As a name for the mainstream tendency in
20th-century abstract art ‘modernism’ came into widespread usage only in the
1960s It was applied to the Abstract Expressionists and to contemporary
hard-edge painting, colour field painting and abstract sculpture, most
influentially by the American critic Clement Greenberg Its lineage was traced
back to Manet as the initiator of a sequence of formal innovations,
particularly those that lessened illusionism in painting and mimeticism in
sculpture Reflecting the economic and cultural ascendency of the USA and the
enormous power of the New York art market, this viewpoint became orthodox
internationally It was, however, subject to subversion by Pop and Minimalist
artists and to devastating criticism by conceptual, political and feminist
artists and commentators By the early 1970s it was displaced as a paradigm for
most artists, although it persists in many museums, galleries and educational
systems
American modernism, much like the modernism
movement in general, is a trend of philosophical thought arising from the
widespread changes in culture and society in the age of modernity American
modernism is an artistic and cultural movement in the United States beginning
at the turn of the 20th century, with a core period between World War I and
World War II Like its European counterpart, American modernism stemmed from a
rejection of Enlightenment thinking, seeking to better represent reality in a
new, more industrialized world
Characteristically, modernist art has a
tendency to abstraction, is innovative, aesthetic, futuristic and
self-referential It includes visual art, literature, music, film, design,
architecture as well as life style It reacts against historicism, artistic
conventions and institutionalization of art Art was not only to be dealt with
in academies, theaters or concert halls, but to be included in everyday life
and accessible for everybody Furthermore, cultural institutions concentrated on
fine art and scholars paid little attention to the revolutionary styles of
modernism Economic and technological progress in the US during the Roaring
Twenties gave rise to widespread utopianism, which influenced some modernist
artists, while others were skeptical of the embrace of technology The victory
in World War I confirmed the status of the US as an international player and
gave the people self-confidence and a feeling of security In this context
American modernism marked the beginning of American art as distinct and
autonomous from European taste by breaking artistic conventions that had been
shaped after European traditions until then
American modernism benefited from the
diversity of immigrant cultures Artists were inspired by African, Caribbean , Asian and European folk cultures and embedded
these exotic styles in their works
The Modernist American movement is a
reflection of American life in the 20th century In this quickly industrializing
world and hastened pace of life, it is easy for the individual to be swallowed
up by the vastness of things; left wandering, devoid of purpose Social
boundaries in race, class, sex, wealth, and religion are all being challenged
As the social structure is challenged by new incoming views the bounds of
traditional standards and social structure dissolve and a loss of identity is
all that remains; translating later into isolation, alienation, and an overall
feeling of separateness from any kind of "whole" The unity of a war
rallied country was dying, along with it the illusion of the pleasantries it
sold to its soldiers and people The world was left violent, vulgar, and
spiritually empty
The middle class worker falls into a
distinctly unnoticeable position, a cog much too small to hope to find
recognition in much greater machine Citizens were overcome with their own
futility Youths dreams shatter with failure and a disillusioning disappointment
in recognition of limit and loss The lives of the disillusioned and outcasts
become more focal Ability to define self through hard work and resourcefulness,
to create your own vision of yourself without the help of traditional means
becomes prized Some authors endorse this, while others, such as F Scott
Fitzgerald, challenged how alluring but destructively false the values of privilege
can be
History
Characteristically, modernist art has a
tendency to abstraction, is innovative, aesthetic, futuristic and
self-referential. It includes visual art, literature, music, film, design,
architecture as well as life style. It reacts against historicism, artistic
conventions and institutionalization of art. Art was not only to be dealt with
in academies, theaters or concert halls, but to be included in everyday life
and accessible for everybody. Furthermore, cultural institutions concentrated
on fine art and scholars paid little attention to the revolutionary styles of
modernism. Economic and technological progress in the U.S. U.S.
American modernism benefited from the
diversity of immigrant cultures. Artists were inspired by African, Caribbean , Asian and European folk cultures and embedded
these exotic styles in their works.
The Modernist American movement was a
reflection of American life in the 20th century. In the quickly industrializing
world and hastened pace of life, it was easy for the individual to be swallowed
up by the vastness of things, left wandering, devoid of purpose. Social
boundaries in race, class, sex, wealth and religion were being challenged. As
the social structure was challenged by new incoming views, the bounds of
traditional standards and social structure dissolved, and a loss of identity
was what remained, translating eventually into isolation, alienation and an
overall feeling of separateness from any kind of "whole". The unity
of a war-rallied country was dying, along with it the illusion of the
pleasantries it sold to its soldiers and people. The world was left violent,
vulgar and spiritually empty.
The middle class worker fell into a
distinctly unnoticeable position, a cog much too small to hope to find
recognition in a much greater machine. Citizens were overcome with their own
futility. Youths' dreams shattered with failure and a disillusioning
disappointment in recognition of limit and loss. The lives of the disillusioned
and outcasts became more focal. Ability to define self through hard work and
resourcefulness, to create your own vision of yourself without the help of
traditional means, became prized. Some authors endorsed this, while others,
such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, challenged how alluring but destructively false
the values of privilege can be.
Modernist America
Some see modernism in the tradition of 19th
century aestheticism and the "art for art's sake" movement. Clement
Greenberg argues that modernist art excludes "anything outside
itself". Others see modernist art, for example in blues and jazz music, as
a medium for emotions and moods, and many works dealt with contemporary issues,
like feminism and city life. Some artists and theoreticians even added a
political dimension to American modernism.
American modernist design and architecture
enabled people to lead a modern life. Work and family life changed radically
and rapidly due to the economic upswing during the 1920s. In the U.S.
The Great Depression at the end of the '20s
and during the '30s disillusioned people about the economic stability of the
country and eroded utopianist thinking. The outbreak and the terrors of World
War II caused further changes in mentality. The Post-war period that followed
was termed Late Modernism. The Postmodernist era was generally considered
characteristic of the art of the late 20th century beginning in the 1980s.
American icons in the European mind
Definition of "American icon"
This section focuses on people and objects
that represent American modernism. Generally speaking, these famous human
beings and well-known objects are called icons since, apart from radiating an
aura of uniqueness as well as originality (cf. Wagner 2006: 121.), they sparked
public interest in this period and have had a lasting influence on future
generations (cf. Czech 2006: 27–28). Thus, they serve as focal points for
collective memory or identity at present (cf. ibid.). Even some people in Europe still recognize them as symbols of American
modernism.
The medial/public depiction lays the
foundation stone for the creation of icons. In this way, a certain image of a
biological person or a real object (signifier) is produced and becomes the
signified (cf. Volkmann 2006: 94–96). The emanated configuration of signs (cf.
ibid. 96) helps turn the signified into an icon, if it captures the atmosphere
of a particular period/country and is acknowledged by contemporary societies as
well as future generations.
New York City is one of the most iconic
cities in the United States and one of the major global cities of the world due
to its important business, financial, trading and cultural organizations, such
as Wall Street, United Nations, the Metropolitan Museum of Arts and Broadway
theaters with their (in that time innovative) electric lighting. It is regarded
as the birthplace of many American cultural movements, including the Harlem
Renaissance in literature and abstract expressionism in visual art.
"Take New York City Manhattan
Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin is regarded as a film icon.
Born in London , and while not a U.S.
He was the first and the last person who
was in charge of every aspect of making his films. He started his own film
studio United Artists; was in charge of directing, writing, editing, producing
and casting the films in which he played. It is said that he changed the film
industry into an art form in the first decades of the 20th century. It was his
personality, and his genius with "expressive grace", "endless
inventiveness" and creativity that made him an American icon He preferred
making silent films, (he made more than 75 silent films) setting the acting and
the plot in the center of the action. His best known films are The Great
Dictator (1940), Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Limelight (1952), The Kid (1921), The
Gold Rush (1925), The Circus (1928), City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936)
He was so highly recognizable that a
movement of "Chaplinitis" was formed by 1920. There were Chaplin
songs, dances, comic books, dolls, and cocktails. Poems were written about him
and his pantomime. The Beat Generation (of writers) made him one of its icons.
In the '80s IBM took the Tramp for the logo in their advertisements of personal
computers
"Every few weeks, outside the movie
theater in virtually any American town in the late 1910s, stood the life-size
cardboard figure of a small tramp—outfitted in tattered, baggy pants, a cutaway
coat and vest, impossibly large, worn-out shoes and a battered derby
hat—bearing the inscription I AM HERE TODAY". "The endearing figure
of his Little Tramp was instantly recognizable around the globe and brought
laughter to millions. Still is. Still does"
During the McCarthy era he was attacked and
condemned by some for the increasingly politicized messages of his films; and
he was accused of "anti-American activities" and of being a suspected
communist supporter. He maintained his British citizenship, and after a trip to
England in 1952 and for many
years he wasn't allowed to re-enter the U.S.
The Model-T Ford
Icons are usually capable of conveying, on
the one hand, awareness of tradition and, on the other hand, the notion of
progress (cf. www.ikonothek.de). At this point, it is worth mentioning some
concepts of modernism in the U.S.
Today, the Model-T Ford continues to
represent the idea of process and mobility. Therefore, although modernism aimed
at rejecting any form of tradition and history, this icon, interestingly,
transmits, up to a certain degree, a sense of tradition.
Everyday life and culture
The modernist movement caused vast changes
in societies in which it took place. With the introduction of industrial
developments, the American people started to enjoy the outcome of the new
modernist era. Everyday life and culture are the areas that reflected the
social change in the habits of the society. Developments that occurred with
modernism influenced American people life standards and gave way to new style
of living.
Widespread use of electricity and mass
production of technological house appliances like refrigerator brought about
the change of eating habits of American people. Use of frozen food became more
common. After the war the U.S. Boston Florida Nebraska
These changes in eating habits caused huge
changes in appliances, transportation and farming. Since people began buying
the new products, new refrigerators were quickly developed with bigger freezer
sections Shock resistant refrigerator units for trucks had to be invented and
used by the military before frozen products could distributed and marketed
around the country and around the world. These developments forced farmers to
change what they grew and how they grew their products to meet new consumer
demands.
In the following are there a few of the
foods that were first produced and sold in the 1940s.
– Mrs. Paul's
frozen fish sticks
– Cheerios
(first sold as Cheeri Oats, the first ready-to-eat oat cereal) and Kellogg's
Raisin Bran
– Minute Rice
– Reddi-Whip
whipped cream
– Nestles
Quick powdered drink mix
– Packaged
cake mixes
– M&Ms
Chocolate Candies, Peppermint Patty, Junior Mints, Almond Joy, Whoppers malted
milk balls, Jolly Rancher Candies
– Deep Dish
Pizza (Pizzeria Uno, Chicago)
With the increasing number of automobiles,
American people started to get out of their homes and had dinner outside.
However, during the war people drove their cars as little as possible. Gas and
tires were limited by the government. Car production ceased as factories had to
manufacture tanks, Jeeps and other military vehicles. After the war families
piled into cars again, as a consequence, new highways were built. The number of
drive-ins increased immediately. Drive-ins became part of the social life in America
Modernism showed its effects nearly in all
areas. One of the immense developments was to supply the rural areas with the
electricity. The REA, Rural Electrification Administration, began in the 1930s,
however, it took time to build power lines scores of miles into rural areas.
Throughout the 1940s, the REA continued to build the electricity lines.
Electricity changed the lives of farm
families, from the moment they got up early in the morning, through meals,
chores, and work until they went to bed at night. Electricity brought power for
lights to work, read, and sew at night; power for appliances like refrigerators
and freezers to preserve food; power for small kitchen devices such as mixers
and blenders; and power for other labor saving devices such as electric stoves,
irons and clothes washers. Electricity brought changes that just made life
safer and better – like colored lights instead of dangerous candles on
Christmas trees, refrigerators to keep food fresh and electric fans to bring
relief on a hot summer day.
In 1930, only 13 percent of farms had
electricity.
By the early 1940s, only 33 percent of farms
had electricity.
Locally in York , Nebraska
By 1950 nearly all of Nebraska
There were some crucial steps taken in the
communication and media devices like the invention of radio and television.
Radio was the nation's first mass medium,
linking the country and ending the isolation of rural residents. Radio was so
important that the 1930 Census asked if the household had a radio. Radio
provided free entertainment (after you bought the radio) and connected country
people to world events. Walter Winchell and Lowell Thomas were popular news
commentators on the radio.
Families laughed at comedians Jack Benny,
Fred Allen, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Amos and Andy, and Fibber McGee and
Molly.
Radio featured daytime soap operas.
In the evening, people listened to the Lone
Ranger, the Green Hornet, The Shadow, and Jack Armstrong.
Singers Bing Crosby and the Mills Brothers,
as well as Guy Lombardo's orchestra and the Grand Ole Opry were popular.
Families listened to baseball, cheering for
stars like Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. Nearly 40 million people listened to
the horserace between Seabiscuit and War Admiral in Maryland
In news coverage, the German airship
Hindenburg caught fire in 1937 as it landed in New Jersey
The first practical TV sets were
demonstrated and sold to the public at the 1939 World's Fair in New York New York City
Jazz
Early in the 20th century, jazz evolved
from the blues tradition, but also incorporated many other musical and cultural
elements. In New Orleans New Orleans to New York , Chicago Harlem , New York
Visual arts
There is no single date for the beginning
of the modern era in America
Feminism
Starting from the early 19th century, some
women used the doctrines of the ideal femaleness to avoid the isolation of the
domestic sphere. By the 1830s, women were openly challenging the women's sphere
and demanding greater political, economic and social rights. They formed
women's clubs and benevolent societies all over the U.S. Male domination of the
public arena was no longer within acceptable limits to many of these
middle-class activist women. Beginning with the Seneca Falls Convention in
1848, American feminists held state and national conventions until the early
20th century. Some spokeswomen of the feminist movement connected the feminist
cause with free love and the sexual revolution, which were the taboo issues of
the Victorian Age. Therefore, feminists in both Britain and the United States
concentrated on political and legal issues, the vote in particular, and other
important women's issues regarding the domestic roles of women and the
organization of domestic life in general. Eventually, after a long and hard
struggle that included massive, sometimes violent protests, the imprisonment of
many women, and even some deaths, the battle for women's suffrage was won. The
suffrage law was passed in the United
States U.S.
Fashion
Referring to fashion, usually one would
think of dressing styles or costumes. Of course, dressing style is a very
important category of the word "fashion". On the other hand,
"fashion" has more meanings and could be explained and found in many
other fields, such as architecture, body type, dance and music, and even forms
of speech, etc.
Literature
American modernist literature was a
dominant trend in American literature between World War I and World War II. The
modernist era highlighted innovation in the form and language of poetry and
prose, as well as addressing numerous contemporary topics, such as race
relations, gender and the human condition. Many American modernists became
expatriated in Europe during this time, often
becoming stalwarts in the European movement, as was the case for T. S. Eliot,
Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. These writers were often known as The Lost
Generation.
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