Modernism

Modernism arose in Western society in the beginning of the 20th centuries and the late 19th. It is known to be a philosphical movement int he arts, a movement which rejected "the certainty of Enlightment thinking'. Religious belief was also denied by many modernists. Development of contemporary industrial societies and the accelearted expansion of cities where circumstances that carved modernism.

Artists began to experiment with more articulate and striking colour, pushing aside traditional materials and introducing new techniques and mediums. They wanted their art to be more challenging and not as realistic in depicting the world. Photography was one of these inventions which introduced a modern way to represent and reinterpret the world. In the Museum of Modern Art  one can view collections of art produced after 1880. In this era 'avant-garde' artists proceeded with their art and moved it towards new and modern directions.
Modernism artists disapproved of the traditional forms of art, architecture and literature. They felt that these daily activities in life were becoming outdated in the modern world which was emergin through economy and industry.

Self-consciousness is a particular feature of Modernism. These artists experimented with the use of technique to create a painting, a poem or even a building. "Modernism explicitly rejected the ideaology of realism. They used work that was done in the past and incorporated, rewrote, revised or recapitulated it. Critics sometimes describe Modernism as a 'socially progressive trend of thought' that guarantees the potential of the human race "to create, improve and reshape", the world we live in by experimenting witht heir thoughts and innovative ideas as well as scientific knowledge and technology.

Looking at it from this point of view Modernism aroused encouragment in artists to re-examin all aspects that exist. Their aim was to find whatever was 'holding back' progress and replace it with innovative ideas to reach the same destination.



References:

Gombrich, E. H. 1958. The Story of Art. London: Phaidon.