ARTS

Quarter I: MODERN ART

 INTRODUCTION
In all of human history, art has mirrored life in the
community, society, and the world in all its colors, lines,
shapes, and forms. The same has been true in the last two
centuries, with world events and global trends being
reflected in the art movements.
The decades from 1900 to the present have seen the
human race living in an ever- shrinking planet. The 20th
century saw a boom in the interchange of ideas, beliefs,
values, and lifestyles that continues to bring the citizens of
the world closer together.
• Technological breakthroughs
From the Industrial Revolution of the late
1800s, the world zoomed into the Electronic
Age in the mid-1900s, then into the present
Cyberspace Age. In just over 100 years, humans
went from hand-cranked telephones to hands-
free mobile phones, from the first automobiles
to inter-planetary space vehicles, from local
radio broadcasting to international news
coverage via satellite, from vaccinations against
polio and smallpox to laser surgery.
Social, political, and
environmental changes
There has been migration
across the globe, allowing
different cultures,
languages, skills, and even
physical characteristics of
different races to
intermingle like never
before.
The 20th century also suffered through two
World Wars, and several regional wars in Asia,
Africa, and the Middle East. There was the
Great Depression of the 1930s, and the Asian
economic crisis of the 1990s. Considered the
modern-day plague, AIDS has afflicted
millions the world over, while millions more
continue to live in hunger, disease, and
poverty. Environmental destruction has also
become a major concern.
Effects on the world of art
The art movements of the late 19th century to
the 20th century captured and expressed all
these and more. Specifically, these were the
movements known as impressionism and
expressionism. While earlier periods of art had a
quite set conventions as to the style, technique,
and treatment of their subjects, impressionists
and expressionists conveyed their ideas and
feelings in bold, innovative ways. These were
the exciting precursors of the modern art of the
21st century.
 Impressionism: Origins of the
Movement
Impressionism was an art movement that emerged
in the second half of the 19th century among a
group of Paris-based artists. The duration of the
impressionist movement itself was quite short, less
than 20 years from 1872 to the mid-1880s. But it
had a tremendous impact and influence on the
painting styles that followed, such as neo-
impressionism, post- impressionism, fauvism, and
cubism—and even the artistic styles and
movements of today.
 Impression, Sunrise
Claude Monet, 1872
Oil on canvas

The name impressionism was coined from the title of a work

by French painter Claude Monet, Impression, soleil levant (in
English, Impression, Sunrise).

The term precisely captured what this group of artists sought

to represent in their works: the viewer’s momentary
“impression” of an image. It was not intended to be clear or
precise, but more like a fleeting fragment of reality caught on
canvas, sometimes in mid-motion, at other times awkwardly
positioned—-just as it would be in real life.
 The Influence of Delacroix
As with all emerging art movements, impressionism
owed its inspiration to earlier masters. One major
influence was the work of French painter Eugene
Delacroix. Delacroix was greatly admired and emulated
by the early impressionists—specifically for his use of
expressive brushstrokes, his emphasis on movement
rather than on clarity of form, and most of all his study
of the optical effects of color.
In particular, Delacroix’s painting, The Barque of Dante,
contained a then revolutionary technique that would
profoundly influence the coming impressionist
movement. And it involved something as simple as
droplets of water
The painting is loosely based on
a fictional scene from Dante’s
Inferno, showing Dante and the
poet Virgil crossing hell’s River
Styx, while tormented souls
struggle to climb aboard their
boat. It is the drops of water
running down the bodies of
these doomed souls) that are
painted in a manner almost
never used in Delacroix’s time.
When studied closely, it is seen
that four different, unmixed
pigments—yellow, green, red,
and white—create the image of
each drop and its shadow.
Viewed from a little distance, these colors blend to
represent individual drops glistening with light. The
distinct colors merge in the eye of the viewer to
appear monochromatic (single-colored) or, in this case
of water droplets, colorless. In short, an impression is
formed. Putting this and similar principles into wider
practice, future painters would carry French art into
one of its richest periods: impressionism.
Impressionism
A Break from Past Painting Traditions
There were several areas in which impressionist
artists moved away from the established practices
of art at that time. These involved their use of
color, choice of subject matter and setting, and
technique for capturing light and conveying
movement.
Color and Light
The painting conventions and techniques of earlier
art periods were very much concerned with line,
form, and composition. In contrast, the
impressionists painted with freely brushed colors
that conveyed more of a visual effect than a
detailed rendering of the subject. They used short
“broken” strokes that were intentionally made
visible to the viewer. They also often placed pure
unmixed colors side by side, rather than blended
smoothly or shaded. The result was a feeling of
energy and intensity, as the colors appeared to
shift and move—again, just as they do in reality.
“Everyday” Subjects
Impressionists also began to break away from the
creation of formally posed portraits and grandiose
depictions of mythical, literary, historical, or religious
subjects. They ventured into capturing scenes of life
around them, household objects, landscapes and
seascapes, houses, cafes, and buildings. They presented
ordinary people seemingly caught off-guard doing
everyday tasks, at work or at leisure, or doing nothing at
all. And they were not made to look beautiful or lifelike,
as body parts could be distorted and facial features
merely suggested by a few strokes of the brush.
Painting Outdoors
The location in which the impressionists painted was
also different. Previously, still life, portraits, and
landscapes were usually painted inside a studio.
However, the impressionists found that they could best
capture the ever-changing effects of light on color by
painting outdoors in natural light. This gave their works
a freshness and immediacy that was quite a change
from the stiffer, heavier, more planned paintings of
earlier masters.
Open Composition
Impressionist painting also moved
away from the formal, structured
approach to placing and positioning
their subjects. They experimented
with unusual visual angles, sizes of
objects that appeared out of
proportion, off-center placement,
and empty spaces on the canvas.
The Influence of Photography
Photography was in its early stages at this time as well. As it
gained popularity, photography inspired impressionists to
capture fleeting moments of action, whether in landscapes or
in the day-to-day lives of people. But whereas camera
snapshots provided objective, true-to-life images, the artists
were able to offer a subjective view of their subjects,
expressing their personal perceptions rather than creating
exact representations. They also had the advantage of
manipulating color, which photography at that time still
lacked.
Impressionism:

Works of Manet, Monet, and Renoir

By the 1870s, the stage was set for the emergence
of the next major art movement in Europe,
impressionism. It started with a group of French
painters—that included Edouard Manet, Claude
Monet, and Auguste Renoir—and eventually
spread to other countries, such as Italy, Germany,
and The Netherlands.
Edouard Manet (1832-1883) was one of
the first 19th century artists to depict
modern-life subjects. He was a key figure
in the transition from realism to
impressionism, with a number of his
works considered as marking the birth of
modern art.
Claude Monet (1840-1926) was one of the founders of the
impressionist movement along with his friends Auguste
Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frederic Bazille. He was the most
prominent of the group; and is considered the most influential
figure in the movement. Monet is best known for his
landscape paintings, particularly those depicting his beloved
flower gardens and water lily ponds at his home in Giverny.
Auguste Renoir (1841-1919),
along with Claude Monet, was
one of the central figures of the
impressionist movement. His
early works were snapshots of
real life, full of sparkling color
and light. By the mid-1880s,
however, Renoir broke away
from the impressionist
movement to apply a more
disciplined, formal technique to
portraits of actual people and
figure paintings.
 Post-Impressionism
Works of Cezanne and Van Gogh
After the brief yet highly influential period of impressionism,
an outgrowth movement known as post-impressionism
emerged. The European artists who were at the forefront of
this movement continued using the basic qualities of the
impressionists before them—the vivid colors, heavy brush
strokes, and true-to-life subjects. However, they expanded
and experimented with these in bold new ways, like using a
geometric approach, fragmenting objects and distorting
people’s faces and body parts, and applying colors that were
not necessarily realistic or natural.
Two of the foremost post-impressionists were Paul Cezanne
and Vincent van Gogh.
Paul Cezanne (1839-1906)
was a French artist and post-
impressionist painter. His
work exemplified the
transition from late 19th-
century impressionism to a
new and radically different
world of art in the 20th
century—paving the way for
the next revolutionary art
movement known as
expressionism.
Vincent van Gogh (1853-
1890) was a post-
impressionist painter from
The Netherlands. His works
were remarkable for their
strong, heavy brush strokes,
intense emotions, and colors
that appeared to almost
pulsate with energy. Van
Gogh’s striking style was to
have a far-reaching influence
on 20th century art, with his
works becoming among the
most recognized in the world
 Expressionism: A Bold New Movement
In the early 1900s, there arose in the Western art world
a movement that came to be known as expressionism.
Expressionist artists created works with more emotional
force, rather than with realistic or natural images. To
achieve this, they distorted outlines, applied strong
colors, and exaggerated forms. They worked more with
their imagination and feelings, rather than with what
their eyes saw in the physical world.
Among the various styles that arose within the
expressionist art movements were:
• neoprimitivism • fauvism • dadaism • surrealism
• social realism
Neoprimitivism was an art style that incorporated
elements from the native arts of the South Sea Islanders
and the wood carvings of African tribes which suddenly
became popular at that time. Among the Western
artists who adapted these elements was Amedeo
Modigliani, who used the oval faces and elongated
shapes of African art in both his sculptures and
paintings.
Fauvism was a style
that used bold,
vibrant colors and
visual distortions. Its
name was derived
from les fauves (“wild
beasts”), referring to
the group of French
expressionist painters
who painted in this
style. Perhaps the
most known among
them was Henri
Matisse
Dadaism was a style
characterized by dream
fantasies, memory
images, and visual tricks
and surprises—as in the
paintings of Marc Chagall
and Giorgio de Chirico.
Although the works
appeared playful, the
movement arose from the
pain that a group of
European artists felt after
the suffering brought by
World War I.
Wishing to protest against the civilization that had
brought on such horrors, these artists rebelled
against established norms and authorities, and
against the traditional styles in art. They chose the
child’s term for hobbyhorse, dada, to refer to their
new “non-style.”
Surrealism was a style that depicted an illogical,
subconscious dream world beyond the logical,
conscious, physical one. Its name came from the term
“super realism,” with its artworks clearly expressing a
departure from reality—as though the artists were
dreaming, seeing illusions, or experiencing an altered
mental state.
Social Realism

The movement known as social realism. Expressed the artist’s role

in social reform. Here, artists used their works to protest against
the injustices, inequalities, immorality, and ugliness of the human
condition. In different periods of history, social realists have
addressed different issues: war, poverty, corruption, industrial and
environmental hazards, and more—in the hope of raising people’s
awareness and pushing society to seek reforms.
Ben Shahn’s Miners’ Wives, for example, spoke out against the
hazardous conditions faced by coal miners, after a tragic accident
killed 111 workers in Illinois in 1947, leaving their wives and
children in mourning.
Pablo Picasso’s Guernica has been recognized as the most
monumental and comprehensive statement of social realism
against the brutality of war. Filling one wall of the Spanish Pavilion
at the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris, it was Picasso’s outcry against the
German air raid of the town of Guernica in his native Spain.
 Abstractionism
Another group of artistic styles emerged at the
same time as the expressionist movement. It
had the same spirit of freedom of expression
and openness that characterized life in the 20th
century, but it differed from expressionism in
certain ways. This group of styles was known as
abstractionism
The abstractionist movement arose from the
intellectual points of view in the 20th century. In the
world of science, physicists were formulating a new
view of the universe, which resulted in the concepts of
space-time and relativity. This intellectualism was
reflected even in art. While expressionism was
emotional, abstractionism was logical and rational. In
previous centuries, works of art were a reflection, in
one way or another, of the outside world. In 20th
century abstractionism, natural appearances became
unimportant. Artists reduced a scene into geometrical
shapes, patterns, lines, angles, textures and swirls of
color. The resulting works ranged from representational
abstractionism, depicting still- recognizable subjects (as
in the artwork on the left), to pure abstractionism,
where no recognizable subject could be discerned
Grouped under abstractionism are the following art styles:
 cubism
 futurism
 mechanical style
 Nonobjectivism

Cubism
The cubist style derived its name from the cube, a three-
dimensional geometric figure composed of strictly measured
lines, planes, and angles. Cubist artworks were, therefore, a
play of planes and angles on a flat surface. Foremost among
the cubists was Spanish painter/sculptor Pablo Picasso. In
earlier styles, subjects were depicted in a three-dimensional
manner, formed by light and shadow
In contrast, the cubists analyzed their subjects’ basic
geometrical forms, and broke them up into a series
of planes. Then they re-assembled these planes,
tilting and interlocking them in different ways

Three Musicians Girl Before a Mirror

Pablo Picasso, 1921 Pablo Picasso, 1932
ARMORED
TRAIN
Gino Severini
1915

Futurism
The movement known as futurism began in Italy in the early
1900s. As the name implies, the futurists created art for a
fast-paced, machine-propelled age. They admired the motion,
force, speed, and strength of mechanical forms. Thus, their
works depicted the dynamic
sensation of all these—as can be seen in the works of Italian
painter Gino Severini.
 The City
Fernand Léger,
1919

Mechanical Style
As a result of the futurist movement, what became known as
the mechanical style emerged. In this style, basic forms such
as planes, cones, spheres, and cylinders all fit together
precisely and neatly in their appointed places. This can be
seen in the works of Fernand Léger. Mechanical parts such as
crankshafts, cylinder blocks, and pistons are brightened only
by the use of primary colors. Otherwise, they are lifeless.
Even human figures are mere outlines, rendered purposely
without expression.
New York City
Piet Mondrian,
1942

Nonobjectivism
The logical geometrical conclusion of abstractionism came in
the style known as nonobjectivism. From the very term “non-
object,” works in this style did not make use of figures or even
representations of figures. They did not refer to recognizable
objects or forms in the outside world.
Lines, shapes, and colors were used in a cool, impersonal
approach that aimed for balance, unity, and stability. Colors
were mainly black, white, and the primaries (red, yellow, and
blue). Foremost among the nonobjectivists was Dutch painter
Piet Mondrian.
Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Op Art

World events in the mid-20th century immensely

influenced the course of human life and, with it, the
course of art history. World War I (1913-1914) and
World War II (1941-1945), in particular, shifted the
political, economic, and cultural world stage away
from Europe and on to the “New World” continent,
America.
The New York School
In the 1920s and 1930s, aspiring young American painters,
sculptors, and writers sailed to Europe to expand their
horizons. But during the dark days of World War II, a
reverse migration brought European scientists, architects,
and artists to American shores.
New York, in particular, became a haven for the newly-
arrived artists and their American counterparts.
The result was the establishment of what came to be
known as “The New York School”—as opposed to “The
School of Paris” that had been very influential in Europe.
The daring young artists in this movement succeeded in
creating their own synthesis of Europe’s cubist and
surrealist styles. Their style came to be known as abstract
expressionism.
 Autumn Rhythm
Action Painting Jackson Pollock, 1950
One form of abstract expressionism was seen in the works of
Jackson Pollock. These were created through what came to be
known as “action painting.” Pollock worked on huge canvases
spread on the floor, splattering, squirting, and dribbling paint
with (seemingly) no pre-planned pattern or design in mind.
The total effect is one of vitality, creativity, “energy made
visible.” Pollock’s first one-man show in New York in 1943
focused worldwide attention on abstract expressionism for
the first time.
Color Field Painting
In contrast to the Magenta,
Black, Green
vigorous gestures of the on Orange
action painters, another Barnett
group of artists who Newman,
1950-1951
came to be known as
“color field painters”
used different color
saturations (purity,
vividness, intensity) to
create their desired Vir Heroicus
effects. Some of their Sublimis
works were huge fields Mark Rothko,
1949
of vibrant color—as in
the paintings of Mark
Rothko and Barnett
Newman
 Forgotten Dream Abstract No. 2
Adolph Gottlieb, 1946 ,Lee Krasner, 1948

Others took the more intimate “pictograph”

approach, filling the canvas with repeating picture
fragments or symbols—as in the works of Adolph
Gottlieb and Lee Krasner
 After “The New York School”
By the early 1960s, the momentum of The New York
School slowed down. In its place, a new crop of artists
came on the scene using lighter treatment and flashes
of humor, even irreverence, in their artworks.
The movements they brought about have come to be
called:
• neodadaism and pop art
• conceptual art
• op art
• the new realism
Neodadaism, Pop Art, Op Art
Like the dadaist movement that arose after World War I, the
neodadaism of the 1960s wanted to make reforms in
traditional values. It also made use of commonplace, trivial,
even nonsensical objects. But unlike the angry, serious tone
of the original dadaists, the neodadaists seemed to enjoy
nonsense for its own sake and simply wanted to laugh at the
world.

Twelve Cars Marilyn Monroe

Andy Warhol, 1962 Andy Warhol, 1967
• Their works ranged from paintings, to posters,
to collages, to three-dimensional
“assemblages” and installations. These made
use of easily recognizable objects and images
from the emerging consumer society—as in
the prints of Andy Warhol. Their inspirations
were the celebrities, advertisements,
billboards, and comic strips that were
becoming commonplace at that time. Hence
the term pop (from “popular”) art emerged.
 Whaam! In the Car
Roy Lichtenstein, 1963 Roy Lichtenstein, 1963

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) was an American

pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy
Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist
among others, he became a leading figure in this
new art movement.
One and Three Chairs
Joseph Kosuth, 1965
An actual chair (center),
with a photograph of the
same chair
and an enlarged copy of a
dictionary definition of a
chair

Conceptual Art
As the term implies, conceptual art was that which
arose in the mind of the artist, took concrete form for a
time, and then disappeared (unless it was captured in
photo or film documentation). Conceptualists
questioned the idea of art as objects to be bought and
sold. Instead, they brought their artistic ideas to life
temporarily, using such unusual materials as grease,
blocks of ice, food, even just plain dirt.
Op art, short for optical art, is a
style of visual art that uses optical
illusions. Op art works are abstract,
with many better known pieces
created in black and white.
Typically, they give the viewer the
impression of movement, hidden
images, flashing and vibrating
patterns, or of swelling or warping.
 Installation Art
Cordillera Labyrinth
Roberto Villanueva, 1989 Bamboo
and runo grass
Outdoor installation at the
Cultural Center of the Philippines

Installation art is a contemporary art form that uses

sculptural materials and other media to modify the
way the viewer experiences a particular space.
Usually life-size or sometimes even larger,
installation art is not necessarily confined to gallery
spaces. It can be constructed or positioned in
everyday public or private spaces, both indoor and
outdoor.
Pasyon at Rebolusyon
Santiago Bose, 1989

Materials used in
today’s
installation art
range from
everyday items
and natural
materials to new
media such as
video, sound,
performance, and
computers.
 Performance Art

Performance art is a form of modern art in which the

actions of an individual or a group at a particular
place and in a particular time constitute the work. It
can happen anywhere, at any time, or for any length
of time. It can be any situation that involves four
basic elements: time space
• the performer’s body
• a relationship between performer and
audience.
• Performance art does include such activities as
theater, dance, music, mime, juggling, and
gymnastics. However, the term is usually
reserved for more unexpected, avant- garde, and
unorthodox activities intended to capture the
audience’s attention. The performer himself or
herself is the artist, rather than an actor playing a
character as in a stage play.
• The performance venue may range from an
art gallery or museum to a theater, cafe, bar,
or street corner. The performance itself rarely
follows a traditional story line or plot. It might
be a series of intimate gestures, a grand
theatrical act, or the performer remaining
totally still. It may last for just a few minutes
or extend for several hours. It may be based
on a written script or spontaneously
improvised as the performance unfolds.