of Ontario and the exhibitions in the Guggenheim Collections, Paul Cezzane’s, Still life: Plate of Peaches. He presents a number of inanimate objects which are not able to move during the painting time. Research shows that at times, the physical fruits and objects placed on top of tables for drawing would even wither and change even before the painting was completed by Cezzane. For this reason, he would then replace them with the artificial fruits and paper flowers. Cezzane has presented a number of elements in the Plate of Peaches, which include white table cloth, a table, and peaches in a blue ceramic plate. This case of a real still life perspective as closely as possible with the still objects. The arrangement of the peaches and different coloration on the blue plate gives a mixed perspective which adds to another precarious dimension. Therefore, in its ability and tangibility, everything in the exhibition is tentative and perplexing to the viewers of this artistic work. Commonly referred to as the ‘solidifier of Impressionism’ who does not get down to drawing a picture before painting it, his works are said to be both traditional and modern. On the other side, however, these objects have no such perspectives as the aroma, sensual or even the tactile appeal. Cezzane has hence managed to suppress the temporal delights by creating no relation and visible communication between the multi-colored vegetables of Provence. This exhibition differs from the works of other artists by the fact of its multi-coloration in the presentation of its work. Again much of his works are more of the painting than sculptural. One very important and the difference with the Cezzane’s work is the Impressionism contrary to the work of other artists (Home 2007). This presentation of the stillness of life and the impressionism by Cezzane is very relevant to the time in question As for the Picasso, this is where the cubism as expressed by Picasso and Braque breaks free, and other artists come in to join the cubism and own it. This has shown a lot of departures from the original trend of impressionism by Cezzane. It had successfully fractured the surface of the painting and opened all sorts of possibilities. The rapid changes in the societal set up and the way of life beginning around 1910, was occasioned by technology and the scientific innovations which are marvelously depicted in the works of this time. There are a number of illusions and or considerations that the artist, Picasso creates in his work of this tumultuous moment. In a manner, the works of Picasso made the lovers of the traditional works rethink their approaches in trying to discern the works of painting and sculptures. They have to really reopen their minds to the understanding of the exhibition. However, it is a wonderful masterpiece for those who enjoy art with the propensities of groundbreaking experimentation. Carafe, jug and fruit ball show earlier stages of Cubism, which so far is regarded as the most innovative style of the 20th century. Though dramatically shortened, analytic cubism has been brought to complete abstraction. The surfaces of these works have been brought to sharp planes, slightly fragmented and create the illusion of perspective and volume. Also curated by Guggenheim in his collections at the Art Gallery of Ontario, there is a catalogue which works in perfect congruence with the work of the exhibitions in the Gallery of Ontario. This catalogue by Karole Vaile, available in the Art Gallery provides a powerful and useful commentary. ‘The Blue Mountain’ has depicted great shifts with the styles used by artists. Blue Mountain becomes a depiction of horses and riders. The motifs show horses, mountains and landscapes expressive in woodworks in the path towards achieving abstraction in his work (Green 2012). Through this schematic presentation, he has managed to slowly but progressively detach his presentations of imagery from nature. The figures and riders of any recognizable shapes and forms have their processions stripped, and the stripping colors have worked perfectly to trigger reactions of emotions from the discerners of the works of art. With his aim to prevent a new spiritual reality, he employed spontaneous and gradual dematerialization of different observable colors and forms, which surely contrast each other as separate patterns. This contrast of colors and strokes on the riders and the figures so identified on the plane contain a lot of relevance at this point in time, when the world geared up for one of the most regrettable periods of the history of humankind. The period that ensued later was indeed unbearable as the urge for imperialism cast different nation’s different warring factions that saw huge catastrophes (Voorhies 2001). Franz Marc’s Yellow Cow- in the same spirit of abstraction and departure from realism, Marc Franz in his artistic work of the ‘Yellow Cow’, has earnestly and successfully managed to evoke some of the conventional gender stereotypes. There is a clear contrast of the coloration of the cow and the three triangular Blue Mountains on the background. In this work by Franz, the yellow color of the cow is so much associated with gentility, sensuality and cheerful dimensions. All these attributes have been widely associated with femininity. In a wild contrast, the deep blue coloration of the three mountains can be used to depict the masculinity and the ‘spiritual intellect’, in fact, a renowned historian, Mark Rosenthal is of the idea that the frolicking yellow cow depicts the symbol of the female principle, probably, a depiction of his wife, Maria Frank. In the Blue Mountains, Rosenthal sees the portrait of Mark Franz himself and he goes ahead to suggest that this portrait would be perfect for a marriage celebration, for instance during the wedding ceremonies. As for Kokoscha’s Knight Errant, the major theme presented here is the love; his presentations in the drawing at one instance or the other show his burning passion for the Alma Mahler. The collection by Guggenheim shows presents his works in a rather systematic way, classifying some paintings as ‘Love letters in pictorial forms’ (Home 2007). In this paintings by Kokoschka, there is a marvelous presentation of troubled which had begun and somehow got troubled amidst their aspirations and adventures. There is also the depiction of the end of the love marked by the demise of his passion, Alma, at least in the paintings. The works are also a relevant depiction of the turbulent world of the time spanning from 1910 to 1918, a period of radical changes in social setups, economic and political upheavals (Voorhies 2011). For instance, the shipwreck in the stormy sea that entangles the two lovers in dismay and desperation is just but one such evidence of the violent hardships that the human race faced in almost all the spheres of life. There are no evidences however on the existence of a specific catalogue on the Knight Errant Many researchers concur that the works of Max Ernst have of great challenge to interpret, but one sure aspect is that he had also made a significant paradigm shift from expressionism. This is even more evident in his work on surrealism depicted in the ‘City with Animals’. Finally, on Piet Mondrian’s works of the time, a number of aspects can be discerned. For instance, the paintings of ‘Summer’ and the Dune in Zeeland; the landscape is monumental punctuated with a series of rough gestures of golden scar tears at the skies and background lavenders. Notably, this evokes the wild notions of the abstract expressionism. The content of the exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Ontario give a wide range of thematic aspects ranging from the economic and political upheavals to many other social dimensions and how they impacted on the human life especially during the period of turmoil, 1914 to 1918. References Voorhies, J. 2001. Pablo Picasso (1871-1973) Heilbronn Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum art. Homes, C. 2007. Understanding paradigms of art. Washington D.C.: Brooklings. Green, B. 2012. The Journey of Art. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. Read More