Modern Art and Postmodern Art - Thesis Example

Modern art and postmodern art Modern art involves artistic work produced during the period running between 1860s and 1970s; it denotes the style of art created during that era. Modern artists throw aside the traditional arts and experimented with new style. Contemporary art was the term coined for art having been produced since the 1950s. Not all the art labeled as contemporary art is postmodern art as the term encompasses artists who worked within modernist and postmodern traditions. Ideas which had been turned down by the modern artists were re-established later. For example, representation was re-established in the works of painting. Other various traditional objects and techniques have returned into art as well. Shifts from modern to post modern art have particular dates which differ from region to region. In Europe the shift is believed to have occurred in 1914, while in America it happened between 1962 and 1968. The following paper will outline post modernism and modernism in art through an argument that claims post modernism art captures styles from past periods and mixes them in a way which ignores their original use and redefines their use. Works of Art A work of art may refer to an aesthetic item or a creation that is artistic. Other terms for it include art piece, art work or art object. Art work can pertain to the following: Objects that have been designed with aim of creating aesthetic appeal, as well as have a functional purpose, for example, a table lamp. Objects that have been designed with the sole purpose of creating aesthetic appeal, such as jewelry. Forms of fine art, such as paintings and sculptures. Architectural and landscape designs. A visual computer program, photograph or film. A work of conceptual or performance art. Live performance productions, such as theatre, ballet and opera. Interactive games. In relation to visual arts, a work of art refers to physical two dimensional or three dimensional objects that are professionally established to fulfill a primarily aesthetic function. An artist’s “body of work” may also be considered as a work of art. The term is very popular in art galleries, museums, cultural heritage curators by the interested community. Objects that document conceptual art works but are not necessarily accepted by artistic conventions may also be classified as art objects. Visual arts can be referred to as art practices that make works that are naturally graphic. This may include ceramics, drawings, painting, sculptures, printmaking, design, crafts, as well as modern visual arts, such as photography, film making and architecture. Included within visual arts are the applied arts, such as interior design, graphic design, fashion design and industrial design, as well as decorative art. There exists a growing tendency of some regions of the world to increase the privilege of painting and sculpture. In the Western and East Asian culture, painting has been seen as portraying, to a very high degree, the imagination of an artist. According to the Chinese, scholar painting was the most highly valued style of portraying art. What makes an art work influential? The following paper will provide an analysis of various works of art and how they have developed over time to serve their purpose. Every generation is outlined by imagery. Possibly, the nineties was the grime association for the present generation. For the eighties, the iconic figure of Madonna led the generation from its grim point. For every century, there is an incidence that describes a generation and for each occasion, there is a picture that catches the moment. Such artworks noticed by the generations that have experienced hardships make artworks inspiring and influential. No individual ought to be immune from disapproval. As a result, works of art are not even the countless masters of art world, they are human beings. Artists have to treat their artworks as they look at acclaimed workings of prodigy made by artistes far skilled than we are. Connections between the various forms of artworks create attraction of patrons and clientele by the masterworks. The result is regularly a group of representations of the innovative artwork by the artiste himself or his workspace. The main connection amongst the various forms of postmodern and modern artworks to be discussed in the following paper is witnessed by masterworks. Ceramic Art Ceramic art is used to refer to artifacts made with clay and raw material. It involves a process of pottery. Ceramic objects may be classified as fine art, industrial art, decorative art or applied art objects. Traditionally, clay was the main product used to produce ceramic products. The products were shaped and then subjected to heat. There is artistic evidence of ceramic arts in cultures, such as Chinese, Mayan, Japanese and Korean in the 18th century. The various elements of ceramic art include painting as a means of decoration, carving, glazing and other methods. In modern times, ceramics can be defined as the skill and art of creating objects using lifeless materials which are not organic by subjecting them to heat. It, however, does not include glassware products. A leading potter who excellently began potting aged five years took grown learning pottery classes from the age of 12. Simultaneously, half a decade afterwards tuned out to be appreciated to Geoffrey whiting. A follower of the renowned studio potter leach, which the apprentice would eventually compose a biography. The idea of ceramic artworks would have been based solely on efforts from individual potters and artists. Drawing As a visual art, drawing makes use of various drawing tools to spot a two-dimensional intermediate. Drawing is the practice of a varied range of instruments and methods to produce an image. Marks are made on a surface by applying pressure from tools, such as pencils, pens, crayons, color pencils, charcoal pastels and markers. The marks are made on paper, cardboard, plastics, leather, canvas and boards. This medium has been a popular means of communication through human history. It is observed as one of the unpretentious and most operational technique of transmitting information. Traditional drawings were monochrome or had very little color. Modern drawings incorporate colors by using crayons and color pencils. Digital tools which have the ability to simulate these effects may also be used. Among the techniques used include line drawing, hatching, scribbling, crosshatching, stippling and blending among others. Drawing can be drawn back to 16,000 years ago in France and Egypt. By the 15th century, European draftsmen, such as Sandro Boticelli and Leornado da Vinci, would treat drawing as an art in itself rather than a stage that was to prepare for painting and sculpture. Notable draftsmen in the 20th century include Pablo Picasso, Jules Pascin, Alphone Mucha among others. Painting Painting can be seen as the practice smearing coloring to a surface like paper, piece or a hedge. In an imaginative intellect, it denotes the utilization of this operation combined with drawing and composition to produce the expressive and conceptual intention of the artist. Painting can be dated back 32,000 years ago in the Chauvet and Lascaux caves in Southern France. In the tombs of ancient Egypt, paintings of human figures can be found. The Greeks also contributed to painting significantly. Impressionist paintings are characterized by relatively small, thin brush strokes. The early Impressionists went against the principles of academic painting. Initially, landscapes, still life and portraits were painted in the studio. Impressionists discovered that the transient effects of light could be captured by using the plain air technique. Overall visual effects were portrayed as opposed to details. Short “broken” brush strokes were used to achieve the effect of color vibration. Monet, Sisley, Morisot and Pissaro were among the notable impressionists of that era. Initially, painters would make their own paint using dry pigment powders mixed with linseed oil. Premixed paints in lead tubes was a development facilitated indoor and outdoor working for the artists and allowed them to work more spontaneously. Young painters took impressionism a step further towards the end of the 19th century. This was done by using geometric forms and unnatural color to depict emotions. This was known as post impressionism. Post impressionists of particular note are Vincent van Gogh, a Dutchman who sketched on the resilient rays of the south and Toulouse-Lautrec, thought of for his intense portraits of dark life in Paris. Modern artists have revolutionized the practice of painting to include collage which began initially with cubism. Modern painters have included use of various materials such as cement, wood, straw and sand to bring out texture. Such works have been portrayed by artists such as Jean Dubufett and Anselm Kiefer. A number of modern artists are now using Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter among other programs to achieve digital canvas. Photography Photography is a work of art which involves creating images by electronic means and a carbon copy sensor or chemically making use of a photographic silver screen. Photography is used for various purposes such as recreation, scientific study, business and manufacturing. Photography is seen to capture more detail and information than other traditional mediums. Its invention can be dated back to the early 19th century. The first permanent image was produced in 1822 by a French inventor, Nicephore Niepce. Traditional photography made it difficult for photographers who worked in remote locations to access processing facilities and this gave rise to digital photography. 21st century photography is characterized by digital operation whereby digital cameras have become popular in the society. Film photography however continues to serve many users. 75% of professional photographers opt to continue using films according to a survey by Kodak. Printmaking Print making refers to a process of creating art work by printing. It is normally done on paper. It is normally aimed at maintaining the element of originality rather than just a photographic reproduction of painting. This process has the capability of producing multiple of the same piece of art. The pieces produced may not be referred to as copies but as original since they are not a reproduction of another work of art. As such, they can correctly be referred to as impression. They are created by transferring ink from a matrix to paper. These matrices may include metal plates, blocks of wood, stones among others. When using wood, the artist draws a design on the plank of wood using sharp tools to carve the design into the wood. The surface of the wood was then inked using a brayer. An example of this technique is one used by Taring Padi. In this technique, images were curved into a wooden surface called a cukilan then smothered with printers ink before passing it onto media such as paper or canvas. When using metal plates, engravers would use a hardened steel tool known as a burin to cut the design into a metal plate, usually made of copper. This process was developed in Germany in the 1930s. Artists using this technique included Pablo Picasso and Edward Hopper. The 21st century has seen the evolution of digital printing. Digital printing refers to the use of digital printers instead of traditional printing press to produce images. The images can be printed to papers, cloths or plastic canvas. Artists who used this technique included Ralph Goings and Enrique Chagoya. Filmmaking Film making refers to the process of making a motion-picture through scriptwriting, shooting and recording, animation, editing and finally distributing to an audience. This technique involves a large number of people and may take time to be completed. Time may range from months to years. Films are artifacts created by specific cultures to reflect the cultures of those who created them. Films are considered to be an art form that entertains as well educates a citizenry. The term commonly used to refer to films in the United States is movie. The history of film can be dated back to the 1860s where an English photographer used 24 cameras to produce a series of images of a galloping horse. This was arguably the first ‘motion picture.’ In the 1920’s a new technology enabled production of sound films. This technology could enable film makers attach a soundtrack to each film in a synchronized manner. Sculpture Sculpture is a three-dimensional effort of art which entailed shaping of hard materials such as marble stone, metal, glass, wood, clay, textiles among others. Materials were worked on by carving them, assembling them by welding and hardening by firing or molding and casting. Sculpture has been sometimes referred to as plastic art because of the ability to mold or modulate it. Environmental art and sculpture are some of the modern forms of sculpture now being practiced outdoors. A popular form of sculpture being practiced in China, Japan, Canada and Russia is Ice sculpture which uses ice as the raw material. Others include snow sculptures usually carved out of a block of snow which was later packed compactly into a preferred from, kinetic sculptures are those designed to move and include mobiles. Sound sculptures include harps and other conventional musical instruments. Other forms of contemporary art included art toys produced by an artist by the name Takashi Murakami. The unattached and liberation sculpture of the old Greeks advanced from the inflexibility of ancient forms of sculpture artworks. Afterwards, it turned out to be in the course the orthodox and Hellenistic regions phases, the images of the knowledgeable idealization of its leading theme, the human form. The idea of sculptures was so superbly realized through naturalistic handling as to turn out to be the motivation for hundreds of years of European art. Landscape architecture Landscape architecture involves designing landmarks and structures to achieve environmental and aesthetic results. Landscape architecture is a term used to refer to the illustration of natural features such as mountains, valleys, trees. It is especially used to refer to art where a wide view becomes the main subject. Its elements are, in this case, arranged into a coherent and concord composition such that the objects may connect to the central idea. The sky and the weather are usually included in the view as an element of composition. Landscape art is believed to have evolved from paintings from the Western Culture and Chinese works of art. Landscaping has been viewed as China’s greatest contribution to the world of art work. Landscape photography also became popular in the dawn of the 19th century. Operas Operas are forms of art in which various singers unite text and musical scores to produce dramatic works of art. It was usually displayed in a theoretical setting. It incorporated elements such as acting, scenery, costumes and dances. The performance was usually done in an opera house and was accompanied by an orchestra. Operas may be dated back to 16th century in Italy and later spread to Germany and France in the 17th century. The most popular form of Italian opera was Opera seria. Today, Mozart can be termed as the most notable artist of the late 18th century opera. He started out with Opera seria but later gained fame from his comical Italian operas such as The Magic Flute. The early 19th century was characterized by the works of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini which are still performed today. The 20th century has seen the modern works of Phillip Glass and John Adams who used modern styles, such as minimalism. The invention of recording technology has seen various singers increase their circle of fans by performing operas on radio and television. Opera companies now have their performances being presented in local cinemas throughout the United States and other countries. Internet technology has also changed the manner in which operas are consumed by the audience. An example is Glyndebourne Festival Opera company which produced ‘Tristan und Isolde’ by Wanger online. Computer Art Computers are common tools that have been used in visual arts since the 1960s. This began with the invention of the Henry Drawing machine by an artist by the name Desmond Paul Henry. He displayed his work in London at the Reid Gallery. Computer art involves the capturing and creating of images and forms and then editing those images and forms and the final rendering or printing. Digital technologies are now being integrated into traditional disciplines but this has created a blur. For example, merging algorithm art with traditional painting may result in an end product which is difficult to perceive. Defining the end product of computer art may thus be difficult. Computer art is evolutionary in nature due to the dynamics of technology. Notable artists of computer art include John Lansdown, Ronald Davis and Perry Welman among others. Applied methodology in computer artworks and contributions to modernism and postmodern forms of artworks include: Standing/role/purpose of the physical art of object in a computerized and post-internet world Communal value of the dematerialized means of video and computerized multimedia Self-aware internalization of the art world, 1990’s to 2005 Lightly decentered, the art world reconfigures around New York, Berlin and London The rise of Beijing and Asian nodes: additional artists founding global identity. Conclusion Many works of art are at first denied artistic merit but later become accepted and highly valued in museums and private collections. Works by the Impressionists and abstract artists are such examples. Art objects should represent the artist’s technical skill and be a product of his unique labor. In so doing, a work of art may become influential to a society. This notion is applied according to an art theorist by the name Marcel Duchamp. Postmodern stylization includes takeoff, imitation, and recombinant styles, operation of styles disconnected from past or out-of-date backgrounds and groups. Nonstop postmodern accumulation of debris from traditional and political history holds antique and home critiques. Recombinant art from styles and designs of computer arts are brought about by fresh materials, backgrounds, mixtures and scale of the designers’ ideas. Work Cited Kramer, Hilton. The Triumph of Modernism: The Art World, 1985-2005. Penguin Publishers, 2006. Print. Read More