Modern Art - Doing What's New and Different

What exactly is modern art? Actually, it's really not all that "modern," at least not anymore. "Modern art" refers to art that's closely related to modernism, a philosophy of thought that describes a set of cultural tendencies and a wide range of cultural movements. Modernism, which became popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, arose from wide-scale and far-reaching cultural changes in Western society happening at the time. Artists and philosophers believed that the more "traditional" forms of art, architecture, religious faith, and social organization were outdated in light of the sweeping changes that were occurring in Europe and the U.S. during that time.

Most scholars use the term "modern art" when describing artistic works produced roughly during the 1860s to the 1970s, and is associated with art in which the traditions of the past were replaced by works produced in a spirit of experimentation. Modern artist experimented with new ways of seeing and depicting the world around them, and with new ideas about the materials and functions of art. Artists, especially painters, experimented with abstract art in new and different ways.

Self-consciousness is an important part of modernism, and of modern art, which often led to experimentations with form. Artists produced works that drew attention to the processes and materials used in them. Most experts believe that the era of modern art began in 1863, the year that Édouard Manet exhibited his painting The Luncheon on the Grass in Paris. This particular painting, with its juxtaposition of a female nude with fully dressed men, was quite controversial when it was exhibited in the Salon des Refusés, which was where all the nontraditional art was shown at the time.

Manet is an important artist in the modernism movement because, as the great art critic Clement Greenberg said, up to that point art (i.e., realistic and naturalistic art) had used art to conceal art. Modern artists like Manet, on the other hand, used art to call attention to art. The limitations of painting-the two-dimensional nature of the canvas, for example-were opened up and made into advantages. Manet made obvious the materials he used, making his subject matter more honest and as a result, more "real." This is especially true of the impressionists.

Cubism, an avant-garde art movement of the early twentieth century, was another important movement that came out of Modern Art. It revolutionized not only European painting, but sculpture as well, and inspired similar movements in music and literature. In cubist paintings, like those created by Picasso and Mattisse, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in abstract forms. Instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the subject is depicted from several vantage points to present the piece in a greater context. The surfaces often intersect at what seems like random angles with no coherent sense of depth.

All aspects of modern art is about the creation of something different than what had been done before. Both impressionism and cubism do that, and very well. It makes for a very interesting era in art history.

Peter Dranitsin is a self taught and self representing artist. He grew up in the family where his mother a professional artist and his father a professional photographer.

"As a kid growing up I did took art classes and learned the basic concepts of drawing, painting and sculpture. I love to paint and contribute all of my time creating new paintings. I prefer to paint with new acrylic paint. I feel that I have full control over this type of paint. Many people ask me what motivates me to paint - creating something beautiful out of something unknown is my motivation in creating new abstract paintings."

Source : ezinearticles