Three Art Styles - Dadaism, Surrealism and Impressionism - Research Paper Example

April 3, Dadaism, Surrealism, Impressionism and Consciousness This paper will consider three styles of modern art: Dadaism, Surrealism, and Impressionism. As is true with art, considering each style goes hand-in-hand with a consideration of worldviews. To consider one requires a consideration of the other. Art has both theory and application. Theory states one’s belief and therefore one’s intention, and application is the measurement of it, whether in a specific art object, a continuous art style, or in the artist’s life. This paper will look at all of these things, within the context of these three schools of art. Dadaism has always been most visibly a frame of mind. This frame of mind began as a rebellion against WW1, the bourgeoisie, the social norms of the time, the abstract and impressionistic art of the time, and finally, by the 1920’s, it became a rebellion even against itself. It was extremely negative in its critique of everything, and also self-destructive (Wasserman, 1966, 12). Dadaism began in 1915 and basically died in 1924 (Kristiansen, 1968, 457), although there is a resurrection now in what is called Neo-Dadaism, so it might be argued that it’s not neo at all but is a continuation of sorts. Perhaps it is only the loudness of the anarchy, the violence of its performance, the wildness of its manifestos 1924 (Kristiansen, 1968, 457) that has died, while the core beliefs still influence art today. Perhaps no one symbolizes the loud, outrageous and rebellious wildness of the original movement more than Baroness Else von Freytag-Loringhoven. She pushed her sexuality, fantastic costuming, immodest street roaming, and irrationality in everyone’s faces, living Dada and, in so doing, challenged the male sexual, cultural, intellectual and artistic insecurities of Dada artists Marchel DuChamp, Man Ray, Francis Picabia, and much of New York (Jones, 2005, 5). Locher argues that we are not in a post-modern era at all, but in a continuation of Dada, in that we are still reacting to and rebelling against what has happened in the past half a century (Locher, 1999). Confirming that, here are four examples of Dada by contemporary artists Jean-Marc Gaillard, Mark Bryan, and Ed Zerne. “New York”, Jean-Marc Gaillard, 1998 “Wikinger”, Jean-Marc Gaillard, 1998 (Gaillard) (Gaillard) “Dick”, Mark Bryan, 2006 “Dada Dumpster”. Ed Zerne. 2005 (Bryan) (Zerne) Surrealism is another art movement that made use of sexual themes. However, instead of the Dada Baroness, their icon was the praying mantis, an insect with a mating ritual in which the female eats the male. This theme fit nicely with Sigmund Freud’s theories, and with the male sexual insecurities of that era. Salvador Dali was particularly obsessed with this imagery and reflected it in his artistic visions. He viewed women, and his own castration anxieties, through the mating behavior of the praying mantis (Pressly, 1973, 601). Andre Breton and Paul Eluard actually raised this insect, and were highly attracted to its sexual violence (Pressly, 1973, 601). Marcel Bealu defined Surrealism, which occupied the first third of the 20th century, as the search for what is bizarre and marvelous (Matthews, 1962, 139). But this does little to narrow down exactly what surrealist painting is. It does, however, suggest that Surrealism, like Dadaism, involves a particular worldview, one which explores and exercises the imagination. In the organizational development literature, we see Surrealist art as a model for management, in that it advocates the richness of the imagination and the critical nature of play for providing creative space. In looking at Surrealist paintings, I find myself amused and charmed for that very reason, that it provides a window into the artist’s play space and invites the viewer inside, to interact in a playful spirit. Carr points out that the play spaces required by organizations are intellectual play spaces, as are those provided by Surrealist art. However, Carr cautions us that, just as a child’s creative learning space requires safety mechanisms and supervision, due to the child’s vulnerability, so also can Surrealism start out as play but encourage the escalation of neuroticism (Carr, 2003, 197). This can be seen in Dali’s and other surreal artists’ preoccupation with the erotic violence of the praying mantis and the extension of that preoccupation to the neurotic fear of male and female sexuality. The questioning of objects was always a top priority in Surrealist agenda (Golan, 1994, 50), so it is no surprise that self and other as object were also deeply probed and meaning experienced and expressed. Here are four examples of contemporary Surrealist art by four artists of the genre: Ron English, Lara Jade, Temporary Peace, and Derek Murphy. “Texas Surrealism”, Ron English, 2009 “Faceless Composition”, Lara Jade, 2007 (English) (Jade) “Rain Spell”, Temporary Peace, 2007 “Astrobama Boy”, Derek Murphy, 2011 (Peace) (Murphy) In the mid-eighteen hundreds, came a revolution which overthrew traditional European art. It started in France, with a handful of artists, and became known as Impressionism. It launched the modern art movement (Snider, 2001). Although they were insulted in the beginning, their names are well-known and highly respected today: Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Berthe Morisot, Jean Frederic Bazille, Camille Pissarro, and Edgar Degas (Snider, 2001). Paris was, at that time, the center of the art world, and the definitions and parameters of art were strictly controlled by the State and basically held to Biblical, historical and mythological themes (Snider, 2001). The Impressionists insisted that daily modern life should also be the subject of art, and they began painting urban recreation and leisure scenes. They liked to paint everyday people (Snider, 2001). This adherence to naturalistic freedom truly resonated with Americans, and many went to Paris to study with Impressionist artists. In fact, there is more Impressionist art harbored in America than in France, today (Elam, 1982, 384) They tried to capture the effects of light, and be true to how the world is actually seen. They painted outdoors, directly from nature, filling their paintings with life and color (Snider, 2001). Because the standard painting tools could not be successfully used outside the studio, they began using easels. Brighter, lighter colors were used, in contrast to the standard gray tones. They placed contrasting colors next to each other to heighten dramatic effect (Snider, 2001). They were highly influenced by the new photography, also, in its ability to capture a precise moment in time, and did their best to mimic it (Snider, 2001). Here are some examples of contemporary Impressionist art by Barbara Meikle, Phil Starke, and Heidi Malott, which demonstrate these features well. “Up Close and Personal”, Barbara Meikle, 2007 Horses of a Different Color, Barbara (Meikle, Up Close and Personal) Meikle, 2007 (Meikle) “Native American Couple, Phil Starke, 1999 “Cows in the Clover”, Heidi Malott, 2009 (Starke) (Malott) Impressionism has sustained harsh accusations of epitomizing modern decadence, in that these artists became overly absorbed with the refinement and analysis of sensation (Simpson, 2001, 468). This same accusation has been levied toward the Dadaists and the Surrealists, as well. In looking into these art movements, I have considered this, in light of the earlier stated caution about the dangers of neuroticism. It is clear that the artists involved in these movements participated in extremities of attitude and behavior, but it is also clear to me that there has been benefit from these forays into rebellion, resistance, the bizarre frontiers of the imagination, and the micro-analysis of the object environment. Drawing from Bourget and Laforgue, Simpson sees Impressionism as a model for cultural change and the transformation of consciousness (Simpson, 2001, 468). Works Cited Bryan, Mark. Dick. Art. Carr, Adrian. "Organizational Discourse as a Creative Space for Play: The Potential of Postmodernist and Surrealist Forms of Play." Human Resource Development International (2003): 197-217. Print. Elam, Caroline. "Florence. The Sala Islamica at the Bargello." The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 124, No. 951 (Jun. 1982): 382-385. Print. English, Ron. Texas Surrealism. Propaganda Art Gallery. Art Gaillard, Jean-Marc. New York. Art. Golan, Romy. "Triangulating the Surrealist Fetish." Visual Anthropology Review (199450-65). Print. Jade, Lara. Faceless Composition. Art. Jones, Amelia. Irrational Modernism: A Neurasthenic History of New York Dada. Cumberland: The MIT Press, 2005. Print. Kristiansen, Donna M. "What Is Dada?" Educational Theatre Journal, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Oct. 1968): 457-462. Print. Locher, David. "Unacknowledged Roots and Blatant Imitation: Postmodernism and the Dada Movement." Electronic Journal of Sociology (1999): Web. retrieved 4 April 2012. http://sociology.org/content/vol004.001/locher.html. Malott, Heidi. Cows in the Clover. Art. Matthews, J. H. "The Case for Surrealist Painting." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol 21, No. 2 (Winter, 1962139-147): 139-147. Print. Meikle, Barbara. Horses of a Different Color. Phoenix. Art. Meikle, Barbara. Up Close and Personal. Phoenix. Art. Murphy, Derek. Astrobama Boy. Taiwan. Art. Peace, Temporary. Rain Spell. Art. Pressly, William L. "The Praying Mantis in Surrealist Art." The Art Bulletin, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Dec. 1973): 600-615. Print. Simpson, Juliet. "Bourget, Laforgue and Impressionismss Inside Story." French Studies, Vol. IV, No. 4 (2001): 467-483. Print. Snider, Lindsay. "A Lasting Impression: French Painteres Revolutionize the Art World." 2001. The History Teacher. Web. 4 April 2012 . Starke, Phil. Native American Couple. Art. Wasserman, Burton. "Remember Dada? Today We Call Him Pop" ." Art Education, Vol. 19, No. 5 (May, 1966): 12-16. Print. Zerne, Ed. Dada Dumpster. Art. Read More