Discussions Replies Education - Coursework Example

?Week 8 discussion replies Respond your mates’ replies about the following question within the existing document there is no need to create another document. Your posts should comment on the subject and then push the topic further by either introducing a new idea or asking a question somehow. Post should also be at least 90 words minimum each. What relationships are evident between 20th century culture and the art of the 20th century? Which 20th century artist do you think best represented social and cultural trends of that time period in his or her work? Defend your choice. 1. Posted: by: Margarett   Both art and culture have been the significant parts of earlier centuries. If we explore the association between arts and culture that existed in the 20th century, we come to know that there had been a close connection between them. For example, artists of the 20th century represented the overall culture of that century through their artworks. 20th century is known as the beginning of today’s era of modernism. The artists of the 20th century greatly revealed the elements of modernism, expressionism, and abstractions in their artworks. Moreover, the artists of the late 20thcentury also revealed through their artworks the need for change and peace that people wanted after the two big events of war that occurred in the first half of the century. In my view, the artist who best represented the social and cultural trends of his time period through his artworks was Pablo Picasso. He was a Spanish painter and sculptor who reinvented the foundations of art in the 20th century through including the shadow of ongoing movements and overall environment in his artworks. My Response: Taking it a step further, it seems to me that the artists of the early 20th century were increasingly aware of the progression of art. What I mean is, the artists, although sometimes separated by continents appeared to be more aware and cognizant of what other artists were working on, what inspired them, the evolution of art during this time took much more rapid steps than say art a hundred years before. Obviously the industrial age and the beginning of the technological revolution had something to do with that – but one can’t help but wonder if art and culture were not even more closely connected with the artists of the 20th century than it had ever been before. 2. Posted by: Andrea   Picasso is a great example. His art is so very different than the art of his predecessors.  In a sense, artists like him were taking big risks, departing from the norm! Class, what do you think it was that gave people the impetus to begin taking bigger risks in terms of art and music during this time?  My Response: Andrea, good point - Picasso definitely departed from the norm! However, art in the early 20th century was all about deviating from the norm and creating new ways of expression. Whereas art in past centuries had been more about gradually adopting new styles and mimicking the masters, art of the 20th century evolved at such a rapid and break neck pace that artists seemed to be doing all possible to express their own tastes and differentiate themselves. This collective attitude is what proved 20th century art to be so diverse and varied in such a short time scale. 3. Posted: by: Dawna The other century ushered a new way of thinking into the art world.  With the world still recovering from the atrocities of WWI, many artists reflected this in their style.  A new form of art was starting, the ism movement.  Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, and German Expressionism.  Pablo Picasso of course, was a huge figure in this movement, with his extreme style and use of colors.  Many people that were used to more traditional art found his style and type of art disturbing and confusing.  I feel the one artist that encapsulates the time though would have to be Ernest Hemingway.  His point of view writing styles of WWI and help express the feelings after the war and the feeling of loss that many felt.  It is hard to choose just one great artist from this time.  The photos that were taken during the depression certainly captures that moment in time, and the feeling of hopelessness that most American's felt.  Louis Armstrong help spread jazz to people who may not have ever heard that style of music.  Thru his words he told the stories that many black American's may have felt, and certainly touched generations of jazz and music lovers.    My Response: Dawna, I agree. I think that more than trying to make sense of all of the madness, many times artists were trying to prove the opposite. Whether in paintings or in music, the art of the early 20th century was at times trying to show that there was no sense in anything. This loss of faith and in humanity may be seen across the board, especially in post-WWI art. The loss of life coupled with the destruction of Europe caused many artists to be without hope for the future. As such, the art often displays a total hopelessness and lack of meaning in life and in humanity. 4. Posted: by: Andrea You give some great examples, Dawna. Remembering that people were recovering from WWI is important and I can't help but think that a collective feeling of unrest had a lot to do with the spread of groundbreaking music and art. The experience of the country being at war seems to break down the walls that hold people in certain modes of thinking and causes them to "think outside the box" so to speak. Class, what do you think? My Response: I completely agree. Not only had a generation of the youth of the continent of Europe been mutilated, the old world order was in shambles and the uncertainty of what would come next is painfully evident in all forms of art during the period. Picasso is a fine example of this uncertainty; although a lot of others exist as well. Germany was bankrupted, France had huge swaths of its countryside destroyed, England like the others had suffered heavy personnel losses. Russia was no more – a rising Soviet Union in the east threatened the old balance of power. In effect – all that once was secure and certain had collapsed in but a few brief years. Naturally, this feeling of uncertainty is reflected in the art of the time. 5. Posted by: Andrea A big difference here is the role of religion. With the other time periods and cultures that we studied, religion was a key player in artistic expression. With the art of the 20th century we see a huge departure from religion and even some art that questions it or mocks it! I find this very interesting. We can see in a way how humanity is maturing, almost as if this time period represents the rebellious adolescence of humanity. Thoughts on this? My Response: Again, due to the massive loss of life experienced in WWI, faith in any higher power, in life itself, in love, in hope, was all but lost. Although these artists were pushing the envelope of denying a supreme authority, humanity during this time was more in doubt of a divine being than probably at any time before. The Scopes Trial in the United States coupled with the advance of the ideas of Darwinism led many artists to outright deny the existence of a supreme entity – something that would have been unheard of merely 20 years before that time. 6. Posted by: Kimberly A relationship that is evident between the 20th century culture and the art of the 20th century is modernism. This can be seen through expressionism and the use of abstraction in artwork. One of the factors worked into artwork that was a large part of cultural change was life after the war. After the war, people were ridden with depression and were desperate for change and renewal. All of this can be seen in paintings, architecture, literature, and music. Many of the artists from the 20th century went against the grain with the avant-garde art movement that was pioneered by Spanish painter Pablo Picasso. Most of Picasso’s art display the cultural trends of the 20th century and is best known for cubism and constructed sculptures. His artwork Guernica portrays a German bombing Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso’s style changed as he experimented with different theories, techniques and ideas. Much of his work paved the way for the revolution of art. My Response: I agree, Picasso was a visionary, but doubtless he did not think himself a visionary at the time. He like a host of other artists were not only trying to express themselves through art but to be relevant to the changes in the world that were occurring – both in art and culture. Furthermore, I agree that because people were ridden with depression and were desperate for change and renewal this led to the “roaring twenties” as it is called - a time in which hedonism and living for the moment trumped the old lifestyles of conservatism and modesty. 7. Posted by: Eric To me the main event in the 20th century was the rise and the inevitable fall of the USSR. The massive wave of hysteria and panic consumed and directed culture of the time and in the USSR the art that the artists were allowed to make were a constant subject of scrutiny. And from this wave of panic and the onslaught of the Iron Current produced the most influential Russian composers in history. The works of Shostakovich are imbedded into the history of the time as he was forced to censure his work. And it was from this censorship we get his 5th Symphony, a piece of music that has been of must debate in history. He wrote the music so to please the leaders of the USSR but in a way of such irony and controversy that it speaks out beyond the rest and directly to the listener. Other great composers of history such as Rachmaninoff and his emotional pianoforte concertos. Wonderful works of masterwork from Prokofiev and the most personally the most important and grand, Stravinsky with his Rite of Spring. These Russian composers would not be as great as they are from the harsh hand of the USSR, to me the most important influence in the 20th century to both the culture of the people and the art that was subjugated form it.  My Response: Although I agree, its hard to say that the Russian composers could not have been great if it were not for the repression of the Soviet Union. There were many wonderful Russian composers before the Bolsheviks took power as well. However, this does not discount the works of Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and others. What is unique about these Russian composers during this time is that the realities of Soviet censorship led their music to be much more conservative as compared to the music of their Western colleagues. As a result, the Russian composers of the time almost provide a bridge between the late Romantic period of classical music and the Modern period. 8. Posted by: Michael I think the relationship between cultures and the art of the 20th century basically can be drawn from, do I dare to say, but the movement from religion to individualism or individual think and imagination. During this time period the introduction of Surrealism, Modernism, and Dada just to name a few that led to the artist really using their imagination on their art. This also moved the art world from a period I like to call religionist, that is where most artwork was based on religious beliefs of that time to individualism, where an artist painting what he wanted or felt in his heart and not trying to appease the people around him or her. Which 20th century artist do you think best represented social and cultural trends of that time period in his or her work? Defend your choice. If I had to draw it down to just one, it would have to be O’Keeffe because her expression of nature with an abstract twist, that really represented the use colors and shading to make her work unique.   My Response: Michael, great points! I agree, since the unspoken laws governing art were loosened, artists were now free to express themselves, their thoughts, their biases, their true motives, their questions, and their disbelief in ways that were never before possible. The rules of the world had changed and with them the rules of art. Because the world had become so schizoid and splintered is the reason we have such a diversity of talents represented in such a short time period around this time. Read More