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Mr. Wright's Art Class: Living with Art, Chapter 22 - Modern to Postmodern (+23, Globalization)

William Wright・47 minutes read

The transition from Modern to postmodern art is explored in chapter 22 of "Living with Art" by Mark Getlein, focusing on movements like abstract expressionism and Neo-Dadaism. Key figures like Jackson Pollock and John Cage, along with movements like Pop art and performance art, shaped the postmodern art landscape, emphasizing playfulness, concept, and the idea over physical realization.

Insights

  • The transition from Modern to postmodern art was marked by significant shifts in artistic movements, such as the emergence of abstract expressionism and color field painting in New York, which aimed to evoke emotional responses and transcend the visible world through large-scale, non-representational works.
  • Postmodern art embraces pluralism and multiple artistic centers worldwide, accommodating various styles and formats, including movements like performance art, Land Art, and New Media art, which explore interactive narratives and the impact of technology on art, reflecting the global interconnectedness of the contemporary art scene.

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Recent questions

  • What art movement focused on large-scale emotional paintings?

    Abstract expressionism

  • What art style features broad areas of color for contemplation?

    Color field painting

  • What art movement combined everyday life with art techniques?

    Neo-Dadaism

  • What art style imitates photography with minute detail?

    Photorealism

  • What art movement favors simple forms and industrial materials?

    Minimalism

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Summary

00:00

Transition from Modern to Postmodern Art

  • Chapter 22 of "Living with Art" by Mark Getlein covers the transition from Modern to postmodern art.
  • World War II, lasting from 1939 to 1945, significantly impacted the art world, leading to the creation of the United Nations to promote global peace.
  • The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as superpowers after World War II, with Europe in disarray.
  • The center of avant-garde art shifted from Paris to New York, with abstract expressionism, also known as the New York school, emerging as a major movement.
  • Abstract expressionism focused on large-scale, non-objective paintings that aimed to evoke emotional responses in viewers.
  • Jackson Pollock, a key figure in abstract expressionism, combined automatism and action painting to emphasize the artist's gesture in creating art.
  • Color field painting, a style of non-representational art, featured broad areas of color and aimed to transcend the visible world, inviting contemplation.
  • Artists like Louise Nevelson and Helen Frankenthaler contributed to the color field movement, with Frankenthaler adding more expressionist elements to her work.
  • In the 1950s, the Neo-Dadaist movement, led by artists like Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, focused on combining art with everyday life through techniques like assemblage.
  • John Cage, a composer, emphasized the affirmation of life in his work, while Jasper Johns and Rauschenberg, who started as window display artists, brought a fresh perspective to art through their assemblage techniques.

14:22

American Flag Painting Sells for Record Price

  • John created a painting of an American flag using encaustic paint on three canvases mounted on plywood strips and newspaper.
  • The painting features a surface of lumps and smears with newspaper scraps visible beneath the stripes and 48 Stars for historical specificity.
  • Critics noted the ambivalence of the painting, questioning if it is a flag or a painting due to its complexity.
  • The iconic American flag painting by John sold for 36 million in 2014, setting an auction record.
  • John Cage suggested that art should move towards theater, with happenings being more spontaneous and encouraging audience participation.
  • Happenings, like the women licking jam off a car in 1964, were bizarre and encouraged audience involvement.
  • Pop art emerged in the 60s and 70s, focusing on popular mass-produced culture and everyday objects to give them new meaning.
  • Photorealism, a movement imitating photography with minute detail, gained popularity with artists like Ralph Goings and Chuck Close.
  • Minimalism in the 60s and 70s favored simple primary forms and industrial materials, with artists like Dan Flavin and Donald Judd.
  • Post-minimalism, a generation after minimalism, included movements like process art, Earthworks, conceptual art, and installation, influenced by minimalism aesthetics.

28:37

Exploring Performance, Land, and Conceptual Art

  • Performance art involves happenings and ritualistic movements using the body to create theatrics or scenes.
  • Marina Abramovich and Ule performed a controversial piece in Bologna, Italy, where viewers had to pass between their nude bodies.
  • Land Art or Earthworks involve creating art from natural sites, reshaping or rearranging natural elements.
  • Earthworks from the 70s like Spiral Jetty and Running Fence combine minimalism with conceptualism, focusing on nature.
  • Conceptual art prioritizes the idea over the physical realization, emphasizing the concept as the essence of art.
  • Video art combines film and performance, exploring human body movements and spaces in relation to the camera.
  • Postmodernism in art emphasizes playfulness, curiosity, and eccentricity, drawing from classical sources for decoration.
  • Modernism reacts against formalism, promoting a complex view of history and embracing pluralism in art.
  • Postmodernism recognizes multiple artistic centers worldwide, accommodating various styles and formats in art.
  • Postmodern practices like appropriation involve artists reproducing images created by others, creating art about art.

42:58

Evolution of Art in Globalized World

  • The artist, initially known as [__], transitioned from graffiti to Contemporary Art, blending elements of Hollywood Africans, focusing on African culture in LA compared to New York, and delving into African-American history through drawing, painting, symbols, and texts.
  • Feminist art emerged with the Gorilla Girls, a reaction to the bias towards white male artists in the art world, highlighting the underrepresentation of women and minorities, exemplified by the statement "women have to be naked to get into the Met."
  • New Media art evolved with the internet, featuring interactive narratives like "the boyfriend came back for more," utilizing hypertext net art to depict a couple's reunion post-Persian Gulf War, engaging users through text and images.
  • Digital art expanded with works like Bill Viola's "the greeting," a slow-motion encounter between three women, juxtaposed with a Renaissance painting, exploring modern women's interactions.
  • Terry Winters explored the digital realm in art, reflecting on the impact of the internet on information and art, symbolizing the complex interactions of the digital age.
  • Globalization's influence on art was discussed, emphasizing the interconnectedness of the world through technology, social media, and the internet, showcasing diverse artists like Shoibari and highlighting the global art scene's evolution.
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