Final Exam Images Flashcards
Paul Cézanne,
Madame Cézanne in a Red Armchair,
1877,
Post Impressionism
*Often seen as the 1st post-impressionist
*Pursued art against his family’s wishes, but due to their money did not need to support himself through art.
*He felt caught between the styles of the classical masters and the Avant Garde of his peers. Did not really come into his own as an artist until the 1880s.
*Came into his own as painter once he was older and started painting landscapes rather than mythological scenes. He came onto landscape painting after moving away from Paris.
*Portraits of his mistress (later wife) never show emotion, and serve not as a study of psychology but rather form. Some scholars refer to his portraits as human still lives.
*Organizes his images into patchwork of colors, uses schematic approach of color. Infuses his color palette with harmony
*Also gravitated towards still life as it was relatively unexplored and therefore unencumbered by protocol
Paul Cézanne,
Basket of Apples,
c. 1890-94
Post Impressionism
*Explored his still lives from different viewpoints, creating compositions that initially appear cohesive but ultimately result in optically impossible imagery.
*He looks to break up space and time, showing things outside of one moment and one solitary view.
*Texture is almost virtually absent in his work.
Paul Cézanne
Mont Sainte-Victoire
1902-1904
Post Impressionism
*Part of a Series. Produced over 2 dozen paintings of this mountain showing different atmospheres, times, seasons etc. Very natural, shows very little manmade objects.
*Mont Sainte Victorie -1902- brighter colors, more blocky coloring, work is very sketchy like an oil prep, objects are broken down into their raw forms. Juxtaposes a series of colors next to each other. The entire scene engages in flatness.
Georges Seurat
Bathers at Asnières
1884
Post Impressionism
*Hoped it would be his first exhibited work, but it was rejected by the salon. Larger than impressionist canvases.
*Several men and boys relax on the river Seine. The beauty of the scene is interrupted by the modernity within the piece such as the bridges and the smoke stacks of the factories.
*Not painted en plein eir. Image was meticulously planned and executed within his studio, numerous practice sketches were completed in preparation.
*Each of the figures are rendered in profile, with a statuesque composition. Each figure is in isolation in their own thoughts, not interacticng with each other or with the viewer.
*The work has a sense of organization which serves to “clean up life”. A strong implication of class is infused within the scene- the men represent classes not individuals. Those on the banks are lower class/working class, while a bourgeois couple is being ferried across the water in a boat.
*The grass and trees use a method of painting known as chopped straw
Georges Seurat,
A Sunday on the Grande Jatte,
1884-86
Post Impressionism
*Same stretch of river as bathers, but from the other side. Submitted to the last impressionist show.
*Ascension day- people given the day off.
*A lot of prep studies completed for this work. Large scale work.
*Rather than mixing colors, Seuret places them next to each other on the canvas allowing the viewers eye to do the work of blending the colors together for him.
*Received a variety or responses- called it bedlam or a scandal, others called it egyptiod or stiff, or even a light hearted parody of bourgeouis.
*The women in the foreground is believed to be a prostitute as she has a monkey, which was the favorite pet of pro’s. One of the most impactful painitngs of the 1880s
Vincent van Gogh,
Night Cafe,
1888
Post Impressionism
*An early example of expressionism- expressive or records a movement of the artists emotional state.
*Comes from a famous dive in Arles that was open all night long, as such it attracted the homeless and the lascivious.
*He gave the painting to the bar owner in exchange for painting supplies, room and board and food.
*He referred to the bar as the site where one goes to ruin themselves.
*Painted the walls red to depict the feverish quality he felt the bar possessed (the walls were reportedly actually gray).
*There is an overwhelming sadness and lonliness to the work. Thick layer of impasto adds to the feeling of being trapped.
Vincent van Gogh
Starry Night
1889
Post Impressionism
*After his ear slicing incident, a petition was circulated around Arles to have him removed.
*He agreed to a yearlong commitment at an asylum.
*It is hard to see this work and not read it as a symbol of longing. No way to connect you the viewer from your viewpoint to the town.
*Common interpretation is that Van Gogh is painting his own theological belief, that upon death we travel to the stars and then resume our lives their free of the burdens of mortal life. He stated looking at the stars always makes him dream.
*Believed we took death to reach the stars. The Cyprus tree is a symbol of death. The tree connects the terrestrial level of the earth to the celestial body of the sky, i.e- death connects us to the afterlife.
*Very telling in how he gives so much of the composition to the sky.
Gustav Klimt
Beethoven Frieze,
1901
The Vienna School
Gustav Klimt,
Judith and the Head of Holofernes,
1901
The Vienna School
Gustav Klimt,
The Kiss,
1907-08
The Vienna School
Egon Schiele,
Seated Male Nude (Self-Portrait),
1910
The Vienna School
Egon Schiele,
The Family (Self Portrait),
1918
The Vienna School
Henri Matisse,
Woman with a Hat,
1905
Fauvism
Henri Matisse
Bonheur de Vivre
1906
Fauvism
Henri Matisse
Dance (I),
1909
Fauvism
Andre Dérain,
Charing Cross Bridge, London,
1906
Fauvism
Paul Gauguin,
Spirit of the Dead Watching,
1892
Primitivism
*14 year old- Tahitian mistress, married within one afternoon of meeting her.
*She was afraid of the spirits of the dead.
*He gave her an STD. One Art historian has argued Tihamana was afraid of Gauguin not the spirits, the view obscures her breasts and sex organs, instead suggestions sexual predation and sodomy.
*Reference, Deference and difference ( Reference works by previous artists, paid deference to the iconography used, and instill an element of difference to establish their works as superior, making themselves the new champions.) All took place over the naked bodies of women.
*Impregnated Tahamana, but returned to France to sell paintings, they sold poorly. Met and his original children left him, he subsisted on charity alone.
Pablo Picasso,
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,
1907
Proto-Cubism
*5 prostitutes in a brothel from a street in Barcelona, marks his first milestone on the path to Cubism.
*Gertrude Stein saw this work and were shocked, Barques referred to it as being forced to drink kerosene.
*None of the figures relate, space between them is broken up…space is confused, almost tangible like glass.
*No modeling or forms to the women.
*Unmodulated color with only the barest hint of color.
*Bodies of the women are transformed into geometric shapes, Scene feels angry. Filled a dozen notebooks with prep sketches.
*Table tip and Edge of melon are phallic in depiction, but not an overall seductive scene.
*One of his earliest engagements with primitivism.
*Figure holding back the drapes on the left is inspired by Iberian Goddess 5th-4th Ce BCE.
*Figures on the right are inspired by African masks. Prostitutes do not appear as seductive, but rather as terrifying man eaters… and attraction and a repulsion are present.
Pablo Picasso,
Woman with Mandolin,
1910
Cubism- Analytic
Sets up chiaroscuro only to purposely have it fail. Perspective of the Canvas also breaks down.
- Objects broken up or shattered
- Multiple perspectives
- Planes are flattened and conjoined on the surface of the canvas.
- Aim was to show things as they actually are, not as they appear
Pablo Picasso,
Standing Female Nude,
1910
Cubism- Analytic
Closest he came to complete abstraction, complete deconstruction of the female form.He hated non-representational painting
- Objects broken up or shattered
- Multiple perspectives
- Planes are flattened and conjoined on the surface of the canvas.
- Aim was to show things as they actually are, not as they appear
Pablo Picasso,
Ma Jolie,
1911-12
Cubism- Analytic
Name of the work is painted directly onto the Canvas. Semiotics. At some point in time, his art may function more like a language. Picasso was interested in the movement of Semiotics. Pushed his art in a very theoretical direction to toy with this concept.
- Objects broken up or shattered
- Multiple perspectives
- Planes are flattened and conjoined on the surface of the canvas.
- Aim was to show things as they actually are, not as they appear
Pablo Picasso,
Still Life with Chair Caining,
1911-12
Cubism- Synthetic
o Collage was pioneered by Braque, when he pasted some oilcloth depicting wood grain onto his canvas. Integrating prefabricated objects into one’s artwork.
o Creates the question of how good does an artist really need to be if they can just incorporate ready made products into their canvas?
o Breaks down the barriers between high and low art.
o “Jou” signifies the corner of a newspaper, but also notes the French words for play or to play.
o The circular rope around the compostion serves to make the canvas look like a glass topped table, and are looking down at the cane of chair that has been pushed underneath the table. This one work makes us consider the role of art and its ability to mimic reality.
Georges Braque,
Houses at l’Estaque,
1908
Proto-cubism/Cubism- Analytic
Represents the turn towards Cubism
Houses at l’Estaque, 1908- Vaxaul coined the term “cubism” in his review ( he also coined the term Fauvism)
Pasage- overlapping shapes
Picasso, Houses on the Hill, 1909
Gives the viewer an odd sense of vertigo.
Analytic Cubism (1908-1912)
* Objects broken up or shattered
* Multiple perspectives
* Planes are flattened and conjoined on the surface of the canvas.
* Aim was to show things as they actually are, not as they appear
Käthe Kollwitz,
Woman with Dead Child,
1903
German Expressionism
Line etching and drypoint on sandpaper
- Born in modern day Russia to a politically progressive family. They supported her passion for art, as a result she received formal training in Munich.
- Married a doctor.
- Subjects usually focused on the plights of the lower class and the harsh working conditions.
- Turned exclusively to printmaking
- Take on the Pieta, used herself and child as models.
- Her son Peter would go on to die in WW1. Very poignant subject, as the artist believed she had foreseen Peter’s death. Portrays haunting heartbreak.
- Texture of the woman’s skin is almost inhuman. Her hunched back transitions grotesquely into her head. Animalistic quality to the representation of the woman.
- Her face is contrasted with of her child’s whose face is bathed in light.
- Silenced by Nazi’s, who removed her works from museums. She was forced to flee in 1843, and her home was bombed destroying many of her works.
Paula Modersohn-Becker,
Self-Portrait Nude with Amber Necklace,
1906
German Expressionism
- Married Modersohn, became a step mother to his 2 year old daughter. She missed Paris and wanted to go back. She chose to go back to paris without him until 1907 when she returned.
- Most known for her works showing women and children
(was not actually pregnant at the time, but imagining herself to be)
Paula Modersohn-Becker,
Reclining Mother and Child Nude,
1906
German Expressionism
- Rejects the overeroticization of the female form as seen in works by Matisse and Picasso- her works are not for male viewing pleasure but rather represent the female body experience. Exposed breasts is representative of the nourishment of the child, not for male enjoyment.
- Sought to instill her images of women, with the same simplicity or essence of womanhood as can be seen in Gaugin’s Tahiti work.
- Far different from that Kollwitz,- her expressions are more of love and acceptance and warmth, where Kollowitz focuses on axiety and grief- Kollowitz’s are more jarringly expressionist.
- Paula reconciled with her husband in 1907, had a baby and died 19 days later from a pulmonary embolism. Overcame considerable barriers to achieve her career.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner,
Street, Dresden,
1908
German Expressionism/Die Brucke
Title of the bridge was drawn from Freidrich Nietzsche- and their desire to create a bridge between past and current. Nietzsche advocates for finding meaning of life on earth and self-discovery. Repudiated modern culture and bourgeouis, Images were pessimistic and anxious, including the alienation fo modern life in industrialized settings.
- We see the results of German modern expansion in the crowding of the city and bustling sidewalks.
- The crowded nature is not only depicted but also expressed with his harsh color palette and squished figures.
- More similar to Van Gogh’s use of color than that of the Fauvs.
- The faces of the the women in the scene look almost alien and- lifeless black obs for their eyes.
- No balance of forms across the canvas, the presence of the steet car tracks are alluded to, with the trolley just at the top of the scene.
- The passing trolley leaves an empty space in the canvas, but there is a anticipation of the space being filled again quickly by all the people
Emil Nolde,
Female Dancer,
1913
German Expressionism/Die Brucke
Color Lithograph
- Erotic dancer moves across the page, bare breasted, genitalia barely concealed.
- Exploration of the erotic woman as a primitive being.
- Wild almost unpredictable quality, comparable to Picasso’s dancers.
- Nolde believed non-european art possessed an vividness and liviliness that was lacking in euro art, led Nolde to travel and then return denouncing colonialsm
Wassily Kandinsky,
Blue Mountain,
1908
Der Blaue Reiter
He began dissolving the forms in his landscape. Use of color makes his paintings very appealing.
The book of Revelation also heavily influenced him- while it symbolizes the end of the world, it also signifies the possibility of redemption
Of his revolutionary contributions to the art world was to explore non-objective or abstract painting. He supposedly had an epiphany after reviewing one of his own works and could not make heads or tails of it until he realized it was turned on its side.
Wassily Kandinsky,
Improvisation 28,
1912
Der Blaue Reiter
He believed color had the power to communicate not just through the sense but also spiritually. He sought for his works to have the same effects on viewers that he believed that music could evoke. Also interested in Synesthesia- cross overs between the senses. Small hill in many of his works with an abstracted church on the top of the hill.
Gabriele Münter,
Alexej von Jawlensky and Marianne von Werefkin, 1908-09
(Don’t sweat the exact spelling of these names)
Der Blaue Reiter
Parents died by the time she was 21, left her a sizable inheritance. Traveled to America and realized women had more freedom in America than in Europe. Studied at the school founded by Kandinsky. Began relationship with Kandinsky after a trip to the Alps.
One of her most well known works. Figures of the couple are reduced down into color blocks. Very vibrant use of colors, but is tranquil.
At the outset of WW1 Kandinsky had to return to Russia, where he married another woman. Munter returned many of Kandinsky’s works, but is largely responsible for the notoriety and preservation of Kandinsky’s work and that of the Blue Rider group by hiding them in her home, ( successfully through several house searches) she then donated them all to a foundation after it was safe.
Created over 2000 works in her lifetime.
Franz Marc,
The Large Blue Horses,
1911
Der Blaue Reiter
One of Kandinsky’s major artistic partners. Born in Munich. Father was a landscape artist, mother was a devout Calvinist. He was originally intending to be a theologist, but within 2 years enrolled in an arts program in Munich. Served a compulsory year in the military. Most influenced by Van Gogh.
Disintiguished works of color studies of animals. Almost exclusively represented animals in nature- viewed them as a source of spiritual harmony in nature. He viewed them as pure nature that preceded humans.
- Used Bright colors to capture the harmony he sought to capture in his canvases.
- Most celebrated painting. 3 canvases completed in this year featuring farm animals in primary colors.
- Horses are shown in extreme foreground. The form of the horses take up ¾ canvases.
- Tightly compressed scene, not a lot of depth.
- Color conveys meaning. –yellow was cheerful and sensual ( represented femininity) Blue represented masculinity.
Hilma af Klint,
The Ten Largest, No. 3, Youth,
1907
Abstraction
Spent early summers at family’s lakehouse, gained inspiration from nature
Family moved to Stockholm
One of the first women to be admitted to academy of fine arts Stockholm
Deeply interested in spirituality- did séances where she communed with spirits of the high masters- that would inspire their art.
Very unusual for the time- works are mathetmatical, logical, with grids, shapes, forms- very cosmetic-meanings were encoded.
Saw gendered distintcions in shades of colors- blue was feminine, yellow was masculine, and green was their union.
*Painted automatically- did not know what she was painting.- Painted through her by the spirits-without any prep work- sketches, ie.
* Most of her works were kept out of public view. Likely due to harsh criticism she received from a friend- this caused her to stop working for 4 years.
* She did pick it up again, but demanded that they not be displayed until 20 years after her death so society could mature enough to be able to understand.
* Organic forms were meant to resemble botanical forms
Piet Mondrian,
Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow,
1930
Abstraction/ De Stijl
- Uncle was an artist
- Entered academy for fine art in Amsterdam
- Worked in and explored mnay styles- but saw this a sense of a journey than a destination.He was tryong to find the ultimate expression of what was and how it should be done.
- Influenced by Cezanne and Cubism
- Fully abstract, creating a composition of colors only
- Stated- cubism does not accept the logical comcepts of its own discoveries.
- Mondrian theorized plastics or neo-plasticism- representation made through the use of form- 3d.
- Criticised Braque and Picasso for not leaping fully into abstraction
- Also trying to work through his beliefs in his works.
- Visitng Netherlands when wwi broke out, moved to an artists colony- was stranded there. Founded de stijl or the the style.
- Built his own frames for his works
- Wanted colors to recede and enter the composition- created a sense of movement in shifting.
- A picture viewing window into a 3d space
- Paired down his canvases to the 3 primary colors and black, gray and white
- Black is meant to be viewed as fields of color themselves-to emphasize this he oten would not paint the black all the way to the edge. White is also to be intended as a color not as a void.
- Canvases have a painterly quality- no build up of paint, but you can discern the brushdtrokes within the color regions.
- Wanted to reduce his paintings to the primary form.- boiled it down to essential components of representation. Painting represented a utopian version of society.
- Compositions in 20s and 30s were closer to where he wanted them to be but not the pinnacle.
Sonia Delaunay,
Blanket,
1911
Abstraction
Based of pattern of Russian folk blankets by lower class citizens
Couple worked in two post cubism phases- orpheous and simultaneousism
Robert Delaunay,
Simultaneous Contrasts: Sun and Moon,
1913
Abstraction
Couple worked in two post cubism phases- orpheous and simultaneousism
RD Interested in the combination of colors, uses a circular frame to signify the universe, shows colors merge together- thinking through the roation of day to night. Moves away from nature and onto the wualities of light and dark.
Giacomo Balla,
Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash,
1912
The Italian school/ Futurism
A response to the oppressive classical art synonymous with Italy. An appreciation for the machine age.
- Uses multiple lines to show movement, inspired by Muybridge.
- Multiple panes of motion condensed onto singular canvas to show motion.
Umberto Boccioni,
Unique Forms of Continuity in Space,
1913
The Italian school/ Futurism
A response to the oppressive classical art synonymous with Italy. An appreciation for the machine age.
- Human like form, moves forward, space arounf it feels tangible and invades human’s space. Could be an answer to the Nike of Samothreace- Neither figure has arms
- Very modern- plaster original was not cast in bronze until 1931. Bronze heightens the effect of the work. A celebration of fast paced nature and mechanical advances of the modern world
- He was an ardent interventionist. Wanted Italy to join the allies. Joined the military once they joined. Died at 33, 1916 during calvary exercises when he fell from his horse.
Gino Severini,
Armored Train in Action,
1915
The Italian school/ Futurism
A response to the oppressive classical art synonymous with Italy. An appreciation for the machine age.
- Fascinated by war, couldn’t join due to his health/injuries. 5 soliders are hunched over in identical poses a locomotive is behind them. Heavily inspired by Cubism
- Believed the war to end all wars would create a new Italian identity
Marc Chagall,
I and the Village,
1911
Russian Avant-Garde
o Man and goat face each other; concentric circles make up the space of their face wand unite them. They are superimposed on top of a village scene
o Two houses and one woman are depicted upside down, a common feature in Chagall’s work
o References can be seen in Kandinsky with the circles and geometricness of the work and Delaunay. The appreciation for animals is a reference to Marks ( large blue horses)
o It was painted a year after mocing to paris. The title was supplied by a close friend of his, a poet.
o The scene is imaginary, drawing on memories of his village and Russian peasant life- nostalgia for how animals and man depend on each other and can live in perfect harmony. Offers longing or homesickness
o This relates to his Hasidic belief that animals are humanity’s connection to the universe, and the circles could represent the circles of the sun and moon orbiting the earth.
o Full of imagery symbolic for the artist- i.e., the tree held by the green man springs up between the man and goat are symbolic of the tree of life.
o The title is a play on I vs. eye
Mikhail Larionov,
Sea, Beach, and Woman,
1913
Russian Avant-Garde
o Instrumental in revolutionizing a movement on Rayism. His idea was based on his ideas of vision and perception, or the sum of rays reflected on an object.
o They were completed in this style. Explores non-objective painting- all objects have been deconstructed/dissolved by red, white and blue slashes. It is as if all that remains of Rayism are light colors and lines from an earlier study of glass. Demonstrates how rays connect in a prism to create colors and lines.
o His interest inspired him in new modern advances such as the x-ray.- shows the interconnectivity of arts and sciences.
Natalia Goncharova,
Peasants Dancing,
1911
Russian Avant-Garde
o Partner to Larionov
o Defined by “everythingism.”
o Revered to Russian embroidery designs as “neo-primitive.”
o He was interested in rural life and peasant arts such as lubkhi.
o Presented with four peasants- sought idealism through depictions of peasant culture. New primitivism approached the “primitive” with respect and appreciation- not driven by stereotype and appropriation. She grew up in rural communities and often wore peasant costumes. This aligned with a movement within Russia asserting that the Russian peasantry was the most authentic Russian and with the Slavophilia movement, which sought to eliminate the influence of western Europe on Europe.
o Two men and two women dance in a circle. In oil and canvas but appears as though it could be a wooden cutout or lubhki. Resemble paper cutouts. They were dancing on a field with a deep blue sky. Reminiscent of Dance 2 by Matisse- influenced by the Fauvist vision of form and color, but unlike Matisse’s depiction of fully clothed figures in a solid earthly form- again calling to the lubhki.
o She was self-conscious of the nationalism in her peasant paintings. Recognized the significance of Russian art
Natalia Goncharova,
Madonna, and Child,
1911
Russian Avant-Garde
o Influenced by the Russian Orthodox Church
o Drew on the Russo-Byzantine iconographic style but are remade in her neo-primitivism style, infused with directness and simplicity associated with folk art.
o Merges medieval and modern. It is rendered in oil on canvas.
o Showcases her use of bright colors and thick application of paint. Mimics the thick wooden lines of a wood block print. The form is simple and reduced but heavily outlined.
o Not well received- believed to be blasphemous by the RO Church- called them outrageous and ugly. Icons were typically only painted by monks- and reserved for men. Her status as a woman made this worse and troubled contemporary critics. Some of her works were censored as she depicted female nudes or pagan deity of Fertility was seen as shocking and in poor taste. (i.e., The deity of Fertility in 1909). The police confiscated her work, and she was charged with displaying corruptive imagery.
o The first artist of Russian Avante Garde to hold a monographic retrospective- staged a performance through the streets of Moscow to advertise her exhibition. Over 12000 people visited the retrospective, before it went on to Saint Petersburg.
o They never returned to Russia due to the political turmoil and the Russian revolution.
Kasimir Malevich,
Black Square,
ca. 1913
Russian Avant-Garde
o He identified himself as working in the Cubo-futurist style
o Identified this as Supremativism- having nothing in common with nature, suprematist works would cement their superiority through the pure depiction of feelings or motion.
o Considered to be zero form
o Hung in the sacred position of honor, references the corner of the wall and ceiling where icons were hung in a peasant home.
o Described it as the first step of pure creation in art, and the embryo of all potential
o Saw this work as signifying a new era of art. Saw it as the most fundamental building block from which all his future paintings would be generated
o Believed the black square was holding space of spiritual significance. Read as the new icon of the modern age.
o A black square floating in a white field could represent how a Russo-byzantine Christ would float in a gold field.
o Black Square represents all paintings simultaneously paired to their basic form, pregnant with infinite possibility.
o It pissed off contemporary viewers. Has a very painterly application, with juicy full color and brushwork. The viewer is sucked into the work. Monumental for what he took out of the painting.
o Suprematism is essential for its abstraction.- Wished to strip painting of the convention of representing the world we see.
o He perceived himself as a spiritual leader who imagined a greater metaphysical reality and whose art could be guided to greater realization. He referred to his art as “new painterly realism.
Kasimir Malevich,
White on White,
1918
Russian Avant-Garde
o Optimistic a new society would emerge from the Russian Revolution
o He believed deploying his works would usher in a new societal awakening and a new belief in immateriality.
o Portrays his utopian vision that art could provide the path forward in a new society
o Malevich was an avid plane enthusiast ( & technology- also really into aerial photographs) and believed white would represent floating and transcendence – signified infinity.
o White was considered a pure form.
o Two forms of white appear flat, with the inner white box floating within the outer one—a painterly application of paint and brushwork.
o It takes the essence of painting one step further, draining out representation and color. Believed he “overcame the color of the lined sky” and produced infinity.
o It represents revolution and the change it brings in one image.
Jean Arp,
Untitled (Don’t worry about this subtitle-Collage Arranged According to the Laws of Chance),
1916–1917
Dada
o Influenced by Kandinsky and Matisse
o Made during the war while he was in Switzerland
o Torn pieces of paper are scattered onto a sheet- reportedly glued in place where they fell.- Must not have been entirely by chance as it is too perfect—reliance on chance but an expression of artistic control.
o Inspired by the cubism collage, Arp’s has no reference or identifiable object like the Cubist one.
Raoul Hausmann, The Spirit of our Time (Mechanical Head),
1919
Wood, Leather, Aluminum, Brass and Cardboard
Dada
o Assembled in Berlin. Berlin Dada
o Represented the unprecedented number of facial and head wounds in ww1. This led to the field of plastic surgery. Army surgeons did their best to treat missing chins, noses, and even jaws, but early plastic surgery was not good and did not help to mask their disfiguration.
o Took the existing head of a wooden mannequin and attached figures to it, such as nails, screws, metallic nobs and dials from a camera, a cup, a pocketbook, etc
o Clash of objects suggests replacing facial features with mechanical tactile objects that were reminiscent of the failed plastic surgery attempts to “fix” the mangled faces of soldiers with wounds. Mimics the unnerving quality of looking at a disfigured solider.
o Another interpretation is that the mannequin is not wearing the objects they are instead strapped to its head in a disturbing scientific way. Like Frankenstein’s monster- notes an uneasy relationship between science and humanity. Warns of the negative effects of media and technology.
Hannah Höch,
Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany, (feel free to shorten to “Kitchen Knife”)
1919-1920
Dada
o Family did not support her art and favored a more traditional role for women. Hannah pushed back against this.
o She volunteered for the Red Cross at the start of ww1.
o Had an adulterous relationship with Haussmann.-Tumultuous affair due to his misogyny and abusive nature.
o Embodies the ideals of the new woman. Presented herself, masculine, and independent- short bobbed hair and wore pants. Had abortions- at least 2 of Haussmann’s spawn.
o After relationship with H. she was in a private 7 year relationship with woman. Then married a man for 7 years.
o Attracted many feminist writers for her modern lifestyle and feminism ideals.
o Pioneering innovators of political collages and photo montages
o Combines media images as a commentary on popular culture, the failings of interwar German government and the status of women.
o Most Famous of her collages. Exhibited in the 1st international dada fair.
o Reflects the frantic atmosphere of society fragmentation defines the culture of that movement. Title speaks to this- reconstruction of materials which through the gluttony of society. Considered a photomontage.
o She relies heavily on mass produced media, such print ads and newspapers.
o Surrounding the anti-dada wording is the figure of Kaiser Wilhelm, and General Hindenburg’s head on an erotic dancer’s body.
o Under the dada word (right) is her colleagues and H.
o Albert Einstein large head on the left. Quotes underneath say “invest your money in dada” & “he he young man dada is not a trend.”
o Suggests gendered commentary- in title-even within dada she felt excluded as woman they did not support female equality. Dancer in the center throws a head upward- it is the head of Kollwitz. Likely placed as a sign of solidarity and respect for Kollowtitz.
o She does the same with her own head at the corner of map of Europe showing countries that were allowing women to vote at this time.
o Dada where’s waldo- comes through as strange and uncomfortable commentary.
Marcel Duchamp,
The Fountain,
1917
Dada
o Three of his siblings became artists
o Second version
o Moved from Paris to NY- cofounded a society of Avant Garde artists. This society rejected his submission.
o Readymade glazed sanitary china with black paint.
o Needs a man to make it be a “fountain” as it has no other water source.
o A response to the criticism he received for his earlier nude descending the staircase, which was not well received.
o The refusal to admit it to the show led to him and one other artists resigning from the society due to their censoring of an artist’s work.
o Posed serious questions about art (challenging unquestioned aspects of art.)- (1. The craftsmanship of the art object, 2. The aesthetics of the art object, 3. The role of the artist genius)
o While other dada artists asked the same questions, fountain asked them in an aggressive way that could not be ignored.
Man Ray,
Cadeau,
1921
Dada
o Nails down the center of an iron. He saw the iron as he was preparing for a dada show. Entered the store purchased the iron, nails, and glue and assembled it on the spot.
o He immediately entered it into the show. It was stolen from the show so we only have the work stolen during the show. This is a reproduction. Theft kind of exemplifies what dada was about.
o Utility of the iron and nails is ruined through their combination
o Turns in the iron into a strange, unnamable and alarming creation. Disturbing due to dysfunction, and destructive capacity.
o Symbolizes a breakdown of social structure- in that a flat iron can represent clean pressed clothing and prosperity then this is a violent disruption of that middle class order.
o Named the “gift” and made for a French composer.
Legacy of Dada:
*Art as confrontation
*Art in new media and formats
*Art as a performance
Max Ernst,
Two Children are Threatened by a Nightingale, 1924
Surrealism
o Manner of painting is combined with dada assemblages. This was one of his best known works
o Inspired by a fever vision he had when he was sick with the measles as a child.
o Combines collage and painting, small wooden gate in front of toy house and knob affixed to the frame creating a surreal landscape
o Sky fades from yellow to blue
o The small nightingale is just above the fence and two girls in foreground, one of which is holding a knife while the other lies on a pile in the foreground.
o Man on roof holds a child as he reached for the knob on the canvas.
o Very challenging, requires the viewer alert and forces them to examine the work, but deprives them of being able to discern a rational or intelligible message. Cannot be passively consumed like biblical works.
René Magritte,
The Treachery of Images,
1928-1929
Surrealism
o Characterized by the uncanny or making the familiar feel unfamiliar
o Worked in naturalist surrealism.
o Operated against the bourgeois
o Pipe- says this is not a pipe
o Tromp l’oeil depiction of a pipe- poses a challenge on multiple levels. Clearly it is an image of a pipe not a literal one, also un pipe in French can refer to a penis, which is also not the same as a pipe.
o Such suggestions subvert the viewer’s trust in reality.
o Draws attention to 3 forms of a pipe, visual depiction, written expression and a real pipe- Must like the Conceptual artist Joseph Kosuths One and Three chairs from 1965.
Salvador Dali,
The Persistence of Memory,
1931
Surrealism
The grotesque, nonsensical, dreamlike desires, and latent sexual fantasies are included
o Sets work in landscape with impeccable linear brushwork. Imitates a miniaturist technique to imitate tromp l’oeil painting technique. Sought to depict a landscape that was more real than observed nature.
o Referred to these works as Hand painted dream photographs
o Best example of Naturalistic Surrealism
o Very small work over a 1 foot wide. Infinitive depicted space in the background.
o Superior detail to form. Landscape is meant to evoke a bay in Spain near Dali’s birthplace.
o Pocket watches are naturalistic depicting except for their melting form. Appear as naturally decaying substances. Disruption of expectation was meant to discredit the world of reality.
o In connection with title, he sought to show time and permanence lose meaning in this setting.
o A swarm of ants swarms over the pocket watch that is face down. Drawn to it like fruit- symbolizing death decay and destruction
o The fleshy object is the most odd, both familiar and alien somehow.
o Induced psychotic hallucinations to invoke his dream state. Would insert his conception of his self-conscious into these works, paranoias, obsessions, and associations.
Meret Oppenheim,
Object (shortened title sufficient),
1936
Surrealism
o Swiss painter and sculptor
o Surrealism was a toxic environment for women, but she rallied against it.
o Made when was 23 and launched her career as a surrealist, but also became her defining work, which frustrated her.
o In 1936 was seated at a table with Picasso and Dora Mar, they commented on her fur covered bracelet. This led her to buy a teacup and covered in the fur of a Chinese gazelle.
o Leads to a visceral reaction, which allows the work to take the notion of comfort and change it to become bizarre or alarming.
o One of the most iconic works of surrealism. Upends the purpose by combining two objects that do not go together. Could also be a visual representation of a joke of wrapping a teacup in fur to keep it warm.
o Also has a sexual meaning- the teacup a typically feminine object is clad in fur. Evokes thoughts of female domesticity. This invites a comparison to fur coats worn by women in the early 20th century.
o However, the fur could also recall Freudian sexual fetish (according to Andre Breton), when an object stands in for or relates to sexual desire. The convex shape of the cup and the fur or hair that encompasses the cup suggests the interior nature of female genitalia, lined with pubic hair, which would require a phallic like object such as the fur covered spoon to stir it. Sexual nature may have been imposed on the work.
Frida Kahlo,
The Broken Column,
1944
Mexican Modernism
o German father and Mestizo Mother.
o Disabled by polio at six, but was a good student and intended to go to med school, but was in a horrible trolley accident at the age of 18. She had 35 surgeries over her life and suffered from debilitating pain. She was again to regain her ability to walk.
o Painted shortly after a spinal surgery. Depicts the hardships she faced. Full of personal pain and suffering.
o Very natural style. Her torso is split in half, held together by the corsets she worse after her affliction with polio and the ones she painted when bedridden.
o The straps give the impression of a hospital gurney and signify the time she spent in hospitals recovering
o Very violent/ disturbed imagery- with the nails driven in- represent her pain. White tears on her face, (maybe represent her Mestizo mother? - tell of not only her pain, but also the pain of all indigenous people.)
o Could be a modern updated take on Saint Sebastian. The column would be the tree he was shot too.
o The column in her body reference her broken spine and is depicting her physical instability with a shattered spine.
o Can also be read as phallic as it is upright and her breasts are bare.
Diego Rivera,
Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park, 1947
Mexican Modernism
This fifty-foot fresco takes the viewer on a Sunday walk through Alameda Park, Mexico City’s first city park that was built on the grounds of an ancient Aztec marketplace.
The large mural represents three principal eras of Mexican History: The Conquest, The Porfiriato Dictatorship, and The Revolution of 1910.
o Ancestry is indicative of the complexity of Mexican culture. He had descendants from Mexico, Spain, India, Italy, Russia, and Portugal and of Jewish backgrounds.
o Mural completed in Mexico City 51 ft. long, 15 ft. high.
o Commissioned for a restaurant of a downtown hotel.
o Depicts a pantheon of figures spanning 400 years of Mexican history from Diaz who overthrew the Aztecs, and Modern artists such as Frida Kahlo.
o The brightness of the work and balloons is undercut darker happenings within the work. A form of Surrealism.
o Revolutionary war is shown on the right, in front of that an indigenous family is threatened by a police officer raising a baton.
o Also portrays a panorama of Mexican social structure, where the wealthy are contrasted against the homeless and poor.
o Also depicts a myriad of racial identities- blonde haired visitors to indigenous people woman in yellow dress.
o A young Diego is depicted in front of Frieda Kahlo holding the hand of La Catrina shown in European garb, and a boa reminiscent of Meso-American serpent god Coatlicue. Would become an icon of the day of the dead
o When read from left to right reads as a chronology of Mexican history from colonization to the Spanish inquisition, to the revolution to the establishment of a new society.
o Shows marginalized populations as an attempt to remind the viewer of the contributions of Mexicans of all strata’s of its history.
