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Modernism: Arts
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Modernism is an aesthetic movement functioning in all facets of culture: high art, aesthetic criticism, to mass media, city planning, etc. It is one of many possible reactions to modernity. [1] In Catholic theology modernism refers to a critique of the absolute rigidity and authoritative nature of the Vatican. Modernist theology challenges the Roman Catholic Institution through Enlightenment reason. [2] There are four basic aspects to the modernist aesthetic: 1) a belief in progress through technological innovation and rational thought, 2) an opposition to tradition or convention, 3) skepticism, 4) a re-imaging of environment and a willingness to be recreated by it. [3]
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Modernism is a term used to describe the style and theory of art from the period beginning in late 19th century and lasting into the mid 20th century. The modernist movement is closely associated with the term modern art, both characterized by a departure from emphasis on literal representation. With invention of photography, the realistic approach to painting and sculpture became unnecessary... artists began searching for new ways of visualizing and thinking about the nature, materials and function of art.
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Concentrating on the period extending roughly from 1860 to the present, Modernism/modernity focuses on the methodological, archival, and theoretical exigencies particular to modernist studies. It encourages an interdisciplinary approach linking music, architecture, the visual arts, literature, and social and intellectual history. The journal's broad scope fosters dialogue between social scientists and humanists about the history of modernism and its relations to modernization. Each issue features a section of thematic essays as well as book reviews and a list of books received. Modernism/modernity is the official journal of the Modernist Studies Association; members of the MSA automatically receive four free issues of Modernism/modernity (published in January, April, September, and November) and have free access to the journal online through Project Muse. In 2003, Modernism/modernity received the Phoenix Award for Significant Editorial Achievement from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals.
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The roots of Modernism lie in the design reform movement of the 19th century and were nurtured in Germany in the years leading up to the First World War. The Modernist legacy is considerable in terms of design (whether furniture, tableware, textiles, lighting, advertising, and typography or other everyday things), architecture (whether public or private housing, cinemas, office blocks, and corporate headquarters), or writings (theories, manifestos, books, periodicals, and criticism). This has done much to cement Modernism firmly into the mainstream history of design. Furthermore, it is ... heavily represented in numerous museums around the world that have centred their design collections drawn from the later 19th century through to the last quarter of the 20th century around the Modernist aesthetic and its immediate antecedents. This focused collecting policy has generally been at the expense of the representation of many other aspects of design consumed by the majority in the same period. Typifying such an outlook has been the Museum of Modern Art in New York, established in 1929.
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Modernism was not conceived as a style but a loose collection of ideas. It was a term which covered a range of movements and styles that largely rejected history and applied ornament, and which embraced abstraction. Born of great cosmopolitan centres, it flourished in Germany and Holland, as well as in Moscow, Paris, Prague and New York. Modernists had a utopian desire to create a better world. They believed in technology as the key means to achieve social improvement and in the machine as a symbol of that aspiration. All of these principles were frequently combined with social and political beliefs (largely left-leaning) which held that design and art could, and should, transform society.
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Modernism is understood more as a loose collection of utopian ideas than a movement or single approach. Modernist artists aimed to use new art and technology to positively transform the world around them. The Modernist aesthetic rejected ornamentation, embracing abstract, geometric forms and strong colors. As such, it provided a template for the Modern world.
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