Modernism ( Subject : ARTS )

          

         Modernism can be defined as a philosophical movement that emerged from huge transformations in the western society which took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries specifically after World War 1 (Gold 74). This was primarily a movement in which the flourishing arts in the early twentieth century broke the traditions of the past through unique innovations. The era was characterised by rapid industrialisation, substantial social change and advancements in science & technology (Gold 37).  The development of new ideas in psychology, political theory and philosophy stimulated the need for new modes of expression. This led to a rise of interests in new types of paints with the idea to create abstraction and fantasies rather than focusing on what was real (Levenson 21). The movements of modernism such as Cubism in Arts, Symbolism in poetry and Atonality in music explored different spheres of new economic, political and social aspects of the new evolving industrialized world (Kramer 47).
Modernism            In other words, Modernism depicts departure from tradition to undertake the practice of innovative forms of expression that differentiates many styles in the arts and literature of the nineteenth and the twentieth century (Kramer 38). The modern art requires their audience to carefully observe the intentions and the environment of the artist before making any judgments about his work. Paul Cézanne is known as the ‘Father of Modernism’ (Levenson 41).            World War 1 is often considered as the starting event of Modernism (Adams 82). The mechanised mass slaughter and devastation of the western civilisation during the Great War accelerated and strengthened the thinking of modernism (Gold 39). The key characteristic that acted as a catalyst for Modernism is nihilism, the rejection of the traditional moral principles as the only way to attain social progress. This led the artists to believe that they were a part of a revolution not only to invent the new expression of a modern world but also question the already existing ideas of art. The most influential movements of modern art are illustrated well through the chosen piece of art.
Violence Lucide            Violence Lucide (1963) is an example of modernism in art. It was painted by Claude Tousignant in September 1963. It is a unique piece of art for Claude Tousignant that he even painted a facsimile in 1994 when he thought that he lost the painting. Claude Tousignant is a popular and an influential artist in the field of abstract modernism since the latter part of 20th century. He was born in 1932 in Montreal Quebec. He completed academic degree in the visual arts from Montreal School of Fine Arts. Two distinct methods of abstraction which includes semi-abstraction and pure abstraction. He used the techniques of semi-abstraction which is the part of modern art. It is an art form in which the artist works on specific visual portions to draw a poetic reconstruction of the subject. While pure abstraction art is based on individual usage of visual elements (Couchot 75). The foundations of the modern abstract art are found in cubism. Moreover, other significant abstract styles that emerged in the 20^th century are Orphism, Constructivism, Rayonism, Tachisme and Abstract Expressionism.Tousignant returned to his hometown in 1953 after travelling to Paris and the United States. He tried to explore abstraction deeply rather than following Automatism. During that period, a group of plasticists was formed which included Belzile, Jérôme, Jauran and Toupin. Mondrean highly influenced not only this group but also Tousignant. Although he opposed the automated movement, he did not become a part of the first group of Plasticians, artists who rejected the geometrical elements and the faded colours (Purvis 32). The pictorial space of Pollock and Newman created a huge impact on Tousignant. His piece of art is more identical to the second wave of Plastic painters which includes Juneau and Molinari. This group of artists gave more importance to the colour in frontal space. Tousignant implemented these principles in his different pieces of art such as Les taches in 1955, where he used oil on the canvas to depict bright colours on a white background (Purvis 29). This was the first series of works which introduced Tousignant to the world through a display at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art (Couchot 31). Moreover, his abstract work Le lieu de l'infini in 1956 displays the relation between geometrical structures and colours which in turn creates a confusion optical sensation.             Claude Tousignant’s art was exhibited not only in Canada but also across the world.  He was a member of Montreal Association of Non-Figurative Artists and has represented Canada in 8th Bienalle of São Paulo in 1965.  In 1965, Claude Tousignant created a unique and impressive piece of art known as Violence Lucide. The painting evolved by the integration of circle into rectangular. This unique art was exhibited in 1965 at Galerie du Siecle, owned by an affluent Montreal-based, Mr. Aubert Brillant who was popular for purchasing modern art from the struggling artists. One year later, this painting along with others was part of an exhibition at Washington Square Galleries in New York.  The painting also represents impressionism which is indeed a simple way to express work of painters in a unique way. The history of modernism in art began with impressionism. At the end of the nineteenth century, a colorful style of painting evolved in France which was named as impressionism. It was based on the in-depth analysis of the impact of colors and light. The Impressionists preferred to work outdoors, and they focused on bold colors rather than details of their subject.  This is evident from the chosen work as well in which Claude painted the picture with the bold color and making it vibrant and bright.
 Fauvism            A fashionable style of painting developed by Henri Matisse in France during the early 20^th century was called Fauvism (Rewald 26). It was a joyful, dramatic and highly influential style of painting. The most significant contribution of Fauvism to modern art was to exhibit the independent power of colour. The two most important characteristics of the Fauvist paintings was simplified painting and highly exaggerated colours (Rewald 17).Expressionism             In simple terms, expressionism was a modern art form of Fauvism. This style was highly influenced by emotional as well as a spiritual vision of the world. The painters of this movement were divided into two groups: Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter.            The members of Die Brücke’s community were young artists in Dresden whose main objective was to revolutionise the old traditions of German art. On the other hand, Der Blaue Reiter was another group of painters whose publications were completely influenced by primitive art.Abstract Art           Cubism            This style was created by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in 1907. The roots of Cubism is found in African tribal art (Čuljak et al. 51). Cubists believed in depicting different aspects of the subject at one time. This style of art is divided into two phases: Analytical Cubism and Synthetic Cubism. It created a huge impact on other styles of modern art (Čuljak et al. 43).Futurism            The revolutionary movement of modern art in Italy is called Futurism. It was invented in 1909 by Filippo Tommas Marinetti. The futurists were highly influenced by the expression of ideas of cubists but with a little twist. The paintings of the futurists are relatively more dynamic than cubists.            The modern art in Canada has experienced an exceptional expansion of visual arts post second world war. During that period, it also witnessed a surge in some professional artists, a creation of new galleries & exhibitions and also an introduction of magazines on modern art. Apart from the influence of North European modernism had on Canadian art, huge efforts made by artists resulted in a breakthrough to modern art which approached Montreal in 1940.Conclusion            The study concludes the history of art has been changed with the evolution from traditional technique to modernized technique. After analyzing the study, some points can be highlighted in this section. It helps to overview the entire discussion which is manifested in the above sections. Violence Lucid is an abstract piece of art by Canadian artist, Claude Tousignant. It is a clear example of modern art. The aim of this art is not to display an exact depiction of visual reality rather it is using different shapes, forms and colours to show its real impact. No human shapes can be identified in the Tousignant's work. The intention of his work was completely abstract paintings. He has explored different geometric elements and vibrant colours. He always wanted his work to be observed as objects or independent commodities with no clear meaning attached to it. Meanwhile, art took a dramatic transformation when modernism was introduced to the world. Different forms of art were developed with the rise and fall of artists and adoption of innovative and distinct styles. Modernism has completely changed the perspective of humanity. Multiple styles of art were created since no two people can think alike. This has triggered great amount of experimentation and varied exploration by artists.