Modernism/Postmodernism Post

Modernism is the result of people's desire for change, whether it was in the world or simply in art. It is a combination of many different art movements such as abstract art, Dadaism, surrealism, and impressionism. From the late 19th century to half of the 20th century, the main symbols of the time were fashion, artistic freedom, and favoring imagination as opposed to reality. In her book, "Women, Art, and Society," Whitney Chadwick describes the themes of modernism as: "leisure, consumption, the spectacle and money," and writes that "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- abstractionism" (Chadwick 253). The search for new ideas led to art being an excellent medium for one to express themselves with. For women, modernism had its challenges. Many were still overshadowed by their husbands, and even put their careers on hold to help advance their husbands' careers. Others only pursued art after retirement. However, the newfound freedom gave more women the chance to become artists, and with milestones such as securing their voting rights, they experienced more freedom and opportunity during this time than their counterparts in different eras.

Sonia Delaunay was one example of a modern woman. Despite her own amazing abilities in painting, after getting married to Robert Delaunay, she put her painting career aside to help advance him with his work. According to the Guerrilla Girls, "Together they developed a theory of color they named Simultanism, but he [Robert] got most of the credit for it" (Guerrilla Girls 60). This was to be the rest of Sonia's life- overshadowed by her husband as he received the credit she deserved. However, she did not mind putting her career on the backburner to help Robert and take care of their son. Sonia's work was spellbinding in itself. While Robert was working on the theory of simultaneity, Sonia  designed several pieces of furniture, clothing, and even cars. As an innovator, she was always thinking of new ways to have her art interact with the world as a whole.

Rythme, Sonia Delaunay. 1938. As depicted in the photo, Delaunay was interested in the rhythm of color, and how colors looked when intercting with each other.

Sonia's work with fabrics eventually gained much attention when she created simultaneous dresses in 1913, which were dresses designed with abstract patterns to show movement in the body and moving colors. It was her way of going against the duller clothing of the time. Around the same time, many Futurists were looking to clothing as a representation of modernism. When the word of Sonia's dresses was spread, people in Milan, Italy, conveyed the news, along with their own styles, through the world as a representation of the future, and they became such an example of modernism that Russian futurists named themselves after the Italians. Giacomo Balla, a prominent Futurist theorist, believed that the movement should transition from the gallery to the streets. According to Chadwick, he wrote a manifesto called "The Antineutral Dress," where he talks more about his point of view: 'Futurist clothes,' he commented, 'will be dynamic in form and colors.'  Balla's manifesto owes much to Delaunay's pioneering experiments, and the designs which resulted, in both Paris and Milan, marked the beginning of a new wave in fashion" (263). By experimenting constantly, Sonia Delaunay had made a major contribution to modernism, the art world, and the fashion industry.

A simultaneous dress by Sonia Delaunay, 1913. This dress sparked the revolutionary idea of catching movement and color in the human body, and inspired many others to do the same in the process.

Another movement that challenged the societal conventions of the time was Dadaism. It was meant to provoke anything that stood for the upper class. According to Shelley Esaak of ThoughtCo.com, a simple explanation for Dadaism is that it was " a philosophical and artistic movement of the early 20th century, practiced... in protest against... [World War I, seen] as a senseless war... The Dadaists used absurdity as an offensive weapon against the ruling elite, whom they saw as contributing to the war" (Esaak). One woman at the forefront of the movement was Hanna Höch. She created several photomontages, which were collages of pictures from printed works such as magazines. The Guerrilla Girls say that she created caricatures of "'the new women, the German media's glorification of the independent, modern female, free to smoke, wear sexy clothes, vote, and work (and be the first to get laid off.)" (66). One of Höch's better known works is The Kitchen Knife Cuts Through Germany's First Weimar Beer Belly Culture, where she has images collaged together  to represent the countries who have given women voting rights.

The Kitchen Knife Cuts Through Germany's First Weimar Beer Belly Culture, Hanna Höch, 1919. The artwork has several elements, such as images of a "modern" woman, the word "dada," and gears, which might symbolize the time period of WWI taking place.

In addition to political and gendered symbols, Höch's work started to represent her personal life. When she started an affair with a woman after leaving Hausmann, her creations started to feature more androgynous figures, along with couples of the same gender. She also used her art in a political way. According to the Guerrilla Girls, "She also tweaked the Nazi party's obsession with racial purity using non-Aryan figures, Africans, and South Pacific islanders, in a series called the "Ethnographic Museum" (Guerrilla Girls 67).

Postmodernism is considered a departure from Modernism, as it sought to get rid of Modernism's lofty ideals. Reality replaced imagination once again, and art focused more on real people and situations. These practices soon led to criticism of the patriarchy and its treatment of women. According to Chadwick, "During the late 1970s and the 1980s, a growing number of artists, male and female, worked to decenter language within the patriarchal order... renegotiating the position of women and minorities as 'other' in patriarchal culture" (Chadwick 382). One woman who used her art to protest against the patriarchy is Barbara Kruger. Her art was simple, yet very powerful and effective. She erases the typical process of the male gaze so that women are no longer viewed as objects, and Chadwick writes that the language she uses helps expose exactly how women are seen as 'other,' seen in her 1981 piece, "Untitled (Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face.)" The woman in the photo is looking away, but the words "Your gaze hits the side of my face" is next to her. The words bring attention to the fact that the male gaze has been pervading women, especially the use of the word "your," which implies that everyone else is allowing this objectification of women to continue.

Several more of her works, feminist and postmodernist in nature, blatantly call out the patriarchy and tell the viewers what is wrong with this behavior.

"Untitled (Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face)," Barbara Kruger, 1981. Kruger calls attention to the male gaze and everyone else in a society that objectifies women.

Works Cited:

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/delaunay-sonia/

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, And Society. Fifth ed., Thames & Hudson, 2012.

Guerilla Girls. The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 1998

Esaak, Shelley. “What Dada Was and Why It Matters.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 18 Nov. 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-dada-182380.