Modernism & Postmodernism

Modernism is a global movement that began in the early 20th century within the art society. This movement sought to combine both past and present experiences of artists and this was expressed by most artists through their works of art. " In Western art, movements and "isms" appeared, one after another: impressionism, postimpressionism, fauvism, cubism, futurism, constructivism, dada-ism, surrealism, expressionism, abstract expressionism, etc," (Guerrilla Girls, 59). All of these new forms of art combined to form the general category of modernism. The early 20th century was the beginning of an era where women would finally be given the same rights that men had for centuries already and because of this, many women artists would surface during this period in time. Modernism finally allowed women artists to freely paint and publish their work as they saw fit. They had no restrictions as this was the first period in time that women were given the same rights as men. "In the 20th century, women won rights never given to them before, including the right to vote," (Guerrilla Girls, 59).

During this era, women artists influenced many other areas of art because this was the first time that women were allowed to act according to their own will. This in turn influenced how artists would structure their works of art. One artist who is a part of the modernism era is Claude Cahun. She was one of the first artists in the 20th century to dress and photograph herself for her art. Many questioned the way that Cahun took her photographs because they were usually considered scandalous. "By the first decade of the twentieth century, dandyism and Modernism had intersected in those men and women whose sexual lives also had a life in their art..."(Chadwick, 302). Another factor that was reflected in and influenced many artists' work was their sexuality. "Claude's sexual identity was so confounding that some books on surrealism list her as a man," (Guerrilla Girls, 62). In the photograph below, Cahun is breaking gender stereotypes as she has her hair cut very short and her gaze is portraying her strength through the photo.

Claude Cahun, Self Portrait, 1928.

In the self portrait below, Cahun is pictured, however if it was not indicated that both photographs are of her, then one might think that this was two different people. With the help of modernism, Cahun was able to express two different sides of her that might have been otherwise hidden if women were not given as much freedom during this era. Through modernism, Cahun was able to express non stereotypical photographs of both genders.

Claude Cahun, Self Portrait, 1929.

Another artist that played a role in influencing modernism was Sonia Terk Delaunay. She was born in poor Russia, however she was able to go over to Paris to study art and that is where she met her husband, Robert. Both Delaunay and her husband worked on her art pieces together, but he was given more credit for it most likely because he was a man and she was a woman. "Together they developed a theory of color they named simultanism, but he got most of the credit for it," (Guerrilla Girls, 60). Sonia and her husband moved around a few times, temporarily stopping her from working on her art, before Robert passed away. After his death, Delaunay started to paint again and she started having museum exhibitions of her own work. By doing this, Sonia proved how time was progressing and how it affected the art world in a positive and progressive way. Innovation also played a major role in many modernism pieces of art such as Cahun's and Delaunay's.

Sonia Delaunay, Prismes Electriques, 1914.

In the painting above, Delaunay's work is quite innovative and colorful as she uses several different colors to highlight a few sections of the painting. Her work is considered a part of simultanism which highlighted colors and the light that they are portrayed in on paintings and other works of art. "She transformed their home into a living testament to simultanism- with walls, floors and ceiling covered with boldly painted surfaces," (Guerrilla Girls, 60). Another artist that is probably the most famous during this era is Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter who painted several self portraits of herself. Kahlo has been described as a surrealist by many because of her self portraits. Like other artists during this period, Kahlo used her art as an outlet to portray the events in her life. "For Kahlo, as for other women artists associated with the Surrealists, painting became a means of sustaining a dialogue with inner reality," (Chadwick, 315). In the painting below, Kahlo has a stern face on and she has painted herself with a unibrow. The unibrow that she paints for herself becomes quite famous as it is included in almost all of her self portraits of herself. By doing this, Kahlo emphasized modernism because many women artists were limited in what they were allowed to include in their artwork. After modernism, women were able to choose freely what they wanted to paint and no one could restrict them from doing what they wanted to include in their work.

Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Monkey, 1940

Postmodernism is another category of art that emerged shortly after modernism started becoming popular, in the late 20th century. It is a contradiction of modernism as postmodernism goes against most of the values set by modernism and postmodernism art works against modernism art. Postmodernism art is usually always associated with skepticism, irony, critiques, etc, as many pieces of art during this period convey these feelings. "The term Postmodernism has been used to characterize the breaking down of the unified (though hardly monolithic) traditions of Modernism,"(Chadwick, 380). There were several female artists in this period that created buzz around their work. This was the first time where all forms of art was considered valid and important since modernism only chose to highlight certain forms of art instead of everything. 

Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1979.

One artist that became popular during this Postmodernism era was Cindy Sherman. She is an artist that is known most for the photographs of herself. Many of the photographs of herself were based on how some people would see women. In the image above, Sherman is trying to portray how females were looked at, not only in art but everywhere else. Another women artist during this Postmodernism era was Barbara Kruger. She is most famous for her photographs and the collages that she would form from the photographs. "She emphasizes the ways in which language manipulates and  undermines the assumption of masculine control over language and viewing...," (Chadwick, 382). In the image below, Kruger has a woman in the piece of work and with the words on the side,  she is trying to illustrate how the women is uncomfortable.

Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face), 1981.

In both Modernism and Postmodernism, women artists associated with these two eras played a role in influencing how modern art is now. Many of these artists chose to focus on topics that were important to them in their art. Artists in the modernism era varied from photographers to painters, however paintings were given a higher pedestal in the art world during this era. Also, modernism artists combined their past and present experiences in the world to create their works. Contradicting modernism, postmodernism was the opposite of modernism; all artists were given the same amount of recognition, no matter what their work was. Many of the women artists in this period also chose to focus on their own experiences in their lives through their art. Both modernism and postmodernism proved that female artists were just as good as male artists, probably even better, since they played a role in influencing future women artists.

Works Cited:

1. The Guerrilla Girls Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 1998.
2. Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, And Society. Thames & Hudson, 2012.