Post 2: Modernism

The 20^th century, specifically until the 1960's, brought along with it an age of modernism, a phenomena that influenced the Western culture, especially regarding art, architecture, and fashion. Modernism amongst female artists began due to the way women were being treated, as stated in the Guerrilla Girls, “Criticism, sexism, patriarchy, and discrimination have been and continue to be major themes in the lives of female artists” (Guerrilla Girls, 59). Even in a male dominated society, women deserved to be treated with respect and equal rights, in every fields. The rise of modernism brought with it several movements or “isms”, such as, “impressionism, postimpressionism, fauvism, cubism, futurism, constructivism, dada-ism, surrealism, expressionism, abstract expressionism, etc” (Guerrilla Girls, 59). In spite of the male dominated society, women in Europe thrived by creating new forms of art, eventually leading to their art being realized and appreciated.

Sonia Delaunay, Prismes Electriques, 1914

Dadaism was a form of art born out of dislike for the social, political and cultural values of the time. It embraced elements of art, music, poetry, theatre, dance and politics. It used shapes and simple object, and initially was seen as drab, and acquisitive. Until of course, Sonia Delaunay used the play of colors to express modernism. She combined art and craft, and, “designed book covers, posters, lampshades, curtains, cushion covers, and other objects for her home” (Chadwick, 261). Her most influential painting was, Prismes Electriques, 1914. However, she did face setback due to the patriarchal male dominated society. Her husband Robert Delaunay and her developed Simultanism, a theory of color, but he ended up taking credit for it, and while Robert thrived in the fame of his wife's creation, Sonia continued to innovate.
Women that influenced modern art included Georgia O'Keefe, who used techniques from other artists, such as Paul Strand's method of cropping and painting abstract objects. Margaretha von Brauchitsch of The Society for Applied Art in Munich was a talented craftswoman, who “used highly stylized motifs from nature, as well as fantastic, abstract 'improvisations' in her embroidery designs”, (Chadwick, 253 – 254), and her art attracted notice at the World Exposition in Paris in 1900.

Vanessa Bell, Cracow, 1913

Vanessa Bell strongly influenced abstraction through her use of wool an linen, such as in Cracow. Influenced by Kandinsky, her art was derived from nature, as, “the process of formal simplification and abstraction resulted in tightly structured compositions which replaced anecdotal content with absolute aesthetic values”, (Chadwick, 258). She took charge of a dress making program for the Omega in 1915, which was unsuccessful as it didn't appeal to Omega clientele, with the reason being that her use of bold colors and patterns was too exotic.

Surrealism began in the 1920's, and is a cultural movement that was known for it's visual artworks. Artists painted unnerving, almost random scenes, expressing the element of surprise, but most Surrealists regarded their work as an expression of their philosophical movement. Frida Kahlo was a Mexican Surrealist painter who typically painted self-portraits using vibrant colors in a style that was influenced by cultures of Mexico, and European Surrealism. Her self-portraits were usually a depiction of her life and her pain, mental and physical. At the age of eighteen she was involved in a bus accident that crushed her, left her immobile, and permanently damaged her reproductive ability. She spent her recovery time painting and drawing, including numerous self portraits using a mirror across from her bed. She stated, "I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best". Unlike most Surrealists however she disliked the idea of the dream world and psychology. She stated, "They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn't. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality" Most of her art was influenced by her relationship with her husband, Diego Rivera. “I seduced Diego when I was young and he was already a great painter. Our union was filled with tempestuous turns: we were married, divorced (it broke my heart), then married again...He rarely commented on our relationship in his grandiose, political murals, but for me the personal was political: I was constantly telling our story in my paintings” (Guerrilla Girls, 78).

The Broken Column - Frida Kahlo

She was included in esteemed group shows in the Museum of Modern Art, the Boston Institute of Contemporary Arts, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Her 1944 piece "The Broken Column" may be the one painting that best shows her pain. The nails in her body and the tears in Frida's eyes are a metaphor for the excruciating physical pain, while her nudity depicts her helplessness and sexual angst.
Louise Borgeois was another Surrealist artist, and, “she developed the personal, quasi-figurative imagery of these femme-maison paintings with their houses perched on top of women's bodies in place of heads. In these disquieting works, domesticity, imaged through blank facades and small windows, defines women but denies them speaking voices” (Chadwick, 324)

Abstract expressionism came up post World War Two, an is an American art movement developed in New York in the 1940's, which put New York at the center of the western art world. The name is derived from a combination of the emotional intensity and self denial of the German Expressionists, with the aesthetics of Futurism and Cubism, and has an image of being rebellious, and individualistic. One such artist was Lee Krasner, who had to work harder to be taken seriously in a male dominated society. She even changed her name from Lenore to Lee, and signed with just her initials, in order to be recognized. She was married to Jackson Pollock, and her work was perpetually under the shadow of her husband's, as she states, “I was careful not to show work that was similar to Jackson's since everyone assumed that our style was started by him” (Guerrilla Girls, 85). This was a prime example of how male artists were highly favored and recognized, as compared to female artists. Krasner states, “For twenty years I painted and painted and finally in the seventies the art world was ready to acknowledge that an important woman artist could have been married to an important male artist” (Guerrilla Girls, 87).

History shows how modernism caused women artists to stand up and be recognized, while the art shows how modernism overcame the male gaze and a male dominated society.

Links:

1. http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htm
2. http://www.biography.com/people/frida-kahlo-9359496

Works Cited:

1. Chadwick, W. (2012). Women, Art, and Society (5th ed.). New York, NY: Thames and Hudson.
2. Guerrilla Girls (1998). The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York, NY: Penguin Books.