i nvention of abstraction
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invention of abstraction
Abstract ArtExpressionism & Fauvism
Abstract art came about in the early 20th century (1900s) after Expressionism & Fauvism.
Both are by the same artist...
Pablo Picasso’s Les Desmoiselles D’Avignon is considered to be the first painting in “Modern Art”.
What is abstract art?
• Essentially the opposite of Expressionism because the subject matter is often devoid of emotion/psychological meaning
• Main focus is design; how all the parts of the composition relate to one another
• Point is to simplify/reduce an image to its elemental forms (shape, colour, line, etc.)
• There were a variety of ways in which abstract art was explored. Three important movements are Cubism, Futurism, & De Stijl.
Therefore, these aren’t abstract art...
Emotional Realistic Meaningful
and these are abstract art.
CubismFuturism
De Stijl
Mostly unemotional Mostly not meaningful
Geometric shapes
Invention of Abstraction: Cubism
• Subject is broken apart and reassembled in an abstract form, emphasizing geometric shapes
• Sometimes looks like shattered images (Analytic Cubism)
• Sometimes looks like combining various synthesized views/aspects of an object, based on collage (Synthetic Cubism)
• Part representation, part abstraction
Reassembled into
geometric sh
apes
Multiple views
Shattered images
Pablo Picasso. Les Desmoiselles D’Avignon. (1907) Oil on canvas.
• Abstracted/simplified images of female models (common Parisian prostitutes)• Considered to be the first painting in “Modern Art”; shatters all conventions• Multiple views; i.e. frontal and profile simultaneously seen (no logical perspective)• Influence: visual power of African masks• Primitivism – idealizes non-Western cultures as being more ideal and less corrupt than Europe• Picasso once said it took him many years to learn to draw like children
Invention of Abstraction: Futurism
• Style of painting and sculpture that emerged in Italy in the early 20th century
• Lots of industrial growth & political chaos (World War I) at this time
• Emphasized the machine-like quality of “modern” living
• Often there was a focus on dynamism/“lines of force” in objects.
Industrial
Dynamism
Joseph Stella. Brooklyn Bridge. (1918-1920) Oil on canvas.
• Shows the beauty of this man-made structure• Perhaps viewed from a speeding car crossing the bridge• Idealized view of city life & the benefits of industrialization
Umberto Boccioni. Unique Forms of Continuity in Space. (1913) Bronze.
• Focused on the “miracles of contemporary life”; the industrial age (i.e. railroads, boats, planes)• Tried to “revive” sculpture. This piece is a futuristic Nike of Samothrace.
Invention of Abstraction: De Stijl
• (literally “The Style” in Dutch) A cold & intellectual approach to design begun by Piet Mondrian
• Developed into a specific non-representational style
• Complete reliance on design and no feeling/emotion
• Meant to show precise, mechanical order not existing in nature
Just design
Non-representational
Piet Mondrian. Diagonal Composition. (1921) Oil on canvas.
•Based on straight lines & squares/rectangles•Creates a sense of harmony & order (not existing in the war torn world)•Mondrian’s view: vertical lines = vitality, horizontal lines = tranquility, & crossing them creates “dynamic equilibrium” •Used only black, white, grey, & primary colours•Calculated placement of colours & shapes create asymmetrical balance
De Stijl-inspired House
Identify abstract art & the movement...
Identify De Stijl...
Identify abstract art & the movement...