Modernism
Until recently, the word "modern" used to refer generically to the contemporaneous; all art is modern at the time it is made. As an art historical term, "modern" refers to a period dating from roughly the 1860s through the 1970s and is used to describe the style and the ideology of art produced during that era. It is this more specific use of modern that is intended when people speak of modern art. The term "modernism" is also used to refer to the art of the modern period. More specifically, "modernism" can be thought of as referring to the philosophy of modern art. The roots of modernism lie much deeper in history than the middle of the 19th century. For historians (but not art historians) the modern period actually begins with the Renaissance. A discussion of modernism might easily begin in the Renaissance period when we first encounter secular humanism, the notion that man (not God) is the measure of all things, a worldly civic consciousness, and "utopian" visions of a more perfect society. It is in the ideals of the Enlightenment that the roots of Modernism, and the new role of art and the artist, are to be found. Simply put, the overarching goal of Modernism, of modern art, has been the creation of a better soc
In recent years, progressive modernism has seemed bent not on defining a future but in destroying the values of the present, especially as they pertained to art. Fundamentally, the intention was to educate the public, to keep alive in the face of conservative forces the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality through which the world would be made a better place. Artists began to seek freedom not just from the rules of academic art, but from the demands of the public. Soon it was claimed that art should be produced not for the public's sake, but for art's sake. The term "postmodernism" is used in a confusing variety of ways. For some it means anti-modern; for others it means the revision of modernist premises. Constructive postmodernism seeks to recover truths and values from various forms of premodern thought and practice. Constructive postmodernism wants to replace modernism and modernity, which it sees as threatening the very survival of life on the planet. Deconstructive postmodernism is seen as a rejection of the doctrine of the supremacy of reason, the notion of truth, the belief in the perfectability of man, and the idea that we could create a better, if not perfect, society ( perhaps as anti-modern in that it seems to destroy or eliminate the ingredients that are believed necessary for a worldview, such as
Some common words found in the essay are:
, World War, Cold War, progressive modernism, world war, modern art, modernist enterprise, 20th century, half 20th century, art historians, roots modernism, modern period, perfect society, art produced,
Approximate Word count = 897
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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