Lecture 10: Modernity and Modernism

In this lecture we were given an insight into modernity and modernism and the effects of the modern on our consciousness. I felt that there was a lot to take in in this weeks lecture and I struggled to form a simple, clear understanding of modernism however, I feel that I have a general understanding of how modernism has effected the art world and how and why we create the pieces of art that we do.

Generally speaking, to modernise something is to make something better than before; to make something more sophisticated or 'edgy'. However, a painting or piece of work can be described as modern but isn't actually an example of modernism. John ruskin was the first to use the term 'modern' to describe visual communication. Having said that, work was often described as modern, but would be seen by many today as not being modern in the slightest way at all. For example, The Hireling Shepherd by William Holman Hunt (1851) was described as being modern because of the bright colours used and the contrast created within the painting, which wouldn't be done by 'classic' artists.

Modernism, in truth, goes straight over my head and I have no idea what it is and if someone were to point it out to me I probably still wouldn't understand what it was. However, I do feel that I have a very basic understanding of why modernism emerges. Modernism is the result of an artist subjectively responding to modernity. The fact that it's a subjective response means that it is the artists' own opinion and interpretation of the changing world around him/herself. Modernism resulted in work that was true to the materials it was made from and function was placed over form. For example, Bauhaus style cutlery is simply that cutlery. It has no fancy pattern on it or any other material added to the stainless steel it is made from, the design is simple and the material it is made from is what colours the object. 

In terms of animation, the industry was slower than other art forms to get 'into' modernism and it wasn't until the 1950s that modernism influence became present within animation. A great example is Mr. Magoo. During this time the UPA studio were pushing their artistic boundaries more towards modernism and this led to backgrounds of the animations to be made of simple lines and bright colours, going back to using materials and methods for their function and letting the materials and methods do what they do best.