assignment #2

What is art? Few questions provoke such heated debate and provide so few satisfactory answers. Art was the first written language and to study the history of art is to study the history of civilizations and humankind. Art has developed, influenced, and contributed starting from the great Stone Age to the present day. Art gives an insight into the changes and evolution that man and culture have gone through to become what is today. Art is culture, art is the essence of the people who make it and the best way to appreciate art is to look at the history of it and it’s evolvement through time. Art history is more than a stream of art objects created over time.
Around 1870, French artists began to change from their traditional to more modern. Modernism applied to almost all progressive or avant-garde art from the period of time of the Impressionists is to Postmodernism. Modernism is combined with nonrepresentational, officially organized the models of modern art. It meant that they focused more on leisure and middle or upper class’ activities. The more modern style was called Impressionism. “Characteristics of Impressionist paintings include visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on light in its changing qualities… the inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles” (Wikipedia). Early twentieth century, with innovation and invention in many areas in society, art is not an exception. We called this period early modern art. People were more freedom and knowledge, so were the artists. It grew with many innovations such as expressionist or abstract style in Europe.
Postmodernism seems to start in the 1970s style that dominated the art-Minimalism and Conceptualism-not equipped with a world struggling with the increasing social problems such as drugs, crime divorce and commercial greed. As a result, a majority of the style developed as a response to the situation worse. Other Postmodernists, however, expressed stronger desire to work with art that seems to have no meaningful content, and start back with three-dimensional art, and the establishment of meaning. The feelings that society seems to have become exhausted and bled of new ideas, and society appears unable to solve the problem also affected its art.
Duchamp is French artist create the most shocking Dada works. He believed that art should appeal to the intellect rather than the senses. Duchamp’s cerebral approach is exemplified in his ready-mades, produced normal objects transformed into works of art simply by the decision of the artist. “Fountain is a masterpiece of philosophical investigation, a conundrum n a tabletop that quietly explodes some of our most cherished notions” (Stokstad). L.H.O.O.Q. transforms the Mona Lisa. He added a mustache and bread on the face, make change from the female to male. The purpose is not for the beautiful art.
A leader in pop art, Warhol is preoccupied with that aspect of pop that finds its material in the most familiar clichés of the contemporary scene, including advertising art. He create memorably in many media. Marilyn Monroe, Campbell Soup cans are at once anti-art in the conventional sense. “Marilyn Monroe is one of the first in which Warhol turned from conventional painting to the assembly-line technique of silk-screening photographic images onto canvas “(Stokstad).
Art history is an evolved current through time and mark by period such as Byzantine, Baroque, Rococo or Modern period. The art world is affected by the society pretty much. The styles and objectives have been changed from restricted to free. The new style has learned from previous styles to create a better style. The art begin from imaging to real and then come back to imaging. It begins from simple to complex and then simple by using line, color, and shape.