Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Into the Modernity

Modernity is most often made synonymous to the Enlightenment Project which had seen a development of more rational and objective science, universal morality and autonomous art.  The Age of Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason, aimed to dispel religious superstition (beliefs with no basis in logic) and political tyranny (absolutist rulers and exploitation of lower classes).  Its main doctrines include: rationality, reason; innate goodness in humans; individual equality; art should play on the intellect not emotions.


The American Revolution and the French Revolution were direct results of Enlightenment thinking.  The proletariat (workers and farmers) united to fight against the bourgeoisie.






Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Marat, 1793


Jacques-Louis David was the official artist of the French Revolution and The Death of Marat (Jean-Paul Marat was a friend of David's and an important political figure in support of the revolution) is in many ways an embodiment of the bloodshed and terror of the revolution.  Napoleon had come out of the French Revolution and subsequently went on to conquer Europe.  Modernism came out of Enlightenment philosophy as many artists were uneasy and critical of Enlightenment thinking.

18th Century: Immanuel Kant
-  people have full capacity to will their way through life
Autonomous Ego: will is within oneself; dependent on imposing rules on will; subject possess free will, free from religious and political tyranny; transcendental self; collaborate with others in order for everyone to be free; independent but still in relation to society
PARADOX:  Those were weren't enlightened were seen as children that need to be enlightened.  The paradox lies in the fact that enlightenment thought championed freedom, yet imposed their ideas and knowledge on others.
Hegel:  selfhood is dependent on others and society. self-consciousness

By the 19th century, it was clear the onset of modernity and industrialization could not be stopped.  As a direct result of the Enlightenment, the 19th century saw the advent of suburbs (picturesque landscapes) in the outskirts of cities.  The middle-class conducted themselves based on rules of behaviour, etiquette, morals and values that were written out for them in manuals and catalogues (See: Eaton's Catalogue).  The private and public sphere were under scrutiny, especially that of the women's.  

The Victorian Parlor - living room - became a semi-private space in the home.  The opulent decor and designs was a means to show comfort, wealth and status in society to those who came to visit.  It was seen as improper to show uncovered furniture and wallpapers, draperies, textiles, carpets served to cover the space.

Brotherhood of the Pre-Raphaelites.  These groups of artists were against the modern industrialization, mass production and consumerism and sought to embrace religion and Medieval spirituality.  William Morris attacked both Victorian fashion and gave social criticism to factory working conditions.  As a result, he started Morris & Company (1861) and perpetuated the Arts and Crafts movement.  Morris & Company was a workshop where artists and designer worked collaboratively in a machine-free environment.


Unfortunately, the hand-made furniture, in direct competition with mechanically-made goods, proved to be too expensive for the middle-class.




Katherine Hoffman - "The Nineteenth Century."
-Bohemianism: unconventional; outside mainstream society became popular
-Romanticism was reflection of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's philosophy that emphasized inherent good in people.
  -mystery, imagination, exotic, nature, individualism

Hoffman details the constant struggle between individuals and society and the strong emphasis put on the private sphere during the Victorian Era.  The image of an ordered family and domestic life became increasingly important.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

National Identity in Art

Martin Warnke's "The Occupation of the Plain" deals with landscape in a political light.  Natural landscape (mountains and bodies of water) had initially, especially in Europe, served as prehistoric borders between different territories.  Warnke argues that human contact with these natural landscapes has resulted in a political exertion over the land.  Buildings, roads and man-made borders between "private, regional [and] national territories" are examples of power and politics.  Thus, landscape painting is a reflection of politics versus nature.  Landscapes by themselves have no content and it is only upon human interference that a narrative is created.




 Nicolas Poussin, Landscape with St. John on Patmos, 1640

Poussin with influenced by the classical tradition and mythology.  His landscapes are thus imbued with a sense of romanticism and in its idealization, appears seemingly perfect and untouched by humans.  The infusion of classicism ennobles the landscape. The picturesque is a perfect embodiment of this romanticized landscape whereby the emphasis is on the aesthetic ideal of nature.  The picturesque was first introduced into England by Willian Gilpin in his attempts to encourage tourists and travellers to see the country's untouched and perfect picturesque landscapes.

Humphrey Repton - desire to rule over nature
-before/after paintings; removed unaesthetic elements (people, animals) 


By the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, there were decisive changes in landscape painting in large part due to the onset of the Industrial Revolution.  Factories were being built across Europe and the urban sprawl - leading to the destruction of natural landscape - and the struggle between the natural environment and social development became the focus of criticism by a growing number of artists and intellectuals.

1856: John Ruskin "degeneration of humanity" --> landscape painting is romanticized




J.M.W. Turner, The Fighting Téméraire tugged to her last Berth to be broken, 1839

Turner's painting deals with human intervention in landscape and the tension between nature and humans.

National Identity in Landscapes
Land is the common denominator that unites all the people of a country together.  As a result, landscape art is the perfect medium to establish national identity, albeit it is important to note that different nations, given their varying political, cultural and social circumstances, used landscape art as representations of national identity in wholly different ways.
Lucien O'Brien, Sunrise over the Saguenay, 1880
Although O'brien acknowledges human contact, the natural landscape is overpowering.  O'Brien's Quebec landscape appears unscathed by human intervention and retains a sublime quality.  To me, it is evocative of German romanticism and brings to mind the sublime and mysticism in Caspar David Friedrich's landscapes:
 Caspar David Friedrich, The Monk by the Sea, 1808-1810 

Dutch Republic 
Dutch Republic became a powerful economic and industrial force during the 17th century.  It was predominantly Protestant, which meant representation of human figures was forbidden.  Trades, merchants and the upper middle class made up must of the Republic.  Artists were forced to sell works on the open market ---> artists painted images interesting for their audience (audience wanted to see prosperity of their own land) Maritime Scenes. The wealth of the Dutch Republic was acquired by sea trade and naval wars with Britain, etc.  Hence, maritime scenes were common Dutch landscapes.
Jacob van Ruisdael, The Windmill at Wijk, 1670


Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Portraiture and the Self

Joanna Woodall's "Introduction: facing the subject"
In her article, Woodall presents the major changes in the aesthetics, uses and theories of portraiture from the Renaissance through to the 20th century.  Dualism is the idea that the intellect, identity and mind is separated from the material and decaying body (mind vs. body).


Renaissance saw an interest in classical antiquity (Ancient Greece and Rome) and an emphasis on individualism.  Portraiture represented the status, power, interests and achievements of its sitter.  In addition, having your portrait painted meant you were rich enough to afford commissioning an artist and thus further establish your status in society.  Naturalistic portraiture suggested the importance and power of the represented individual by linking the sitter genealogically to a reputable ancestry.  The aim was one of permanence: the sitter when represented would become eternally present even after death.


Velasquez, Philip IV on Horseback, 1634-35

Portraits of rulers and nobility were not just representations of identity, but representations of power, further re-establishing their right to rule.


The notion of permanence was challenged with the onset of photography when it suddenly became easily accessible for nearly everyone to have their likeness captured "eternally".
What is portraiture?
Woodall writes, "More fundamentally, the early twentieth-century rejection of figurative imagery challenged the belief that visual resemblance to a living or once-living model is necessary or appropriate to the presentation of identity."






Marc Quinn, Self, 1991
Quinn's life-size cast of his own head, using his own blood.
Gavin Turk, Che Guevara
Turk casted himself for this life-sized sculpture of Che Guevara.  Is this a portrait of Turk or Guevara?