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Unit 4 (2nd half): 1750 - 1980 CE
Later Europe and Americas
Images 126-127; 129-152
Main Ideas:
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As Europe and the Americas underwent rapid societal changes (such as urbanization, commercialization, imperialism, political revolutions, and world wars), works of art generally either sought to support or oppose those developments to advocate for greater harmony
Modernism
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General Idea: During & After WW1, artists rejected realism and sought to use logic and rational reasoning to create artwork that promoted harmony and order
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Cubism: Decomposes subjects into geometric shapes representing different perspectives, allowing people to more easily find meaning in the artwork
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Fauvism: Color is not meant to describe a certain feeling but rather exists independent of any description so that we can interpret the meaning of the colors on our own
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German Expressionism: Allowed people to find their own emotions and ideas in the artworks as inspiration to bring out change in society
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Architectural Modernism: Promoted a rational simplistic approach to architectural design where the form of a structure is based on its function
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De Stijl: Reduced art to its bare essential forms to advocate for more harmony and a reduction of society to its basic fundamentals after WW1
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Suprematism & Constructivism: Combined many different symbolic images, shapes, and colors into one large artwork to convey a revivalist theme
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Surrealism: Used different elements that tap into our subconscious mind when looking at the artwork
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Dadaism: Rejected true logic and reason and sought to express themselves through nonsensical artworks
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Modernism in the Americas: Reflected European modernism but was more about promoting harmony between social classes & genders as Americans generally spoke out about those issues more than Europeans did
Image 126: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
Name
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
Artist
Pablo Picasso
Date
1907 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Because this painting references prostitution (which is inherently ugly & raw), Picasso uses abstraction as a new way to represent it rather than idealizing it falsely in a romantic way
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The ladies of Avignon (the english translation): Avignon is a street in Paris known for prostitution, so this painting references sexuality
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No men in the photo: The females gaze out at the viewer → Alludes to their sexuality
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Face on the right (dark-skinned woman) alludes to French colonialism in Africa
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The central figure is depicted multiple times from different angles → Picasso doesn’t idealize the central figure but shows multiple figures of it (in different angles) as a new way to show the true ugliness of prostitution
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No realistic depictions (as he doesn’t want to idealize sexuality): Compressed space, no linear perspective, etc.
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Doesn’t want to create a false romantic beauty of prostitution → He abstracts it instead
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Image 129: The Kiss
Name
The Kiss
Artist
Constantin Brancusi
Date
Original: 1907 - 1908 CE
Material
Stone
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Showcases the wholeness and oneness of a kiss in its primitive form rather than idealizing or romanticizing it
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The man and woman form a union together → Wholeness and purity of a kiss
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Their bodies are like perfect rectangular prisms and fit together
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Their arms perfectly wrap around each other
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Their eyes form one “whole” eye
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Uses primitive imagery (stone) to not idealize or romanticize this kiss but rather allow anyone to relate to it
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The sculpture is raw without any excessive decoration → Shows that any kiss can be wholesome and pure and doesn’t have to be idealized or romanticized
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Image 130: The Portuguese
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Name
The Portuguese
Artist
Georges Braque
Date
1911 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Shows multiple perspectives of a person: Promotes the idea that we have to see someone through multiple perspectives to understand who they truly are
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This shows a Portuguese man, but each “box” is a different perspective of him (front view, side view, etc.)
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Some have chiaroscuro, some have absence of light → Emphasizes the different perspectives
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Multiple light sources and multiple boxes → Emphasizes the 2-D nature of the paper
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Shows the idea that we need to fully deconstruct a man into separate pieces then piece them all together to understand their true personality and true self
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Image 131: Goldfish
Name
Goldfish
Artist
Henri Matisse
Date
1912 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Uses color contrasts and distortion (multiple perspectives) to symbolize the feeling of tranquility and meditation from the goldfish
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Fauvism emphasized strong color contrasts
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Sought to liberate the association of certain colors with objects to allow us to internally "feel" our own sensation of colors when looking at the goldfish → Gives a feeling of tranquility and reflection
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Drew influence from Impressionism & Post-Impressionism:
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Light and reflection from Impressionism
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Colors and distortion from post-Impressionism
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Goldfish are seen from multiple perspectives → Shows distortion and flatness of canvas
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Emphasizes the feeling of tranquility and meditation from the goldfish as we see them in different ways
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Image 132: Improvisation 28 (second version)
Name
Improvisation 28 (second version)
Artist
Vassily Kandinsky
Date
1912 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Uses abstraction to promote the idea that there is inherently political dissidence and disaster and that we ourselves need to look for rhythm in the painting
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Has some biblical references → Abstract references to disaster and political dissidence
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City on hill in top right; Noah’s flood in bottom left
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Inspired by Jungian philosophy: Without any representation or harmony, there is a feeling of unsettling → We need to look for harmony to feel more satisfied
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It’s like he’s composing some music without representing anything concrete → Wants us to infer the rhythm
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This reflects atonal music (that lacks melody & harmony) → Chaos in the painting
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Metaphor for the idea that life inherently has political chaos and we need to look for order and leadership in our world
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Image 133: Self-Portrait as a Soldier
Name
Self-Portrait as a Soldier
Artist
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Date
1915 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Contrasts his military self (left side) with his idealized nude self (right side) to emphasize the horrors of war and Kirchner's anxiety with the present-day WW1 situation
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Founded the German Expressionist group Die Brücke (The Bridge): Believe in looking to the past (primitive objects) and the future to create new artworks that reflect the change in our world
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Contrasts his primitive military uniform with his idealized nude self to criticize himself as an artist because he thinks he wasted his time in war and has no true identity
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The right amputated hand (left side) represents an injury to his identity as an artist
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Contrasts his military clothing with the idealized nude’s clothing to show the horrors of war
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Has a distorted and brutalized face (military self) → Emphasizes his disgust with war
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Shows how he’s disgusted with war and modern societal developments and wants to look to his primitive self (his nude) to prevent any anxiety in the future
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Image 134: Memorial Sheet for Karl Liebknecht
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Name
Memorial Sheet for Karl Liebknecht
Artist
Käthe Kollwitz
Date
1919 - 1920 CE
Material
Woodcut
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Emphasizes the sadness and lamentation of Karl Liebknecht’s death
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Liebknecht was German communist leader during WW1
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After the war, the Communists fought the Socialists for control of the Weimar Republic (Germany) → Socialists captured Leibknecht and he died
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Everyone mourned the death of Liebknecht
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Woodcut is divided into thirds
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Top row is a group of sad faces
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Middle row is everyone lamenting and bowing forward to honor Liebknecht
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Takes the form of the Biblical Lamentation
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Bottom row is Leibknecht’s body
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Woodcut allows for dark and ghost-like faces of people → Emphasizes the sad effect of the mourning
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Image 135: Villa Savoye
Name
Villa Savoye
Location
Poissy-sur-Seine, France
Artist
Le Corbusier (Architect)
Date
1929 CE
Material
Steel and reinforced concrete
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Represents the idea that form follows function (more simplicity), allowing for more abstraction/freedom and less restriction in the interior of the house
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Free interior plan → People can distribute the interior plan (like the furniture and rooms, etc.) however they like
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Planar window brings light to all rooms of the interior
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Exterior is very planar and simple → Emphasizes fluidity and abstract/openness of interior
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Bottom appears to be floating → Air flow in the bottom
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Image 136: Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow
Name
Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow
Artist
Piet Mondrian
Date
1930 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Uses primary colors and black/white (and no symmetry) to reduce art to its basic elements and advocate for harmony and order during the horrors of the Great War
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De Stijl means “The Style”
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Seeks to create pure and “real” abstraction by reducing art to its bare components with precise geometric forms and straight lines
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Mondrian can convey the underlying structure of reality through these basic variations in colors
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Wants to reduce society to its bare minimum elements after all the complexity of the Great War (WW1) → Advocates for a return to order, harmony, and the basic fundamental society
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Image 137: Illustration from the Results of the First Five-Year Plan
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Name
Illustration from the Results of the First Five-Year Plan
Artist
Varvara Stepanova
Date
1932 CE
Material
Photomontage
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Uses Suprematist and Constructivist elements to represent the triumph of industrialism in Communist Russia
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Suprematism: Uses simple geometric shapes and color palettes to allow the viewer to internally recognize the artistic meaning without concrete images
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This has a Red, White, Tan, and Black color palette with Red, White, and Tan bands in background → These are the basic colors of communism
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Constructivism: Doesn’t use ornate decorations but rather combines many different simple elements into a larger photo (photomontage)
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Has a “5” to symbolize the 5-year plan
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Has other industrial elements to symbolize industrial success
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Has Lenin facing the people (and is much larger than the people) → Symbolize his power
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Has many different simple elements (described above) all put together in a collage/photomontage to describe urban industrial life
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Image 138: Object (Le Déjeuner en fourrure)
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Name
Object (Le Déjeuner en fourrure)
Artist
Meret Oppenheim
Date
1936 CE
Material
Fur-covered cup, saucer, and spoon
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The fur gives our hands a sensation of energy that represents the warmth that our internal conscience experiences when drinking tea
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Surrealists use physical elements to touch our subconscious feelings about the object
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Here, our conscience feels a sensation of warmth and energy when drinking the tea
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Thus, the teacup is lined with fur to physically give our hands that same warm and energetic/stimulating feeling
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Also gives a clash of sensations because while the fur signifies our subconscious feeling of warmth, drinking from the cup feels uncomfortable, while drinking tea in general is supposed to be comfortable
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Image 144: Fountain (second version)
Name
Fountain (second version)
Artist
Marcel Duchamp
Date
1950 CE (original in 1917 CE)
Material
Readymade glazed sanitary china with black paint
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An unconventional method of art → Emphasizes the negation of established norms during the horrors of WW1
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Urinal turned on its side → Challenges what is art and what is not art
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This is a mass-produced object made into art
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Does art stem from making or from thinking?
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Paradoxical → Emphasizes freedom of artistic expression
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Challenges the norms of the established upper classes and promotes more freedom and liberty in expression so that people can escape the horrors of conflict (during WW1)
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Image 127: The Steerage
Name
The Steerage
Artist
Alfred Stieglitz
Date
1907 CE
Material
Photogravure
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Shows multiple different images all in one photograph: Advocates for the value of photography as a fine art while criticizing the system of immigration
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There are multiple symbolic images all there at once → All these images together describe how photography has multiple layers, or how photography can be viewed as an abstract art with distinct layers/components:
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A man (top left) with a straw hat
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A stairway leading to the right
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A gangway leading to the left middle
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A rack of clothes on the bottom
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Many other images as well
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This abstraction shows the complete image of immigration to Stieglitz
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He was somewhat confounded in his perception on immigration: While he was sympathetic to immigrants, he did not want so many uneducated and poor people coming to America
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Image 139: Fallingwater
Name
Fallingwater
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
Artist
Frank Lloyd Wright
Date
1936 - 1939 CE
Material
Reinforced concrete, sandstone, steel, and glass
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Uses elements similar to Architectural Modernism to show a connection or integration between the house and the surrounding nature
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Wide glass panes → Allows for elongated vistas outward into the falls, making it seem like people in the house are part of the falls & the nature around it
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More openness as there aren’t many walls (without windows) facing the falls or the nature
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Only a main central stone (that holds the fireplace) and other stone supporting columns
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Thus, the rest of the walls mostly contain glass panes
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Has corner windows along the corners of the house → Allow people to immerse themselves in the nature around them
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Causes corners to “vanish” in the nature
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Image 140: The Two Fridas
Name
The Two Fridas
Artist
Frida Kahlo
Date
1939 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Represents Frida’s strength to be herself by contrasting her image where she relies on her love (right) with her image where she’s strong enough to support herself (left)
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The right image shows herself with her heart exposed
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She feels weakened, and her heart still relies on her husband, Diego Rivera (as the vein feeds into a small portrait of him, in Frida’s left hand)
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The left image shows her heart intact and strong and inside her body
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She is cutting her vein to show that she doesn’t need to rely on anyone else and is strong enough herself
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Yet the two Fridas grasp each other as they help each other out through her tough situation with her divorces and remarriages with Diego Rivera
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They hold hands, and their veins connect
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She viewed blood as a union, as something that joins families together → She feels that blood is uniting her two personalities
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She feels that blood is uniting herself with Diego Rivera in the right portrait, while that unity is also helping her become stronger on her own (left portrait)
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Image 141: The Migration of the Negro, Panel no. 49
Name
The Migration of the Negro, Panel no. 49
Artist
Jacob Lawrence
Date
1940 - 1941 CE
Material
Casein tempera on hardboard
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Shows the discrimination that African-Americans faced when they migrated to the North (during the Great Migration)
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Historical Context (The Great Migration): In late 19th & early 20th centuries, millions of African-Americans migrated from the South to the North
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Sought to escape Jim Crow segregation in the South and pursue industrial jobs in the North
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The yellow barrier divides the two races: Whites on left, African-Americans on right
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Combines abstraction with hierarchy of scale and some linear perspective and shadowing to emphasize the distance between the two races
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The African-American man at the top right is much smaller than the white men to the left
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The White men appear lost in thought, more well-dressed, and are looking away, completely disregarding what the African-Americans are doing
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The African-Americans are tending to menial tasks (such as dishwashing) and are also not looking at the Whites → Emphasizes how they were socially disregarded at the time
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Image 142: The Jungle
Name
The Jungle
Artist
Wilfredo Lam
Date
1943 CE
Material
Gouache on paper mounted on canvas
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Uses abstraction to represent the hardships that the Cuban sugarcane laborers faced in the early 20th century
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Many Americans came there for beaches, but they never realized that US corporations were exploiting the local population for their sugarcane plantations
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Has many unorthodox elements → Emphasizes the hardships faced by the Cuban sugarcane laborers & slaves
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People are depicted in weird shapes and crescent moons
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There aren’t enough legs to support the people
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There is no horizon or sky or ground
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There are sugarcane crops, but the title is a jungle, and there is no sugarcane in a jungle
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Also has some surrealist elements as he wants to invoke the subconscious and supernatural through these depictions
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Some of the symbols he uses reflect an Afro-Cuban religion called Santería that merges the natural world with the supernatural world through masks, animals, and other things (which we see here)
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This religious symbolism is evoked to sympathize with the Cuban sugarcane laborers
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Image 143: Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park
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Name
Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park
Artist
Diego Rivera
Date
1947 - 1948 CE
Material
Fresco
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A dream that showcases all the leaders of Mexican history → Represents how all social classes helped Mexico achieve the glory and independence it has today
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Starts on the left with Hernan Cortes and the conquest of Mexico
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Has Benito Juarez, who restored the Mexican republic after a French occupation
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In the middle we see Diego Rivera (childhood), Frida Kahlo, La Catrina (a skeleton referencing Mexican history), and Jose Guadalupe Posada
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Frida Kahlo holds a yin yang, referring to the balance in a marriage between the male and female (since her marriage was unstable)
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On the right we have Porfirio Diaz and people fighting for “land and liberty”
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Tries not to edit any history out; a dream that shows that everyone in Mexico is partying as they all helped achieve the glory and independence they have today after over 400 years
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At this time in Mexico, the people had more social freedom than they did earlier due to a more liberal constitution
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The balloons hint at this partying/dreaming
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This is a dream because at this time (WW2), people wanted more unity and less war, and this mural advocates for that
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Image 146: Seagram Building
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Name
Seagram Building
Location
New York City, USA
Artist
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson (architects)
Date
1954 - 1958 CE
Material
Steel frame with glass curtain wall and Bronze
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Reflects the minimalist movement in painting through architecture
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Glass curtain wall: The outer layer of the building is not meant for structural support, so it can be clad in glass
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The vertical mullions (the lines outside the windows) rise infinitely to the top without interruption
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Give the building some texture, depth, and play of light
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Represents Classical influence
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Outer metal made of bronze
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The entire building is symmetrical and is up on a small platform (Stylobate), just like Greek temples are usually on a platform
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Has some columns in the front that are like Greek columns
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The main structural support is the elevator shafts in the center → Similar to Greek/Roman columns
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Postmodernism
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General Idea: After WW2, artists sought to reject logic and used unconventional thought processes to create artworks that represent the artists' subconscious feelings
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Abstract Expressionism: Uses abstract marks in a disorganized way to convey a theme about a subject
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Pop Art: Showcases a certain subject in a flashy way (with bright colors and no shadows) to criticize or subjugate that subject
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Minimalism: Uses basic materials in a repetitive way to promote a feeling of meditation
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Color Field: Does not depict any subjects but rather mixes color bands together to allow the viewer to examine the tension or agreement between the different colors
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Land Art: Rejected commercialization & urbanization and sought to promote the idea of the Earth and nature as a home for humanity
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Postmodern Architecture: Rejected the formality of earlier times and used random forms and sculptures that were unrelated to the function or structure of the building
Image 145: Woman, I
Name
Woman, I
Artist
Willem de Kooning
Date
1950 - 1952 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Depicts the woman in a somewhat ugly misogynistic way, but can also be interpreted as post-WW2 pornography
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Emphasizes the breasts → Shows how this image could be pornographic
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Has a bunch of abstract marks → Emphasizes the deconstruction/ugliness of women
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Shows an ugly-looking skull-like face
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Image 147: Marilyn Diptych
Name
Marilyn Diptych
Artist
Andy Warhol
Date
1962 CE
Material
Oil, acrylic, and silkscreen enamel on canvas
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Repetition of Marilyn Monroe’s face drains away our emotional response to her identity and to her eventual suicide → Portrays her more as a sex symbol
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Marilyn Monroe was an actress and became a popular sex symbol
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Warhol uses the silkscreen technique to copy her face so many times
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We see some mechanical errors in the silkscreen (as there are slight color deviations between the images)
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By copying her face so many times, he also eliminates some of her shadowing, which makes her face seem more like a sex object
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Marilyn eventually died of suicide, and we somewhat see her eventual disappearance in the right half of the image
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While the left half somewhat degrades our emotional response to her, we partly regain our emotional sensitivity to her in the right half as she eventually disappears and dies
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Image 150: Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks
Name
Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks
Artist
Claes Oldenburg
Date
1969 - 1974 CE
Material
Cor-Ten steel, steel, aluminum, and cast resin;
painted with polyurethane enamel
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Combines an abstract version of a military tank with an abstract lipstick → Criticizes US involvement in Vietnam War as well as growing consumerism in the US
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Wants to show that people are so distracted by anti-Vietnam War protests that we don’t realize our nation is being overcome by extreme consumerism
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A juxtaposition of masculinity (the tank) and femininity (the lipstick)
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The lipstick is even shaped like a bullet → Represents juxtaposition of the extremes of masculinty and femininity
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Put onto Yale’s campus and was used for many protests
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Image 148: Narcissus Garden
Name
Narcissus Garden
Artist
Yayoi Kusama
Date
Original Installation and Performance: 1966 CE
Material
Mirror Balls
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When people look into these mirror balls, they see multiple distorted and convex reflections of themselves → Gives them a feeling of vanity
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These balls are like mirrors, and having multiple of them gives a chain-reaction effect that creates somewhat distorted images
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Sometimes you see yourself, but most often your image appears a bit distorted
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This distortion gives the viewer the illusion of vanity
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Image 149: The Bay
Name
The Bay
Artist
Helen Frankenthaler
Date
1963 CE
Material
Acrylic on Canvas
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Color Field paintings emphasize the tension or agreement between different color bands → This artwork's color scheme gives a sensation of tranquility
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Color field paintings aren’t meant to represent something, nor do they have some figure and then a background
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Rather, they have multiple color bands of roughly equal area/significance so that no band appears to dominate or be the background for the others
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We analyze these images by figuring out the sensation we get by looking at the tension between the colors
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Frankenthaler poured the paint onto the canvas to make this image
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She used very wet acrylic paint to allow it to flow like this
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By analyzing the tension between the blue and green, we get a sensation of tranquility
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Image 151: Spiral Jetty
Name
Spiral Jetty
Location
Artist
Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA
Robert Smithson
Date
1970 CE
Material
Earthwork: Mud, precipitated salt crystals, rocks, and water coil
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This spiral is imposing a geometric order on the lake, but over time, the lake will erode it and the spiral will come apart → Shows the power of nature as the environmentalist movement became popular
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Land Art became very common in the 1970s and 80s
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First Earth Day was in 1970 → Increased environmental movement
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Wants to show the power of nature in eroding this spiral over time
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Represents the idea of entropy: Nature prefers more chaos, so nature will naturally erode and unravel this spiral
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Also wants to increase contact between land and water with this spiral → More natural interaction
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Image 152: House in New Castle County
Name
House in New Castle County
Location
Delaware, USA
Artist
Architects: Robert Venturi, John Rauch, and Denise Scott Brown
Date
1978 - 1983 CE
Material
Wood frame and stucco
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Uses elaborate decorations to give the house a more grand and playful appearance (as opposed to simplicity of architectural modernism)
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Wanted to look to history to create cool adaptations of historical designs to criticize the overly-simplistic nature of modernism
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Has an arched screen that somewhat resembles Austrian Baroque origins
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Has flat columns over a small recessed porch → Classical influence
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Interior wooden decorations and arches (that appear cut like a jigsaw) give a playful craftsman-like quality (inspired by 19th century traditions)
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