Art: Primitivism and Expressionism
The art of the 20th century was indicative of revolutionized thinking and newly found perceptions of the world: the present preconceptions of nature were being challenged by scientists and artists alike, the Freudian researches were unfolding new levels of the human consciousness or the subconscious, and the aftermath of the world wars starved artists with the need to find the mechanism in which to disclose their inner most emotions; to realize them in some tangible form discernible (or not) to its viewers. Thus going beyond the post-impressionists' outpouring of personal perception, the birth of Expressionism revealed the artists' inner most experiences-the anguished, aggressive, mystical, or lyrical on to the viewer itself. This movement soon after the turn of the century included the musical, literal, and theatrical arts as well (Danvir, 4). Expressionism in a broader sense, describes art in which feeling is given greater prominence than thought, using the artist's medium not to portray situations, but to express emotion. The expressionist puts an emphasis on vivid color and hues and compromises line, which is complementary with the controlled or the rational, whereas spontaneous color is equated with more liberated, less
5. Matisse. Jacobus, John. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. NY The question in mind however is this: can such an innovative liberation of style and technique as Expressionist painting was be equated with distant aboriginal cultures? Modern art has often been compared back to back and even attributed to tribal or aboriginal art, so the phrase "modernist primitivism" was coined. Along with this association also came the negative and positive stereotypical connotations attributed to primitive art being carried onto modernist art. There is a false parallelism created between modern art such as Matisse's and Derain's expressionistic works and that of aboriginal art and a even more worse parallelism which equates aboriginal or "primitive" art to degenerative, inferior, or primal qualities, sub-level to the "civilized" art world. 8. Artforms. Preble, Frank. Addison Wesley Publications 1999. rational effects. This brief period of artistic style refers to the works of a large number of painters, some of the forerunners being Henri Matisse, Andre Derain, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Many branched out into other movements including Fauvism (1905-1907) which began in France with the Salon des Independants with Matisse and his group of French painters, the German Expressionists, Abstract Expressionism, and Cubism, all stemming from their studies of Gauguin, Van Gogh, Munch and Cezanne (Preble, 414). The Expressionist movement though short lived, influenced the direction of the art world indefinitely. It is greatly responsible for catalyzing modern art in the 20th century. 3. The Expressionists: A Survey of Their Graphic Art. Zigrosser, Carl. Georges Braziller, Inc. 1957 Primitive art has also been equated with juvenile artistry, and since there has been a relationship assumed with modernism and primitive art, the same equivocation between modern art and children have also been assumed. Conclusions that "savages are true children" that they "draw, mess in paints, and model, like children" and that "we can follow the aesthetic evolution of mankind in the development of the abilities of our children" are only some of the erroneous conclusions made by seeing "them" as the "other"(Goldwater, 22). Likewise the correlation of modernist art to that of children's creations, alludes to the thought that creating art such as that of the Expressionists, or Cubism, or sculpting is nothing short of mere child's play, something that one's son or daughter can slap on a piece of canvas just as easily and interestingly (Goldwater, 257). This thought pattern seems to be primitivist in itself, for the lack of better terms.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Vlaminck African, Madame Matisse, Houses Parliament, , Expressionists Cubism, Matisse's Derain's, Cezanne Preble, modern art, Inc NY, Ludwig Kirchner, primitive art, Modern Art, aboriginal art, 20th century, expressionist painting, art 20th century, oil canvas, african art, art world, aboriginal artworks, harry abrams, harry abrams inc,
Approximate Word count = 1999
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
