Postwar Modern Movements

                                                                              Marina Abramovic

The Artist is Present (2012)

Marina Abramovic is a Serbian perfomance Artist who currently lives in New York. Abramovic bases her work on the relationship between performer and audience, the limits of the body and the possibilities of the mind. Abramovic is one of the pioneers of Perfomance art. Performance art became popular in the 1960's and 1970's. This type of art is performed and presented to an audience. 

Embracing Fashion (2012)

Throughout her career, Abramovic has focused on confronting pain, blood and physical limits of the body. Her works include:         Rhythm 10 (1973), Rhythm 5 (1974), Rhythm 2 (1974), Rhythm       0 (1974), Rest Energy (1980), The Artist is Present (2012) and           Embracing Fashion (2012). 

Week of May 20 - Museum of Modern Art

1. Cubism is an early-20th-century art movement. It began between 1907 and 1911. Cubism revolutionized European painting and sculpture. This is the most significant art movement from the 20th century. Important artists from this movement were Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Andre Lhote, Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes and Robert Delaunay. Cubists artworks are made in an abstracted form. The objects are not depicted from one viewpoint but from a multitude of viewpoints in order to represent the subject in a greater context. Cubist artists challenged conventional forms of representation such as perspective.
This painting on the left is titled Ma Jolie by Pablo Picasso. It was painted around 1911/12 in Paris. Ma Jolie (My Pretty Girl) was the refrain of a song performed at a Parisian music hall that Picasso used to frequent. This was also the nickname that he gave to his lover Marcelle Humbert. In this painting, Picasso loosely built her figure using the shifting planes of Analytical Cubism. The Central triangular mass subtly indicates the shape of a woman's head and torso, and a group of six vertical lines at the painting's lower center represent the strings of a guitar which the woman strums. Picasso also included the words Ma Jolie. This painting has a combination of dark colors such as black and brown and lighter colors like yellow. Its dimensions are 3'3" x 2'1".  

 

2. Pop Art is an art movement that began in the late 1950's in the United States. It includes imagery from popular culture like advertising and news. Pop art contains a hard-edged composition and it is very representational. It looks like comic book images and cartoons. This type of art connects and critiques society. pop art tries to reach the audience and it is grounded in consumer culture and mass media.
The image on the right is a representation of American Actress Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol. It is known as Warhol's Gold Marilyn Monroe. It contains bright flat colors such as yellow, black, purple and blue, clean edges and it is not messy. This artwork was created in 1962 after Monroe's death. Its dimensions are of  6'11 1/4" x 57" (211.4 x  144.7 cm).

Assignment #5: Between World Wars

  1. Dada was an artistic movement that began in the early 20th century in Zurich, Switzerland. It began as a reaction to World War I and the nationalism that many people thought had caused the war. Dada artists usually used readymade objects and everyday objects that can be bought and presented as art with little manipulation by the artist. The use of readymade objects questioned the artists' creativity and the definition of art as well as its purpose in society. Dada was a way of criticizing society through art. It also broke away from traditions and ridiculed conventional rules. For this reason, humor and irreverence played a significant role in these artworks. Dada was known for rejecting the aesthetic values of previous art styles. The world did not make sense to these artists who were experiencing world war I. An example of a Dada artwork is Woman with a Head of Roses by Salvador Dali. It was painted in in 1935. Dali often replaced the human head with other heads or objects. He did this in order to express his dislike of the lack of intelligence and excess of perfume of the rich people around the surrealist group.
  2. Jacob Lawrence was an African American painter who is best known for his portrayal of African-American life. He was also an educator. Lawrence defined his style as "dynamic cubism". However, his primary influence was the shapes and colors of Harlem. Lawrence was also influenced by social struggles and international artistic trends. He used blacks and browns juxtaposed with vivid colors in order to depict the African-American experience. An example of his work is Home Chores painted in 1945. In this painting, Lawrence depicts the everyday life of African-America women. We can see how Lawrence uses a dark and thick brown to represent an African-American woman doing home chores. We can also see the use of vivid colors in her dress, the floor and the background.

Assingment #4: Impressionism and Post Impressionism

Impressionism began in 1874 in France. It portrays what the eyes see instead of what the mind knows. Landscapes and ordinary scenes are the main subjects of these artworks. This style of painting is known for its thematic use of repetition. Impressionism characterizes for its small and thin brush strokes and open composition. It emphasizes accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities. An example of an impressionist artwork is The Woman with a Parasol by Claude Monet. This piece of art depicts Monet's wife and their son. In this artwork, we can see how Monet uses light and spontaneous brushwork in order to create splashes of color. He also creates the impression of movement. For this reason, we can see how Mrs Monet's veil and dress is blown by the wind. We can also see Mrs Monet's Shadow in the green grass. The simultaneous contrasts make the colors appear more vibrant and vivid.


Post-Impressionism is an art movement that began in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is an extension of impressionism. However, post-impressionism rejects the limitations of impressionism by implementing vivid colors, thick application of paint and real-life subject matter. Post impressionists artists also emphasized geometric forms, distort form from expressive effect, and unnatural or arbitrary color. An example of a post impressionist artwork is The Centennial of Independence by Henri Rousseau. This piece of art was painted in 1892. It depicts the one-hundredth anniversary of the proclamation of the first French Republic in 1792. In this artwork we can see how Rousseau uses vibrant and contrasting colors and tones. Rousseau also uses thick application of paint and geometric forms. He does a good job expressing the feeling of happiness with this artwork by painting peasants dancing the Farandole which was a popular Southern French dance.