Hello viewers.
Welcome to MOOC’s online course on ‘Introduction
to Modern Western Art, Movements and Artists’.
In this week, the first week we shall be introducing
you to the various aspects of modern western
art.
We will try to define; what is modern art
we will try to see also what has gone before
the modern art and also at the end of this
week we will try to identify the movements
which are supposed to be the beginnings, the
beginning movements of modern western art.
The first module today we shall be basically
looking at random examples of modern western
art from the entire history and see how they
appear to us, to our eyes and also to our
senses.
The first few slides will be representations
of these random samples of art works created
by various artists, and at this point we are
not actually concerned with the names of the
artist or even the titles of the works.
We are only concerned with a visual appearance
the visual look and the visual impact these
works might have on our sense and perception.
So, let us begin to look at some of these
images.
The first one for example, is a painting that
appears to be completely illegible.
If we are to look for some motives at least
some elements which are recognizable apart
from a few vertical lines, few horizontal
lines and the few square or rectangular color
shapes or white spaces, there is not a single
element which is recognizable from the visual
world around.
Now this is a very typical feature or one
of the typical features of modern western
art, where the motives that you see in the
painting or in the sculpture may not be recognizable
may not have any direct relationship with
what we observe generally in our world around.
Now, the second example is modern sculpture.
And once again, a sculpture if a sculpture
is supposed to represent life, represent our
experiences in terms of tangible, visible,
recognizable forms, then this particular sculpture
fails to do so.
But modern sculpture has something else to
offer.
Something beyond recognition that may move
towards what we call abstraction or may not
be completely abstract may be highly based
on ideas or concepts, but may not be representational
at all.
And in this context let me clear that by the
term ‘representational’ we generally mean
that form of visual art where the motives,
the shapes, the colors all these things can
be immediately related to our normal day to
day visual experiences.
Now, in this case it is not possible, because
the forms are quote unquote “abstract”.
The forms are non representational.
Now let us move to the third example.
Here at least the form is recognizable I mean
everybody can make out this is the image of
a lady a seated lady with a very colorful
costume and a beautiful hat, but then what
has gone wrong with her face, why?
The face looks distorted.
Is distortion a necessary feature of modern
art?
Because generally speaking a lot of people
around due tell us that modern art usually
deals with distortion, disfiguration, non
recognisability and these are the features
that make a modern art a modern art.
Partly true, but this is only the as a superficial
story the super facial layer of the entire
complex body of modern art.
But this is true that this particular painting
is a very good and a very meaningful representation
of modern art, not just because this was painted
during the phase called modern art, but also
the form the idiom of this art is very nontraditional,
very non academic and we shall come to these
terms later on again.
With the next example is again an example
of a sculpture where recognisability is there.
I mean you can’t completely reject the whole
idea of recognition, because you can’t say
that this particular sculpture looks completely
abstract or this particular sculpture is beyond
recognition, no, it is not.
At least faintly the form reminds us of a
figure and if you look at the figure carefully
the form reminds us of a female figure probably
a reclining female figure, but this recognizing
elements or the elements of recognition, recognition
points are very, very minimum.
By and large yes, you are right this sculpture
is abstract.
By and large the sculpture is not or the sculptor,
here is not at all concerned with making the
sculpture very recognizable.
This sculptor is more concerned with the play
of forms and if I resist myself from using
the term distortion, then let me use for the
want of a better term ‘the idea of stylization’.
This sculptor is more interested in stylizing
the figure to an extent when recognition is
not at all important, what is important is
for example, in this sculpture at least the
rhythm the pattern and the overall balance
of this sculpture.
Next, this is of course in terms of recognition
I would say easy to identify, okay, this form
is a face, face of a man, but then again it
is hardly realistic.
I mean in the sense if you look at the proportion,
if you look at the scale, if you look at the
anatomical proportion and the details, this
particular image does not conform to the reality.
It conforms to an idea or let me say an interpretation
of reality and yes modern art to a great extent
is an interpretation of reality rather than
an imitation of reality.
And when we discuss in our next module the
pre history of modern art we are going to
discuss this issue, that how in pre modern
art the artist where more concerned with a
kind of imitation of the reality whereas,
in the modern art the artist is not at all
concerned with the imitation of reality rather
they are more interested in interpreting reality
in their own way.
For example, look at this sculpture.
Again the scale is of course, we have seen
huge scale sculptures also in the traditional
western art, that is not the issue, but what
about the form.
Anybody can ask what does this sculpture mean
and when you ask this question it implies
that you are not able to identify the form.
You are not able to make out whether this
particular form represents a human being or
an insect or a tree or a plant or something
that we don’t know of.
Anything is possible.
See in other words modern western art has
expanded the possibilities of subject matters.
Modern art has expanded the possibilities
of interpreting the reality, but again you
may also come across something like this,
where the image is not very far off from realism.
It is looks like a very ordinary simple painting
of a platter full of fruits kept on the table
all the fruits are recognizable, but then
there is something which tells us that this
is an example of modern art and this cannot
certainly cannot belong to the traditional
western art, know why?
We shall look at this painting again later
and discuss what makes this apparently simple
and more realistic painting also a modern
art.
Or for example this one, there is hardly any
distortion involved in this painting, but
a simple picture of a snowy, of a wintry landscape,
but then this is something that was not possible
by any artist from the pre-modern era.
Again the same question can be asked in the
context of this painting too, what makes this
painting also a modern art.
Because the term modern art evokes whole lot
of ideas as I have already told you.
Ideas like distortion, disfiguration, abstraction,
but this painting and the previous one, in
these 2 paintings we do not say any distortion,
we do not say any abstraction, we do not say
any disfiguration, yet this paintings are
also very strong examples of modern art.
In fact, at this point I would like to say
that the range of modern art is pretty vast.
On the one hand, you may have examples of
paintings and sculptures where the forms are
more close to nature, where the forms are
more close to realism, and again you can also
have examples of like the first one we saw
at the beginning of our session today a painting
which is completely beyond recognition, which
is an abstract painting or look at this one,
this is also fairly simple painting in the
sense that we can make out, this is the landscape
of field we can see the sun behind, we can
see some hillocks, but now we are not simply
looking at the recognition or the realism
we are also looking at the texture like the
previous one also.
Here as well as here in this painting.
So, subject matters may be fairly simple,
but what is very, very nontraditional is the
way you treat your subject matter.
The way you handle your brush, the way you
treat your surface.
These particular aspect of treatment of rendering
of application of color the way you hold you
tools the way you apply your pigment, these
things can also make a piece of art a modern
art.
So, it is not necessarily subject, not always
the form, but could also be the application
of paint the treatment of the surface.
But here it is a subject matter, because we
have never seen something like this.
And entire painting devoted to most common
people.
Very, very ordinary people like here, we have
these three women who are gliding crops from
their fields.
So, in modern art we beside very visible shifts
in the form, very extremely radical shapes
in the treatment.
We also say very significant shapes in the
subject matter.
The way you look at you time the way you look
at you society, because for a long time art
has been mostly addressing the people on the
top layer of the society, the rich people
the powerful people the religious authority.
But now in modern art we have plenty of paintings
and sculptures where the subject matter is
the ordinary people, the commoner for example,
this one And a common person not in a state
of necessarily pleasure or happiness.
Here as you can see this person is in a state
of anguish, pain, and suffering.
So, common man in the state of suffering is
now occupying the subject matter of modern
art beside other subjects of course, or for
that matter this.
In this painting you can see the person the
figure who is in the foreground is in a state
of anguish and agony to the extent that the
entire painting is in the state of anguish.
And in the treatment of the surface look at
the phrase, look at the colors, look at the
flow of the brush.
So, the anguish or the agony or the suffering
is felt, not necessarily on the expression
or on the body of the figure, but also in
the environment, also in the color pallet,
also in the organization of the elements in
the painting which is called composition.
So, in other words modern art is gradually
moving towards redefining what is called the
art language, where the subject matter or
the feeling or the emotion can be felt not
only in the form of the human being, but also
in the environment, also in the entire composition.
And this is what makes a modern art a modern
art or for example, this one.
The subject could be fairly old in the sense
this particular image is a take or let us
say and interpretation of an age old image
or idea of Adam and Eve.
But here you do not get the traditional Christian
iconography this painting.
You see the couple Adam and Eve in a very
different context, in a black and white context
where you can’t even see their faces properly
there is no such sensuousness that is expected
from the body of the Adam and Eve.
So, this work of art is pretty modern in the
way it has interpreted an old theme.
So, this is also possible there can be an
interpretation of an old theme.
Or for that matter this one nothing old nothing
traditional there is not a single reference
to our past.
When you look at a painting like this any
viewer for that matter would be able to relate
very easily to our visual culture, we are
surrounded with.
It is in that sense it is highly contemporary
in its feel, it is very modern in it is look,
because this is a kind of patterns and designs
we come across in your costume, in our furniture’s,
and in the entire design industry.
So, modern art in examples like this, could
be also an extension of our visual culture.
Not necessarily something very special, something
that is alienated from our visual culture,
but very much a part of it.
Modern art could also be as this example shows,
a form, a work of art, that is driven by the
available technology.
Very advanced technological facilities have
given lot of ideas lot of possibilities to
modern art.
So, the relationship between technology and
modern art, scientific developments and modern
art is extremely crucial.
This needs to be explored properly which we
shall do in the later classes.
So, eventually we come back to this question
then what is modern art?
Now as I have already suggested that it is
very difficult to define modern art in a singular
sentence, or in a single phrase.
If not for anything else, but at least for
its variety, its huge range of examples, the
way the various artists are explode modern
art, their innovativeness, all this things
make it highly difficult for us to define
modern art
in a singular way.
Even a quick browse through the history of
modern western art reveals that it consists
of an immense variety.
Variety of forms, variety of styles, variety
of techniques, and of course, a huge variety
of concepts; then this diversity makes it
impossible to define modern art in one singular
term it is impossible.
So, how to approach?
Still a definition is often required to understand
the conceptual frame work or the historical
frame work or the ideological frame work of
modern art.
Now in general, modern art posed itself as
a serious challenge to the past, this is true
to all forms of modern art, irrespective of
their stylistic and conceptual differences.
The posed itself as a serious challenge to
the past to what is traditional.
So, the traditional art forms were debunked,
they may challenged, they were often discarded,
the authority of religion age old social ordered
was questioned and creative freedom was upheld
to pave way for innovations.
So, modern art is highly innovative.
The stylistic and technical diversity evident
in modern art is amazing.
Beginning from the mid 19th century, modern
art evolved rapidly and fast really very,
very fast, over a period of 100 and 150 years
through a series of art movements and radical
innovative ideas.
Movements are important in modern art, movements
organized by group of artists, spearheaded
by maybe one or two artists, but again along
with art movements in modern art we also have
individual artists somebody likes Pablo Picasso,
Vincent Van Gogh, Henry Matisse, Giacometti
there are Henry Moore, there are lot of artist
individual artists who, beside participating
in group movements have also contributed immensely
to the development of modern art individually.
So, the rise of individual artists is also
very important feature of modern western art.
Now, in spite of this mind boggling diversity
all kinds of modern art; individual or specific
movements are linked with certain common factors.
So, we are not trying to exactly define modern
art in one sentence, but let us try to look
at some common features shared by all forms
of modern art.
Number one, modern art or modernism is integrally
associated with the Industrial revolution
and technological advances from the late 18th
and 19th century onwards.
Technological and scientific developments
opened up a whole range of possibilities for
the modern artists very important as I have
already mentioned.
Political and social uprising, a new social
consciousness political revolutions and a
strong urge to relate art with the common
society; this has also been a commonly shared
idea in the modern art.
Now modern paintings like this for example
are clear examples of such works where the
rise of industrial society’s urban middle
class and a new modern life are the main subject
matters.
So, modern art is, and obviously, integrally
related to modern society or modernism in
general.
And as we all know that industrial revolution
technological advances, scientific developments
have been the hallmarks of modernity or modernism
modern art also shared and took advantage
of this new situation.
And we have subject matters like this, where
the new industrial towns occupy the new paintings
they become the center of focus for many artists.
So, these subject matters obviously bring
whole lot of changes in the technique and
also in the form of art.
For example, this one also we have never seen
something like this before.
For obvious reasons, we did not chimneys,
we did not have this industrial township,
we did not have migrant laborers and workers,
we did not have this working class people
in numbers in great numbers visible around.
So, they now become the new subject matters
for the new painters of modern life, or for
example, this one now these examples are from
very early phase of modern art.
So, right from the beginning one can say,
that artists are paying attention to depict
the emergence of a new life situation, of
a new society driven by industrialization,
driven by the raising cities and modernity
and new urban situations.
And obviously, new kind of people, these people
like the working class, middle class they
were never featured, they were never addressed,
in the pre modern art with the due importance.
They did appear, but only marginally, or a
peaceful quite lucid image of a modern life.
As you can see in this painting almost a direct
and a very clear depiction of modern life,
and this subject matter itself is enough to
let us know that this painting is a modern
painting, there is no doubt about that.
And significantly modern or modern art went
on to innovate the most radical methods of
painting including all forms of abstract art.
Thus modern art not only challenged the subject
matters of the past the past art, but it also
challenged the language of art.
And this is again a common feature to most
of the examples of modern art, that they were
not only concerned with the new possibilities
of technique, new possibilities of subject
matter,
but they were also concerned with altering
the language of painting itself or language
of sculpture itself.
So, language of art changed to a great extent
in the modern art.
Modern art is about a multiple shapes, shapes
happening in different layers in the subject
matter, in the technique, in the method, in
the idea, and definitely redefining the language
what we understand as art.
It clearly claims once and for all that art
is no more about replicating the visible nature,
the visual reality, it is about interpreting
your experiences.
It also could be about your inner layers of
your mind.
It could also be about ideas concepts, but
not necessarily, and certainly not, a replication
of the reality.
In that sense modern art not only challenges
the past art or the tradition, but it challenges
the perception of the viewers, us, as well.
So, the question is no more about what is
modern art or how do we define modern art,
the question can also be asked like how modern
art is to be viewed and perceived.
Now The whole question turns towards us.
How and this reminds me of next question,
and In fact, throughout this course as we
keep exploring and following the different
changes in the modern western art, continuous
then repeatedly we shall be coming back to
the problem of visual perception.
Because all said and done at the end of the
day modern art is a big problem to our visual
perception.
We need to change that as well.
Thank you.
