Researching Art & Design - 20th Century

The 20th century saw massive changes in the way people percived and created art. Boundries and limitations were surpassed and destroyed by styles such as surrealism and dadaism, where innovation and imagination was key. This era inspired so many artists in the 20th and 21st century to be as original as was physically possible, to really rebel against the normality shown in the 19th century (e.g. Realism & Neoclassicism).


Fauvism

The Fauvism movement revolutionised the concept of colour in modern art. The designs were bold and distorted, as opposed to such movements as Realism and Neoclassicism, which were proportionate, minimalistic in colour ranges, and kept to accuracy without even a thought of being so bold and creative with colours and form/shape.

"La Raie Verte" by Henri Matisse, 1905

Oil on Canvas

The artist has used a brush and oil, with thick brush strokes to mark out the shapes of the figure.


This image is quite eyecatching because of the bright, vibrant colours and varying thickness of the curving lines. The texture is quite scratchy since the paint hasn't been applied smoothly to the figure, but I believe that this created an interesting overall effect - especially over the woman's skin - and will have been inspired by the Post-Impressionist movement. The tones of colours vary in groups of warm colours (i.e. the clothing, right hand side of the face, orange part of the background) against groups of colder colours (i.e. left hand side of the face, hair and other background colours), which create an interesting contrast. The combined use of lighter and dark shades of certain colours gives the character depth and a more 3-dimensional feel.

Abstract Art

Post-Impressionism had a huge impact on Abstract Art in the 20th century, and was essential for the development of modern art. It was inspired by the great painters such as Van Gogh and Cézanne, looking at landscapes and figure drawings/paintings that were 'wild' and expressive.
























"Tour Eiffel" by Robert Delaunay, 1926

Oil on Canvas



The artist could have marked out the large blocks of colour with a large brush first, then going over it with a small brush, applying outlines and detail carefully. The block colours could create the soft texture, and the lighter colour on the darker shapes gives the overall image depth and perspective inside the tower.

Personally I think this is a beautiful piece due to the use of tones, shapes and perspective. The bright warm colours are really attractive (which is not surprising, as red is usually the colour one sees first when looking at art), and the combination of simplified shapes creates an effective overall image (e.g. the panels at the base of the Tower, and the pavillion behind it). The only cold colours used are green, blue and grey, which provide a balance of light and shade in the painting. There are no bold outlines in this painting, the only lines visible are in the varying straight and curved edges of the shapes use in the tower and background. The textures on the tower itself are smooth, yet the textures in the background seem rougher, as if Delaunay had deliberately worked quicker in this area. The lines that define the separate areas in the background aren't as neat as the lines in the foreground, which gives the impression that the background is slightly blurred due to the focus on the Tower. This can relate back to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, with a wild colour scheme similar to that of Rousseau.

Cubism

Cubism was the movement all about innovation and experimentation. Cubism was radical but influencial, and the artists best known in this movement were Braque and, of course, Picasso. It was the complete opposite to Realism and Neoclassicism and challenged the perceptions of beauty in art. The designs were obscure and somewhat inspired by the designs of African and Native American art.

"Composition in Red, Black and White" by Henryk Berlewi, 1924

Goache on Paper


These precise shapes could have been painted on using a flat edge to help keep them perfectly in shape, or with measurements to make sure each side measures the same. The shapes would have to be drawn slowly and carefully to ensure that they were in the right position and proportion.

The first thing that attracted my attention to this image was the bright tones of orange-red in the shapes. Each shape in this piece of cubist art is geometrical, and the shapes have merely been rotated, enlarged or reduced, and then placed elsewhere in the picture. I think that the placement of the two rows of oblongs shows perspective after looking at it for a short while, as if looking down a street at lamp-posts or looking up at a set of stairs. The textures are smooth and flat, as the shapes contain block colours, with no shading, highlights or outlines. There is plenty of space around the shapes, and the rows of oblongs provide a sense of perspective that suggests further space when following the 'street' or 'stairs'.

Dadaism

Dadaism, like Cubism, was a rebellious movement against traditional, classical art, and was chaotic and anarchistic in nature. A post World War I movement, it was anti-war as well as anti-art, going against what classic art stood for; if classic art was meant to have implicit messages and deep connotation, Dadaism strived to have no meaning. Classic art worked by aesthetics, whereas Dadaism did not. The Dada movement set out to offend and criticise art, but ironically became an influencial art movement itself, inspiring future movements such as Surrealism and Punk Rock.

"Merzbau" by Kurt Schwitters, 1924-37

Photograph of a structure in his own house, created with various objects taken from friends and family, as well as found in his own home. He attached these objects to make shapes as well as nooks and grottos full of different objects to different themes.

The sheer dimensions and perspective attracted me to this image, the use of household waste being added to his room creates a sense of 'safe' space, and the various shapes one can see in this image is fascinating.

The toning is entirely in greyscale, the darker shades of grey indicating shadows from the arrangement of the different 3-dimensional shapes, whereas the highlights could be from natural or artificial lighting in the room, possibly the flash from Schwitters' camera. The textures seem generally smooth, though as it is a photograph you are able to see the textures of certain objects and surfaces, e.g. the grain of the wood and the creases & folds in materials like card.

There are plenty of lines in this image, many in different directions due to the generally straight angles of the objects, which are then folded and shaped.

There is plenty of space evident in this image, as the 3-dimensional shapes create gaps between themselves and the walls, floor and ceiling. You can easily define the space between the foreground and background objects, and also the areas around them.

Surrealism


Surrealism, obviously an opposite to Realism, sought out to create visual expression of the unconscious and un-recreatable imagination. Artists were inspired by Sigmund Freud and his theories of dreams and the subconscious and unconscious mind, and used juxtaposition, wild ideas and the element of surprise to truly bring this movement to light. This movement was a byproduct of Dadaism, really pushing the boundries of innovation, and showing figures and scenes in a completely different way to the traditional styles of classic art such as Neoclassicism.

"Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening" by Salvador Dalí, 1944

Oil on canvas


The artist has used careful brush strokes to ensure the smoothness of his images, and also uses dry brushing to create clouds, while washing out paint to water down his colours to create the gradient of the sky. This technique was used in most of the shading of the figures for a soft shaded look.


When it comes to surrealist art, the artist that has left the biggest impression has always been Salvador Dalí. His ability to transform simple objects into juxtaposed, shapeshifting works of art is inspirational.

There are many textures used in this piece to create a somewhat realistic effect (e.g. the crumbling edges of the stone platform, the textures of the fish's scaly form, the fur of the tigers etc.), varying vastly from smooth, pearly skin tones to the course addition of the clouds, which also give a soft, fluffy effect.

Dalí has used mostly warm tones of colour in the foreground of this piece, which contrast perfectly with the pale, cool colours used in the background. Personally I find that the tigers are what draw me to this image the most, as the blacks used in the stripes stand out against the pale shades of the rest of the image. Also the pomegranate & the fish, as they are created in warm oranges and reds, definitely stand out above most of the other symbols and forms in this image.


Once again plenty of space is apparant in this piece, and it's fairly easy to define the distance between the woman & the tigers, the pomegranate & and the small rocky area in the sea, etc.


The lines in this image aren't as bold as in other pieces in this study, Dalí rarely uses black to outline his paintings, and so the objects and forms seem to smoothly blend into the background. The most obvious lines to me are following the elongated legs of the elephant, the line of the horizon over the water, and the defined edges of the rock the woman is laying upon.


It can be easily argued that shapes can appear anywhere within the image, e.g. a scalene triangle representing the shape of the woman, a horizontal oblong showing the general shape of one of the tigers, etc. Dalí seemed to use different shapes juxtaposed against eachother to create a unique composition which forced you to focus on the image as a whole, while still being able to pick out each visual detail.


The Bauhaus Movement

The 'Bauhaus' was a school in Germany that combined fine arts with crafts, and was famous for the approach to design that it taught, and the innovative training methods it used. The school lasted from 1919 to 1933, and was closed by the Nazis. Students there were taught to produce art that was both aesthetically pleasing and useful, and showed that design could still easily play a part in modernisation and industrialism at the time. Due to the introduction of mass production, the Bauhaus turned its attention to industry, and held an exhibition demonstrating a coalition between aesthetics and effective, purpose-made design and technology.




















"Proto-Form (B)" by Josef Albers, 1938

Oil on fibreboard

Oil would have been used over wax to create an 'absence of colour' effect, clearly separating the shapes and colours.
The simplicity of this image is what draws attention to it. The cool colours compliment eachother with the rounded shapes, and the lighter lines define the shape against the background colour. The space is mostly used by the image, with just outlining space to frame the image with. As it is quite abstract and subjective, viewers could take whatever they want from the piece.




Creation of the World Wide Web (Internet):

In 1989 the idea of the World Wide Web came about, an idea of being able to access information from anywhere in the world at the touch of a button. The invention of this network allowed millions of people to communicate across the globe, bridging the gap between societies and cultures that were once so far apart. As computers advances throughout the years, companies began to create software that could digitally create art work and techniques, as well as new tools that couldn't be created traditionally, such as the erase tool, copy & paste, undo, stamp & clone tools, etc., as well as filters, layer types, and the 'action tool', allowing you to record work you've done and re-apply it to other work.