Lecture notes from all the lectures of the blurring boundaries in art course given by R. Vellemans in period 4, 2023/2023. Modern art and all art movements of the 20th century.
Lecture 1: Towards Abstraction...................................................................................................................... 2
Russian avant-garde.............................................................................................................................................3
De stijl...................................................................................................................................................................4
Lecture 2: Artistic revolutions around world war I..........................................................................................6
Dada.....................................................................................................................................................................8
Lecture 3: Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism........................................................................................10
Abstract Expressionism......................................................................................................................................13
Lecture 4 – Pop art....................................................................................................................................... 15
Lecture 5 – Photography as Witness............................................................................................................. 19
Lecture 6 – Site matters................................................................................................................................ 21
Land art..............................................................................................................................................................23
Lecture 7 - Dematerialization of arts and objects.......................................................................................... 24
Performance art.................................................................................................................................................25
Nouveau Realism................................................................................................................................................25
Fluxus..................................................................................................................................................................25
Body art..............................................................................................................................................................26
Artworks that deal with empty air.....................................................................................................................27
Conceptual art....................................................................................................................................................27
Lecture 1: introduction
Never a time in history where more changed.
- First world war: concept of war (first heroic) and believes in aristocrats.
- Interbellum: crisis, no money, in democracies a lot of tension
- World war 2
- Cold war: deviation between eastern communism and western capitalism, nuclear
bomb, S-spionage, Cuba crisis.
, - Post-colonialism: developments in Europe highly influential for rest of the world
- Aviation: around 1900, made the world smaller
- Television: collectively exposed to same mass-media
- Space travel
- Internet: changes a lot about how we picture the world
Established boundaries in art dissolve
- Realism/abstraction
- Materiality/concept and performance: now get art that just a concept, not something
you can hold.
- Art/everyday objects
- High art/low art: aristocratic rich and important separated from common and mass
production for the normal people.
- Museum/artwork: museum used to be place to exhibit artwork, museum becomes
part of the artwork.
There are a lot of -isms in this time. Because artist became ideological. Putting ideas into
practice in their art. Artist striving for utopian views of society and art. Thinking about
changes in their time and how art should react to this.
Some are a counteract around their time. But sometimes they think of something new. In
early 20 century also political a lot of radical views this reflects on the art.
They published journals in which they published their ideas and they could communicate
with other artists. Writing about what their art is about.
Charles Darwin: natural selection
Karl Marx: society would develop by low classes overruling the high classes, so he expected
the working class to go over the aristocrats
Nitze: god is dead
Sigmund Freud: psycho-analyst, highly influential for surrealist movement.
Artist groups sometimes had really clear ideas and published a manifesto, radical piece of
literature. Tone is charged and revolutionary. Later replaced by artist statement. They wrote
so much because they were doing a lot of new things. Helped them clarify what they were
doing to the world and themselves. Manifesto really fast get outdated.
Lecture 1: Towards Abstraction
General factors in the emergence of abstract painting.
Photography: was invented and developed. Great for portraiture (fast, cheap, accurate).
Religious altar pieces not great for photography also not history painting. It challenges the
uniqueness of painting. Representing the external world was large piece of painting.
Everything about painting that photography can not to is increased (brushwork, color)
increasing focus on formal and technical aspects of painting.
o Impressionist painting Monet: subject is presenting, but more interested in
the light
, o Paul Cézanne: abandoning strict use of perspective. One viewpoint is
restrictive. Lot of twisted angels like line of the table. Concerned with primary
form. How can I simplify the shape of these objects. Everything in the universe
can be created with sphericals, cubicals, etc…
o Paul Gauguin: lines and flat planes. Background is abstract. Use of more
formal qualities
o Picasso: taking what Cézanne was doing to the extreme. Use multiple
perspectives. Walking around the subject while depicting it. Accordionist
subject not recognizable.
o Futurism Giacoma Balla: movement is depicted. Feeling of high speed.
This development is Western Europe a lot in France.
Russian avant-garde
Since 18th c. close cultural ties with Western Europe. Lot of influence of ballet, theatre…
Russian aristocrats’ obsession with the French. Also, development in Russia. Artist would
travel to western world, especially Paris.
Journals such as Mir Iskusstva, modern art by Russian artist. Mix of artistic developments
from the west with their own styles.
Artistic discussion about creating authentic Russian style or following art development in
Europe. These clash with each other. Some follow the west and some make very Russian art.
Russian art turn to folklore and fairytales.
Natalia Goncharova: icon style painting. Biblical subject with Jesus. Added tableaus down
below with change of the seasons also represents cycle of life and death. Flattened a lot of
the color. Uses lot of linework.
Important collectors:
Collected art from the west. Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morosov were semi-rich industrialized
who collected artworks. Exhibited collections of these artworks together with contemporary
artworks from Russia. Developments kept track of quite well. Were painting futurism before
futurism artist had visited.
Lyubov Popova: futurism-cubism. Like cubism simplifying the shapes, perspective broken,
transposed on top of each other. Fractions of the subject: gloves, hair, newspaper. She
studies in Paris with cubist painters. When returned she worked with Fladimir Flapling. When
communist happened lot artist rethinking their art. How to be placed in communist ideals.
Paintings to hang of a wall not fitting for communism anymore. So she went to make stage
design, things that can be used. Made up of abstract elements. Doesn’t represent anything
anymore.
Early abstraction in the Russian avant-garde:
Bit abstract painting before Malevich. Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova develop
reflections of light. Ideas of movement from futurist art. Called Rayonism and was short lived
movement.
Kazimir Malevich:
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