Post 3-Zoha Khan

Modernism was a movement in the western art. It was around the 1850’s. Modernism declined the styles and techniques of the past and created new ones through experimentation. It was basically a whole new language that consisted of abstraction, expressionism, dada, and surrealism. Artist helped in the development of modern art by focusing more on the experimentation on the forms, and the techniques rather than focusing on the subject itself.

                                                     Alexandra Exter Composition 1914

In Exter’s painting you can see that she focuses more on colors, lines and forms. Most of the painting consists of different shapes made with varying lines. Exter’s main focus as one can see in the painting is not to get the reality of the subject matter but to show the meaning through a whole new different language. The viewer might be unable to tell what the subject matter of the painting is. The attention goes to the forms, colors, and shapes. Exter met some cubists in Paris and a year later Exter’s paintings were all inspired with great spaces, wedges, and shapes. 

                                             Liubov Popova Painterly Architectonics 1918

Popova follows the modernist painter rubric as well where she rejects all traditional style and experiments with form in her subject matter. She uses a vibrant color in the middle of the painting that catches the eye and plainer colors around it. Popova was from a wealth family, she was influenced a lot from futurism and spent her time interpreting it as well as cubism. Unlike Exter who focuses more on line Popova concentrates on colors and texture.

                                                 Cubist dress from Vogue October 1925

The tittle says it all “cubist” dress. The dress is inspired from one of the many languages that were born because of modernism. The dress looks like a cubist painting taken and put on the dress directly. Women’s fashion took a turn because of modernism. Clothes designed involved more simplicity of lines and colors than the previous styles before the modernism movement. The fashion industry focused on modern women- their sexuality as well as their youth. The avant-garde art inspired the fashion industry especially with women because they were more able consumers. The roles for women were expanded in her regards to being a consumer. Vogue’s cubist dress took abstract textiles which led to mass production for higher and middle class women. The modern fashion spread extremely quickly across Western Europe and America. They even modernized the accessories for women as seen in the photo above. The models earrings are cubist inspired as well.

As the modern artist were consumed with forward thinking approach, showing their progress, the reaction against all that came to be known as Postmodernism. It questioned everything that was embraced by the modern art. Postmodernism was more realistic than the modern art, whereas modernism focused more on lines, colors, shapes, and textures rather than subject matter, postmodernism focused on the originality of the content. To portray it with little or alteration from the original subject matter. It sought out to reject the aspects that came to birth because of modernism.

              Guerrilla Girls Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum? 1989

One good example of Postmodernism art is by the Guerrilla Girls. They use text in their art to convey their message. The Guerrilla Girls have been trying to bring awareness to the fact that there aren’t many female artists’ works in the met museum, it begs the question of why the female painters are less by the subject matter of so many female nudes more. It makes the viewer confront the fact of woman being used as objects more and being seen as capable artists less. It shows the discrimination female artist face and their fight towards the recognition they deserve. Postmodernism art is often very confrontational and conveys the message outright. 

                                        Barbara Kruger We Don’t Need Another Hero 1986

Kruger takes the inspiration from Rosie the Riveter poster where females were encouraged to join the work force during the times of war, Kruger shows the comparison of how women were seen at the time of war and how women are seen in the aftermath it. Maybe the viewers can also get the meaning of the war is over and there is no need of hero’s anymore. As the Guerrilla Girls art was confrontational so is Kruger’s in a way. She questions societal roles of gender. The girl in the picture is seeing how much muscle the boy has. It makes the viewer think is that what makes a man a “man”? To have muscle and to be strong makes one more masculine and that is how society sets standards for men. Are woman only impressed by men who are big and strong? Begs the viewer it is something to think about. 

Works Cited

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, art, and society. Thames & Hudson, 1996.