Suprematism/Constructivism/De Stijl/The Bauhaus/International Style/Art Deco/Organic Art/Early Twentieth-Century Political Art I&II

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper - not an image, i just like it

A more subtle form of political comment is found in the works of Edward Hopper (1882-1967). The artist's works are often characterized by a generalized feeling of loneliness, isolation or alienation, as seen in one of his most famous works, Nighthawks. Although trained as an illustrator, Edward Hopper spent five years studying painting under Robert Henri, a member of the Ashcan School of painters who focused on the gritty realities of the city. The Ashcan School influenced Hopper's style, though he tended to depict not the chaos of urban living, but instead focused on the sense of urban isolation. Hopper explained that Nighthawks was inspired by "a restaurant on New York's Greenwich Avenue where two streets meet." The diner has since been destroyed, but the image, with its carefully constructed composition and lack of narrative, has a timeless quality that transcends any particular location. The painting reveals three customers lost in their own private thoughts. The anonymous and uncommunicative night owls seem as remote from the viewer as they are from one another. Although Hopper denied that he purposely infused any of his paintings with symbols of isolation and emptiness, he acknowledged of Nighthawks that, "unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city." In selecting his vantage point, Hopper eliminated any reference to the diner's entrance. The viewer, drawn to the light shining from the interior, is shut out from the scene by a seamless wedge of glass, a characteristic of Art Deco design. Hopper's understanding of the expressive possibilities of light playing upon the simplified shapes gives the painting its beauty. Fluorescent lights had just come into use in the early 1940s, and the eerie glow flooding the dark street corner may be attributed to this innovation. The moody contrast of light against dark and the air of menace inside has been linked to film noir, a movement in American cinema that featured stories of urban crime and moral corruption.

De Stijl

in 1917, a group of artists in Holland came together as an organized movement and at the same time published a magazine, De Stijl ("The Style"), from which they took their name (though the movement is also known as Neo-Plasticism). This group advocated a purification of art through abstraction and simplicity: forms were reduced to the rectangle and other geometric shapes, while hues were limited to the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow, and the primary values of black, white, and gray.

Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow. Piet Mondrian. 1930 C.E. Oil on canvas.

part of De Stijl// Piet Mondrian's (1872-1944) Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow (Image 136) is one of the many variations on the theme of the black bands on a white field with blocks of the three primary colors. For the artist, these "pure" forms express an underlying cosmic order through their dynamic balance, which is a utopian view. Through absolute abstraction Mondrian seeks timeless, universal truths.

The Bauhaus

an influential school of art and architecture in Germany from 1919 to 1933 that revolutionized art training by combining the teaching of the pure arts with the study of crafts. Philosophically, the school was built on the idea that design did not merely reflect society, but it could actually help to improve it. The Bauhaus was founded at Weimar in 1919 and headed by Walter Gropius. The faculty that included artists Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Josef Albers, and Gunta Stolzl. The teaching plan insisted on functional craftsmanship in every field, with a concentration on the industrial problems of mechanical mass production. Bauhaus style was characterized by economy of method, a severe geometry of form, and design that took into account the nature of the materials employed. The school's concepts aroused vigorous opposition from right-wing politicians and academicians. In 1925, the Bauhaus moved to the more friendly atmosphere of Dessau, where Gropius designed special buildings to house the various departments. In the summer of 1932, opposition to the school had increased to such an extent that the city of Dessau withdrew its support. The school was then moved to Berlin, where the faculty endeavored to carry on their ideas, but in 1933 the Nazi government closed the school entirely. Bauhaus ideas incorporate design in architecture, furniture, weaving, and typography, among others. By the 1930's, these aesthetics had found wide acclaim in many parts of the world and especially in the United States.

pilotis

slender columns

Fallingwater. Pennsylvania, U.S. Frank Lloyd Wright (architect). 1936-1939 C.E. Reinforced concrete, sandstone, steel, and glass

In Mill Run, Pennsylvania in the Bear Run Nature Reserve a stream flows at 1298 feet above sea level and then suddenly breaks to fall at 30 feet. It was here that Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned to design a house for Pittstburgh steel magnate Edgar Kauffman and his family. The structure, known as Fallingwater (Image 139) was a weekend retreat from the hustle, bustle, and dirty steel town where the Kaufmann's loved during the week, and it redefined the connection between man, architecture, and nature. The waterfall site had been the family's weekend escape for fifteen years prior to building their house, and when they hired Wright to design the dwelling, the Kaufmann's conceived of a structure with a beautiful view of the waterfall. Instead, Frank Lloyd Wright incorporated the waterfall into the design of the house itself, placing the structure right on top of the waterfall to make it a part of the Kaufmanns' lives. Wright told the Kaufmann, "I want you to live with the waterfall, not just look, but for it to become and integral part of your lives." He built the house using rocks located on the site combined with cantilevered concrete terrances. On the interior, he also used stone from the site for the floors and other elements, making the inhabitant (or visitor) feel even further integrated into the surrounding natural environment. Wright's fondness for Japanese architecture was significant in his inspiration for this house and much of his other works. Like in Japanese architecture, Wright wanted to create harmony between man and nature, and his integration of the house with the waterfall was successful in doing so. The house was meant to compliment its site while still competing with the drama of the waterfall and the endless melodies of the crashing water. The power of the waterfall is always felt while inside the house through the sound of falling water. The exterior of Fallingwater has a strong horizontal repetition with the bricks and long terraces. The windows on the facade also have a special feature where they open up unusually at the corners, breaking the form of the house and opening it to the outdoor environment. The integrity of these details perfected the house itself, and even though the house does have structural problems that require constant maintenance due to the forces of the rushing waterfall and erosion. Fallingwater, now a National Historic Landmark, is a work of genius.

Illustration from The Results of the First Five-Year Plan. Varvara Stepanova. 1932 C.E. Photomontage.

In Stepanova's The Results of the First Five-Year Plan (Image 137) she carefully constructs the image (and the reality) she wishes to present. She has a limited palette that incorporates only three types of color and tone: black and white with sepia tones of the photographic images and red, the color of the Soviet flag. On the left, Stepanova has inserted speakers on a platform with the number 5 (to symbolize the Five-Year Plan along) in combination with the letters CCCP (the Russian initials for USSR) on placards. The letters are placed above the horizon alongside a cropped and oversized photograph of Lenin, the founder of the Russian Revolution, who is speaking to the crowd with his eyes turned left looking to the future. Wires of an electrical transmission tower (signs of progress and technological advance) link Lenin to the speakers and letter placards. The large crowd of people below are included to indicate the mass popularity of Stalin's political program and their desire to celebrate it. The composition has been arranged in sharp diagonals, giving the image a dramatic composition

The Migration of the Negro, Panel no. 49. Jacob Lawrence. 1940-1941 C.E. Casein tempera on hardboard.

Panel No. 49 (Image 141) shows a public dining space in the North. Despite their move seeking better treatment, many of these journeymen found that conditions in the North were often not much better than in the South. Such is the scene in Panel No. 49 of the "Migration Series," which depicts a segregated dining hall with the caption: "They also found discrimination in the North, although it was much different from that which they had known in the South." A yellow barrier that zigzags through the center of the composition divides blacks and whites. The yellow dividing line is emphasized by the tilted tabletops and chairs positioned against the background of the restaurant floor. Tables and chairs are situated to reinforce the diners' separation.

Constructivism

Parallel to, but separate from, Suprematism was another Russian movement known as Constructivism. The aim of this group was to construct abstract sculpture suitable for the machine age. These artists also pioneered the use of modern materials such as plastic and steel. One of the leading proponents of Constructivism was Naum Gabo (1890-1977). Head No.2 is a woman's head constructed from celluloid and metal, reflecting the industrial aesthetic. Here, in this applied abstraction, the artist has reduced the woman's head into faceted planes and edges in space. This "bust" further shifts the focus from the sculptural mass to the sculptural space in Constructivist fashion - stressing "real materials in real space."

Villa Savoye. Poissy-sur-Seine, France. Le Corbusier (architect). 1929 C.E. Steel and reinforced concrete.

Swiss-born French architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, known as Le Corbusier (1887-1965), built the Villa Savoye (Image 135) as a response to his admiration of mechanized design. Built in a rural area outside of Paris, the dwelling is a modern take on a French country house that celebrates and reacts to the new machine age. Le Corbusier is famous for stating, "The house is a machine for living," and he sought an architectural design that takes on industrial innovations in the name of efficiency, which makes the Villa Savoye a stark contrast to its natural surroundings. The Villa Savoye's detachment from its physical context lends its design to be contextually integrated into the mechanistic/industrial context of the early 20th century, conceptually defining the house as a mechanized entity. Villa Savoye was built on Le Corbusier's Five Points of Architecture: pilotis (slender columns), a flat roof terrace, an open floor plan, ribbon windows, and a facade free of structural members. The building is simple and streamlined with pilotis supporting an upper deck, ribbon windows running down the side, and ramps that allow for easy movement between decks. The lower level is the garage and maintenance level, and it has a curved facade of glass with dimensions that matched the turning radius of a 1929 automobile. The second level seems to float on top of the pilotis against the treeline. The wide open floor plan of the upper level have ribbon windows that reflect the horizontality of the plan. The villa is representative of early modern architecture, and is one of the most easily recognizable and well-known examples of the International style in France.

Art Deco

The term designates a style of design popular during the 1920s and 30s whose name derives from the 1925 Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts, where the style reached its apex. The practitioners of the style attempted, primarily, to describe the sleekness of the machine age, so Art Deco is characterized by long, thin forms, curving surfaces, and geometric patterning. The style influenced all aspects of art and architecture, as well as the decorative, graphic, and industrial arts. Works executed in the art deco style range from skyscrapers and ocean liners to toasters and jewelry.

Regionalism

an American phenomenon, refers to the work of a group of rural artists, mostly from the Midwest, who came to prominence in the 1930's. Not being part of a coordinated movement, Regionalists often had an idiosyncratic style or point of view. What they shared, among themselves and among other American Scene painters, was a humble, anti-modernist style and a fondness for depicting everyday life. However, their rural conservatism put them at odds with the urban and leftist Social Realists of the same era. The best-known regionalists were Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1949) and Grant Wood (1891-1942), the painter of the best-known and one of the greatest works of American art, American Gothic. which was a movement that aggressively opposed European abstract art, preferring depictions of rural American subjects rendered in a representational style.

mobiles - originated from Alexander Calder

a type of moving sculpture made with delicately balanced or suspended shapes that move in response to touch or air currents.

direct carving method

Direct carving is an unusual method of sculpting in which an artist works directly with a piece of stone or wood, usually selected for its unique physical properties. Direct carvers often work spontaneously, rather than first making preliminary models in clay or wax. While most finished sculpture is made through the labor of teams of professional carvers, studio assistants, and foundry workers, direct carvers proudly claim sole responsibility for the production of their works.

Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park. Diego Rivera. 1947-1948 C.E. Fresco

Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park (Image 143) is a fifty-foot fresco by Diego Rivera that takes the viewer on a Sunday walk through Mexico City's first park that was built on the grounds of an ancient Aztec marketplace. The immense mural represents three major periods of Mexican History: The Conquest, The Porfiriato Dictatorship, and The Revolution of 1910. In sequential order from left to right, he presents many prominent figures from past Mexican history. In the middle of the mural, the artist offers the viewer a childlike image of himself standing in front of his wife, Frida Kahlo, who is dressed in her traditional native Mexican dress. In her left hand, she holds hand the Yin-Yang symbol taken from Chinese philosophy, which also represents the duality from pre-Columbian mythology. Kahlo's other hand rest on the shoulder of a young Diego, who sets out on his journey through life and through the world with her protection. He is being led by the hand by Dame Calavera Catrina, a skeleton figure mimicking vanity created by a popular Mexican political cartoonist, printmaker, and engraver, José Guadalupe Posada. The well-dressed gentleman in a black suit and derby hat is Posada himself, who stands on the right of Calavera Catrina and chivalrously offers her his arm. Rivera held Posada in high regard, claiming him as one his artistic superstars and teachers. Posada's narrative technique was an extremely significant influence for Rivera's mural painting. Rivera's depiction of the Calavera Catrina, a satirical symbol of the urban bourgeoisie at the turn of the nineteenth century, is true to Posada's orginal prints, but Rivera has added an elaborate boa around her neck that may be an allusion to Quetzalcoatl, the Mesoamerican feathered serpant god. Her belt-buckle displays the Aztec sign of Ollin, symbolizing perpetual motion. On the left side of the composition, the nightmares colonial era's conquest and religious intolerance give way to the dream of a democratic nation during the nineteenth century, symbolized by the figure of Benito Juárez, who restored the Mexican Republic and attempted to modernize the country during his term as president. On the right of the composition, battles of the revolution give way to a society where "land and liberty," as championed by the workers' flags, becomes a tangible reality. In this work, Rivera includes histories normally edited out (the stories of the indigenous and the masses) to remind the viewer that Mexicans from all levels of society endured the struggles of four centuries of Mexican history as well as contributed to its glory.

Seagram Building. New York City, U.S. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson (architects). 1954-1958 C.E. Steel frame with glass curtain wall and bronze.

Van der Rohe's mantras "less is more" and "God is in the details" are both evident (and occasionally in contradiction) in his sleek, modern Seagram Building (Image 146) in New York City. Flaunting the use of glass and metal, instead of the traditional materials of heavy stone and brick used in traditional, ornamental facades of previous decades, the Seagram Building helped introduce a new era of simple, straightforward skyscrapers. These buildings embraced and celebrated their structures and minimalism, rather than camouflaging them with excessive ornamentation and details. The Seagram Building is not without inconsistencies. While modernist ideals elevated the concept of functionality, the building's bronze exterior façade certainly features non-structural bronze I-beams. This visually suggests the building's structure, while being completely visual and non-functional. The building's actual supports are hidden within the bronze and glass façade. Inside, the building was luxurious in its use of bronze, travertine, and marble, which create an extravagant if sleekly minimalist, interior appeal.

Pablo Picasso- Guernica (1937) NOT AN IMG

When the Spanish Republican government was in exile in Paris during the Spanish Civil War, the leaders asked Picasso to paint a work for the Spanish Pavilion in the 1937 Paris International Exhibition. The artist chose as his inspiration the horrific destruction of the Basque capital of Guernica, which was nearly obliterated by Nazi bombers in support of the Spanish rebel General Francisco Franco in 1937. The attack was particularly brutal given that it was initiated during the busiest hour of the busiest day of the week (market day). Over seven-thousand men, women and children were killed or wounded during the brief, but vicious attack. In Picasso's depiction of Guernica, there no German planes or bombs, just the sheer horror of the massacre. The artist also employs Cubist-like fragmentation, distortion, and a colorless palette to intensify the stark brutality of the atrocity. A fallen warrior in the bottom left with a broken sword represents the defenselessness of slaughtered Basque. Over him, a gored horse convulses in the throes of a gruesome death. In the center left a mother screams in agony over her murdered child, while behind her stands an emotionless bull, which, according to Picasso, symbolizes brutality and darkness, but is also a symbol of Spain itself. Meanwhile the right of the composition shows a woman dying in a burning building (far right), a severely wounded woman attempting to escape the chaos (bottom right), and a woman with a lamp (upper right) that represents the illumination of the tragedy. Picasso saw photos of and read about the events in Guernica in the paper, so the black-and-white palette of print newspaper he uses lends itself to the work as Picasso's source material. In some areas, he has attempted to suggest the regularity of typed text using smal black hatch marks on a white field.

Organic art

While Organic Architecture does describe environmental concerns, it also embodies the human spirit, transcending the mere act of shelter into something which shapes and enhances our lives. While Organic Architecture does describe an expression of individuality, it also explores our need to connect to Nature.

Suprematism

a revolutionary, non-objective art movement founded in 1913 by Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935) in Moscow. For the artist, the supreme reality was "pure feeling" and so he sought "to liberate art from the ballast of the representational world." Suprematist compositions were accordingly comprised of geometrical shapes flatly painted on the plain canvas surface. The basic component of Malevich's compositions was the square (and its relatives the straight line and the rectangle). Supremus No. 56 demostrates abstraction in its ultimate geometric simplification. According to Malevich, "The square [is] feeling [and] the white field [is] the void beyond this feeling." Furthermore, the varied colors, angles, and layers of the shapes suggest movement and a fleeing from the material, physical world.

International Style

architectural style that developed in Europe and the United States in the 1920s and '30s and became the dominant tendency in Western architecture during the middle decades of the 20th century. The most common characteristics of International Style buildings are rectilinear forms; light, taut plane surfaces that have been completely stripped of applied ornamentation and decoration; open interior spaces; and a visually weightless quality engendered by the use of cantilever construction. Glass and steel, in combination with usually less visible reinforced concrete, are the characteristic materials of construction. The term International Style was first used in 1932 by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson in their essay titled The International Style: Architecture Since 1922, which served as a catalog for an architectural exhibition held at the Museum of Modern Art. Corbusier, Le: Villa Savoye [Credit: Pierre Belzeaux—Rapho/Photo Researchers]The International Style grew out of three phenomena that confronted architects in the late 19th century: (1) architects' increasing dissatisfaction with the continued use in stylistically eclectic buildings of a mix of decorative elements from different architectural periods and styles that bore little or no relation to the building's functions, (2) the economical creation of large numbers of office buildings and other commercial, residential, and civic structures that served a rapidly industrializing society, and (3) the development of new building technologies centring on the use of iron and steel, reinforced concrete, and glass. These three phenomena dictated the search for an honest, economical, and utilitarian architecture that would both use the new materials and satisfy society's new building needs while still appealing to aesthetic taste. Technology was a crucial factor; the new availability of cheap, mass-produced iron and steel and the discovery in the 1890s of those materials' effectiveness as primary structural members effectively rendered the old traditions of masonry (brick and stone) construction obsolete. The new use of steel-reinforced concrete as secondary support elements (floors, etc.) and of glass as sheathing for the exteriors of buildings completed the technology needed for modern building, and architects set about incorporating that technology into an architecture that openly recognized its new technical foundation. The International Style was thus formed under the dictates that modern buildings' form and appearance should naturally grow out of and express the potentialities of their materials and structural engineering. A harmony between artistic expression, function, and technology would thus be established in an austere and disciplined new architecture.

Early Twentieth-Century Political Art I

art has been used as a powerful political tool. The early twentieth century, of course, was no exception, especially considering the turmoil and devastation wrought by World War I, the Russian Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, the Depression and World War II.