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Modernism

“MAKE IT NEW!”

Introduction to Modernism

Modernism was a cultural, artistic and literary movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As the Western World was modernizing and industrializing, artists, philosophers and writers felt the need to replace traditional forms of art, architecture, music, thinking and writing with something new. They rejected Enlightenment thinking and conservative values, and revolted against Realism (现实主义) and Victorianism (维多利亚时代的风尚). While Enlightenment thinkers were in search of ‘truth,’ Modernist thinkers were in search of ‘art.’

The British writer Virginia Woolf (弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙) declared that “on or about December 1910” the world was undergoing a fundamental change. What was happening at this time? Einstein’s ideas were changing everyone’s ideas about the universe and the invention of the airplane and car were drastically changing the pace of human life. Artists from all over the world were gathering in big European cities to experiment with new and unconventional forms of art. Some of the famous artists during this time were Picasso (毕加索) and Matisse (马蒂斯). Therefore, 1910 marks the “explosion” of Modernism.

Many musicians and bands used Modernist-style writing in their song lyrics, such as Bob Dylan and the Beatles. Modernism has had a lasting effect on Western culture. Many important movements followed in the footsteps of Modernism, including High Modernism and Post-Modernism, that continue to influence contemporary art today.

The Fundamental Elements of Modernism

1. A breaking away from and predictable forms of writing and art

2. A rejection of smooth change, an embrace of chaos

3. A more international perspective on cultural matters

4. The artist’s self-consciousness – experiments in form and structure

a. Artists brought attention to the process and materials used in art, rather than just the final product

5. Abstraction, especially in art and writing

Famous and Defining Quotes of Modernism

“Make it new!”

~ Ezra Pound

"No ideas but in things"

~ William Carlos Williams

“Art for Art’s Sake”

~ from the French slogan “l’art pour l’art”

"Defining modernism is a difficult task. ... A historical definition would say that modernism is the artistic movement in which the artist's self-consciousness about questions of form and structure became uppermost. ... In brief, modernism asks us to consider what we normally understand by the center and the margins."

~ Heath Anthology, Vol. 2, 4th ed., 887-888.

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