Modern Art

Modern art is a blanket term to envelop the entirety of the major art movements of the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries, linking them together with a sense of continuity from one development of style to the next and leading to the current contemporary or post modern movement. Modern art reflects the change from the grand external representative styles of the past to a more interior, introspective view of the world. Modern art is not the idealized reflection of the world as it appears, like Renaissance art, but rather the world as it appears after passing through the internal filter of the artist’s lens. Famous facets of modern art include Impressionism, Cubism, Dadaism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art.

Impressionism is an early form of Modern art canvas. Made famous by artists like Monet, Manet, Degas and Van Gogh; Impressionism deals with the interplay of light, color and time in a soft focus that demonstrates the fleeting beauty found in a single moment.

That soft focus led to further abstraction of color, shape and the analytical breakdown in perspective that defines Cubism. Artists including Braque, Picasso and Gris drew on tribal art forms and used complicated abstractions to reflect the tumultuous early years of the 20th century.

Dadaism follows the rejection of traditional artistic conventions by becoming a ‘non-art’ movement. This style incorporated use of found objects to explore the question of “what is art?” Duchamp’s Fountain, an inverted urinal bearing his signature, exemplifies the style.

Abstract Expressionism emerged fully in the late 1950s and 60s with artists like Pollock, Klee and de Kooning. Vivid color with explosive, but carefully planned, movement danced across canvas to express the artist’s inner mind and emotions while redefining art.

Pop Art uses common media like logos and advertisements to ironically poke fun at elements of mass consumer culture. Warhol, Johns and Lichtenstein use images of popular culture to critique it.

There are many movements within modern art; each with its own set of artists, styles and theories. The greatest strength of modern art is in its diversity and ingenuity in response to the rapidly changing world of the mid 19th to mid 20th century.

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Andy Warhol Pop Art | Roy Lichenstein Pop Art | Modern Art