American modernism

n Art Objects, Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery, by Jeanette Winterson, she stresses that art objects have another language of its own. Winterson since interested in Modernism, came to know about Roger Fry, after reading a biography on him by Virginia Woolf. Winterson’s initial experiences to the museum were unnerving, because of the crowd and, multiplicity of artworks, her failure to admiring art at first attempts, lack of exposure to contemporary arts, and, unfamiliarity towards some art…

The term Brutalism refers to the post World War II Modernist style that despite dominating the 1950’s and 60’s British design, is considered one of the 21st centuries most controversial architectural and design styles. This essay will look at the reasons this style is so debated, despite it dominating in the past……. The term brutalism could be considered controversial by the misunderstanding the name conveys. The word suggests something that is harsh, ugly and unfriendly due to the incorrect…

Artist Salvador Dali has been a major contributor to several artistic movements during the 20th century. Throughout his life, he contributed many wonderful pieces of art that belonged to the Surrealist movement, and also created works using Futurism, Dada, Impressionism and Cubism. Most notably, Dali produced the famous painting “The Persistence of Memory” and designed the Teatro-Museo Dali (or the Dali Theatre-Museum) located in Figueres, Spain (Salvador Dali Museum, Inc). Salvador Dali…

Poets all have diverse writing styles. Poets like to express their ideas in an original way. Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes were two prodigious poets. Their styles varied much but they had many similarities. Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes both wrote during times or segregation and race problems, personally I believe all these problems made them want to write so that they could have an effect on people and open their eyes to what was going on. Maya Angelou’s and Langston Hughes’ writing…

The Limit and the Power of Representation It was in my sophomore year that for the first time I saw the movie, Hibiscus Town. Vividly imprinted in my mind are the two devastated souls cleaning up the street and their being condemned publicly against the wall full of propaganda scribbles in the Hibiscus Town. Indeed, this cinematic representation informed me of the knowledge I already or did not yet know about the Cultural Revolution—how irrational a political movement could become, and how…

Modernism and the cold war can be regarded as the twin shaping forces on cultural production in the 1950s. When some ardent practitioners tried to move beyond modernist art, others retreated from it, but it remained the defining aesthetic paradigm of the decade. As historical mode modernism became institutionalised in the 1950s as established by the Nobel laureate trio comprising the modernist writers Faulkner, Eliot and Hemingway. Kitsch and modernism were deeply entangled during the period.…

In Jane Jacobs’ “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”, Jacobs sheds light on the thought process behind city planning, how that thought process came to be, and how that thought process is corrupt. Through giving specific examples via different big cities (New York, Boston, Philadelphia, etc.), she weaves in her overall message: that the base of city planning, and therefore cities in general, are a “hoax”; cities are built on a “foundation of nothing”. The founders on which modern city…

We can determine what made modern art “back then” by analyzing artists such as Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. Henri Matisse’s “The Joy of Life (Le Bonheur de Vivre)” was created during Fauvism period. This work of art is considered to be modern because of it’s strong colors. Matisse like to use colors that where pure, and soft-wavy shape. “Matisse used pure colors and the white of exposed canvas to create a light-filled atmosphere in his Fauve paintings. Rather than using…

The museum I chose to explore was the Lightner Museum located in Saint Augustine, Florida. The reason I chose this art exhibit was to ensure uniqueness and singularity in the works I write about. The first work that caught my attention above all others is known as the Palissy Style Decorative Platter, created by Bernard Palissy. The second work of art I chose to compare with this amazing piece is called the Excelsior, created by William H. Allen. Palissy was known for his incredible and unique…

“The painter should paint not only what he has in front of him, but also what he sees inside himself.” (Caspar David Friedrich) Created in the year of 1818 during the romantic period we had an artist of the name Caspar David Friedrich. His most famous work was the Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. Not only is it a beautiful landscape, he drew himself looking at fog and water. It includes self-expression, beauty and great detail. What I like most about this artwork is that it invites you to look at…