Modernism and Postmodernism by Ruopeng Wang

Modernism refers to the general movement that originated in the late 19^th century, and it is characterized by its proposition of rejecting the traditional style of art and literature. What makes modernism so unique among all the genres of art is its emphasis on the innovation and experimentation in its forms, techniques and subjects of matter, which ideally help fulfill its goal—to make art better reflect the modern society. As time went by, modernism began to dominate the world of art in both theory and practice in the 20^th century. Postmodernism, as a reaction against modernism, began to challenge the existing form of art consequently. As a product of World War II, postmodernism indeed provided distinct and fresh perspectives of the relation between art and the society. Primarily, one common thing of the two genres is the importance of women’s role in forming both artistic categories. Women artists (especially in Europe) played instrumental role in forming and developing the themes and techniques of both movements, and more importantly, they shed light on how artists thought our society should be reflected by art.

Women artists played a crucial role in the development of modernism, especially in terms of techniques and the creation of various movements. According to Chadwick, there were mainly two events that encouraged women’s involvement and influence on modernism. The first event is the Reforming Fashion, which is also known as the dress reform. This reform happened in the middle and late Victorian era, and it stood for a shift from the traditional “fashions” to a set of more practical and comfortable clothing. This movement is often viewed as a token of feminism. As Chadwick wrote, “The new ‘healthy’ styles, however, indicate a shift from earlier notions of clothing as indicating class and occupation to a more modern preoccupation with clothing as a means of creating identity.” (Chadwick, 254) The new ideas of redesigning women’s fashion provided a perfect stage for women artists to pursue and emphasize their personalities in their artistic creation. The other event that aided women artists’ in applying modernistic techniques was the Omega Workshop. Located in Fitzroy Square, London, the workshop essentially sold furniture, fabrics and household accessories designed and made by artists. The workshop included studios where products were designed and made, and also public showrooms where customers could select and buy those designs. There’s no doubt that such a workshop immediately became an attractive arena for artists at that time. As Chadwick remarked, “The Omega Workshops became a meeting place for like-minded artists and gave them a livelihood through designing and decorating fabrics, furniture, pottery, and other small items.” (Chadwick, 257)
 

William Powell Frith, A Private View at the Royal Academy, 1881, 1883: a reflection of the dress reform    

Druad chair designed by Roger Fry for the Omega Workshops    

The involvement of women artists in various divisions of modernism also fostered the development of modernism. For instance, Gabriele Münter was an influential artist in abstraction, which literally indicates the process of taking away or removing characteristics from something in order to reduce it to a set of essential characteristics. Taking a look at Münter’s Portrait of Marianne von Werefkin, it was evidently shown in the painting that how Münter simplified the figure by presenting it as blocks of color and by replacing the modeling “by a heavy black outline” (Chadwick, 256) Take another example, Dadaism. What made dada unique is the use of readymade objects, which means everyday objects that could be bought and presented as art with little manipulation by the artist. Take the artwork of Dadaist artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp as an example, we can easily tell the geometric beauty from it. We can also tell how the utilization of vivid color and the combination of textile patterns made the artwork “fashionable”.

Portrait of Marianne von Werefkin, Gabriele Münter, 1909   

Oval Composition with Abstract Motifs, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, 1922    

There are some significant external circumstances which altogether provided a common ground for the origination and development of modernism. The Industrial Revolutions of the 18^th and 19^th century influenced modernism deeply. During industrialization, the huge advancement of human society brought by technological and economic expansion accelerated the destruction of the existing cultural and environmental conditions in Western Europe and North America. New forms of transportation like the railroad and the steam engine profoundly changed the way people lived; urban areas prospered and the boom of urban population, which were both fostering people to broaden their horizon and change the way they view the world. In contrast, the origination of postmodernism was more based on a philosophical aspect. After the second World War, people began to rethink what art should be and by whom should art be created. Postmodernism means a direct denial of those classic philosophical viewpoints that rooted in the Enlightenment, and it was also against the propositions of modernism, more precisely, postmodernism insisted that anything can be art, and anyone can be an artist, rather than only those elites as modernism had indicated. The artwork named “Retroactive II” is the one I found interesting, which may give us an idea of what postmodernism is about and how novel it could be. Postmodernism is different from modernism in many aspects. Rather than based on Western Europe, postmodernists choose to believe in multiculturalism. Postmodernism also denied the application of logical thinking. Instead, postmodernism was based on an irrational thinking process, which stands for a straightforward denial against modernism.

Retroactive II, Robert Rauschenberg, 1963    

 Works Cited: Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. 4th ed. New York, N.Y.: Thames and Hudson, 1990. Print.