Modernism Vs PostModernism

Modernism was an art movement in the late 19^th century that would influence art for the next century. Modernism refers to the change in art style during this time leading to many new art movements arising from Modernism such as Cubism, Dadaism, Impressionism etc… Modernism is also an era when artists began to use new styles of art, experimenting with new types of paints and materials in order to express their political and social ideas. Modernism was also a time where creating abstract art came into prominence. This would leave much of the interpretation of the art up to the viewer. When describing Modernism, Chadwick states: “Modernity is both linked to the desire for the new that fashion expresses so well, and culturally tied to the development of a new visual language for the twentieth century-abstraction” (Chadwick, 380). Modernism emerges during an era that is defined by rapid industrialization, its many social changes, and the quick advancement of technology. Modernism stands for a rejection of past conservative values and history, while looking to innovate the ways that artists are able to express themselves. This would lead to the prominence in abstractionism during this time, as many of the ideas that women were painting about were very new and theoretical at the time.

Claude Cahun, Self Portrait, 1928. Seen looking directly into the camera
in order to make a statement about her sexuality.

Female artists were at the center of this new art movement due to women being the cause for several of movements listed above. During this time, women artists were able to display the female subject in their work without sexualizing the woman body. One of the artists that began to change the perception of women was Claude Cahun who began using her art as a means to explore her sexuality and desires, all while defying the gender stereotypes that were set for her by society.  Claude was one of the first female artist to use herself as her own model in her photography where she could be seen breaking gender stereotypes. One of Claude Cahun’s famous portraits (shown below) was her self-portrait where you could see her portraying herself breaking the gender stereotypes as she doesn’t portray herself as neither male nor female. She began representing women how she wanted women to be portrayed, in a non-sexualized manner. The Guerilla Girls when speaking on Cahun’s impact said: “Instead of presenting herself as a passive object ready to be consumed by a heterosexual male gaze, she defiantly presents herself as both object and subject of her own sexual fascinations” (The Guerilla Girls 63). Claude entered the art scene during a time when artists were questioning many of the social norms set by society, one of them being sexuality. Claude’s statement on sexuality was very important as she brought light and discussion to topics that previously weren’t being talked about.

Barbara Kruger, Your body is a battleground, 1989.
Provocative lettering and eye catching designs in order to spark debate.

Post modernism is a direct reaction against the ideas and values that came into relevance during the Modernism movement. While the modernism movement was connected to understanding the truths of reality, Postmodernism movement is born from skepticism and a suspicion of what reality really is. Chadwick describes the Postmodernism movement as “breaking down of the unified traditions of modernism” (Chadwick 380). During this time,  other new mediums of art arose in order to represent the experimental and expressive ideas of the time. During the late 20^th century when Postmodernism was first emerging, new medium such as conceptual art, performance art and installation were introduced. The new forms of art allowed many people to join as much of the art was left up to interpretation. This also allowed  the idea that anything can be art, to be born, no longer was art a painting or a drawing, now art could take the shape of a collage or a picture or something much more abstract. The idea of what art itself was, was constantly changing during this time.  While both movements were very different, they were both deeply tied to feminism. Women struggled in both eras trying to get their work out as the spotlight was always taken by the male artists. In both eras women also began to use the new medians of the time to tackle the issues of sexuality and gender roles in society. Barbara Kruger was one of the postmodernism artists who used the new art medium of collages in order to challenge these issues. Chadwick describes Barbara Kruger’s work as “using severely cropped photographs  of women, and their short accompanying texts to subvert the meanings of both the image and text to destabilize the positioning of the woman as an object” (Chadwick 382). Barbara Kruger would take photographs she found in magazines and create a collage with aggressive phrases that were meant to spark discussion and thought. Kruger would manipulate her audience with the way she would emphasize certain words in order to create the discussions of sexism, consumerism, and many other social or political issues. Kruger’s art best represents the Postmodernism era, art that was abstract in nature that would cause the viewer to think about the social issues that were relevant during the era, in this case feminism.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled 1979
A woman portrayed as the subject of the male gaze.

In the 20^th century women were politically engaged through their art. Art during the early 20^th century gave a voice to many women artists to express their views on political and social topics, whereas before women may not have had the same amount of outreach without these art mediums. Artists such as Cindy Sherman through her art depicted how women are objects to the male gaze. Through her photography she revealed the obsession that society has with objectifying the female body. Through the abstract art that women were putting out, they were beginning a conversation. A conversation that is still being had to this day, however during their time, these conversations simply did not exist. These women were courageous and strong for beginning to speak on subjects that society would try to oppress them for talking about. Women artists through both eras of Modernism and Postmodernism would begin the foundation for many of the modern feminist movements.

Works Cited

Chadwick, W. (2012). Women, Art, and Society(5th ed.). New York, NY: Thames and Hudson.

Guerrilla Girls (1998). The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York, NY: Penguin Books