modernism.docx
- 文档编号:18574867
- 上传时间:2023-08-19
- 格式:DOCX
- 页数:18
- 大小:201.71KB
modernism.docx
《modernism.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《modernism.docx(18页珍藏版)》请在冰点文库上搜索。
modernism
modernism
Modernismisatrendofthoughtwhichaffirmsthepowerofhumanbeingstomake,improveandreshapetheirenvironment,withtheaidofscientificknowledge,technologyandpracticalexperimentation.Thetermcoversavarietyofpolitical,culturalandartisticmovementsrootedinthechangesinWesternsocietyattheendofthe19thcenturyandbeginningofthe20thcentury.Broadly,modernismdescribesaseriesofprogressiveculturalmovementsinartandarchitecture,music,literatureandtheappliedartswhichemergedinthedecadesbefore1914.Embracingchangeandthepresent,modernismencompassestheworksofartists,thinkers,writersanddesignerswhorebelledagainstlate19thcenturyacademicandhistoricisttraditions,andconfrontedtheneweconomic,socialandpoliticalaspectsoftheemergingmodernworld.
Inthesearchforcontinualimprovementthatcharacterizesmodernism,individualmodernmovementsoftendisclaimtheauthenticityofothermodernmovementsoverissuessuchastherelativeimportanceofobjectivityandsubjectivity,simplicityversuscomplexity,highversuslowandotherperceiveddichotomies.Thereconciliationofapparentoppositeshasthengivenrisetoadditionalmodernistforms.
Somedividethe20thcenturyintomodernandpostmodernperiods,whereasothersseethemastwopartsofthesamemovement.Thisarticlewillfocusonthemovementthatgrewoutofthelate19thandearly20thcentury,whilePostmodernismhasitsownarticle.
Historicaloutline
Modernismasatendencyemergedinthemid-19thcentury,particularlyinParis,France,andwasrootedintheideathat"traditional"formsofart,literature,socialorganizationanddailylifehadbecomeoutdated,andthatitwasthereforeessentialtosweepthemaside.Inthisitdrewonpreviousrevolutionarymovements,includingliberalismandcommunism.Modernismencouragedthere-examinationofeveryaspectofexistence,fromcommercetophilosophy,withthegoaloffindingthatwhichwas"holdingback"progress,andreplacingitwithnew,andthereforebetter,waysofreachingthesameend.Inessence,themodernistmovementarguedthatthenewrealitiesoftheindustrialandmechanizedagewerepermanentandimminent,andthatpeopleshouldadapttheirworldviewtoacceptthatwhatwasnewwasalsogoodandbeautiful.
Precursorstomodernism
EugèneDelacroix'sLibertyLeadingthePeople,aRomanticpieceofart.
Thefirsthalfofthe19thcenturyforEuropewasmarkedbyanumberofwarsandrevolutions,whichrevealtheriseoftheideasanddoctrinesnowidentifiedasRomanticism:
Emphasisonindividualsubjectiveexperience,thesupremacyof"Nature"asasubjectforart,revolutionaryorradicalextensionsofexpression,andindividualliberty.Bymid-century,however,asynthesisoftheseideaswithstablegoverningformshademerged,partlyinreactiontothefailedRomanticRevolutionsof1848.ItwasexemplifiedbyOttovonBismarck'srealpolitikandby"practical"philosophicalideassuchaspositivism.Calledbyvariousnames—inGreatBritainitisdesignatedthe"Victorianera"—thisstabilizingsynthesiswasrootedintheideathatwhatwasrealdominatedoverwhatwassubjective.
Centraltothissynthesiswerecommonassumptionsandinstitutionalframesofreference,includingthereligiousnormsfoundinChristianity,scientificnormsfoundinclassicalphysics,anddoctrinesthatassertedthatthedepictionofexternalrealityfromanobjectivestandpointwasinfactpossible.CulturalcriticsandhistorianslabelthissetofdoctrinesRealism,thoughthistermisnotuniversal.Inphilosophy,therationalistandpositivistmovementsestablishedaprimacyofreasonandsystem.
Againstthecurrentranaseriesofideas,someofthemdirectcontinuationsofRomanticschoolsofthought.Notableweretheagrarianandrevivalistmovementsinplasticartsandpoetry(e.g.thePre-RaphaeliteBrotherhoodandthephilosopherJohnRuskin).Rationalismalsodrewresponsesfromtheanti-rationalistsinphilosophy.Inparticular,Hegel'sdialecticviewofcivilizationandhistorydrewresponsesfromFriedrichNietzscheandSørenKierkegaard,whoweremajorinfluencesonExistentialism.Alloftheseseparatereactionstogetherbegantobeseenasofferingachallengetoanycomfortableideasofcertaintyderivedbycivilization,history,orpurereason.
Fromthe1870sonward,theideasthathistoryandcivilizationwereinherentlyprogressiveandthatprogresswasalwaysgoodcameunderincreasingattack.WriterslikeWagnerandIbsenhadbeenreviledfortheirowncritiquesofcontemporarycivilizationandfortheirwarningsthataccelerating"progress"wouldleadtothecreationofindividualsdetachedfromsocialnormsandisolatedfromtheirfellowmen.Theargumentarosenotmerelythatthevaluesoftheartistandthoseofsocietyweredifferent,butthatsocietywasantitheticaltoprogress,andcouldnotmoveforwardinitspresentform.Philosopherscalledintoquestionthepreviousoptimism.TheworkofSchopenhauerwaslabelled"pessimistic"foritsideaofthe"negationofthewill",anideathatwouldbebothrejectedandincorporatedbylaterthinkerssuchasNietzsche.
Twoofthemostdisruptivethinkersoftheperiodwere,inbiology,CharlesDarwinand,inpoliticalscience,KarlMarx.Darwin'stheoryofevolutionbynaturalselectionunderminedreligiouscertaintyofthegeneralpublic,andthesenseofhumanuniquenessoftheintelligentsia.Thenotionthathumanbeingsweredrivenbythesameimpulsesas"loweranimals"provedtobedifficulttoreconcilewiththeideaofanennoblingspirituality.KarlMarxseemedtopresentapoliticalversionofthesameproposition:
thatproblemswiththeeconomicorderwerenottransient,theresultofspecificwrongdoersortemporaryconditions,butwerefundamentallycontradictionswithinthe"capitalist"system.Boththinkerswouldspawndefendersandschoolsofthoughtthatwouldbecomedecisiveinestablishingmodernism.
Separately,intheartsandletters,twoideasoriginatinginFrancewouldhaveparticularimpact.ThefirstwasImpressionism,aschoolofpaintingthatinitiallyfocusedonworkdone,notinstudios,butoutdoors(enpleinair).Impressionistpaintingsdemonstratedthathumanbeingsdonotseeobjects,butinsteadseelightitself.Theschoolgatheredadherentsdespiteinternaldivisionsamongitsleadingpractitioners,andbecameincreasinglyinfluential.Initiallyrejectedfromthemostimportantcommercialshowofthetime—thegovernment-sponsoredParisSalon—theartwasshownattheSalondesRefusés,createdbyEmperorNapoleonIIItodisplayallofthepaintingsrejectedbytheParisSalon.Whilemostwereinstandardstyles,butbyinferiorartists,theworkofManetattractedtremendousattention,andopenedcommercialdoorstothemovement.
ThesecondschoolwasSymbolism,markedbyabeliefthatlanguageisexpresslysymbolicinitsnature,andthatpoetryandwritingshouldfollowwhicheverconnectionthesheersoundandtextureofthewordscreate.ThepoetStéphaneMallarméwouldbeofparticularimportancetowhatwouldoccurafterwards.
Atthesametimesocial,political,andeconomicforceswereatworkthatwouldbecomethebasistoargueforaradicallydifferentkindofartandthinking.Chiefamongthesewassteam-poweredindustrialization,whichproducedbuildingsthatcombinedartandengineeringinnewindustrialmaterialssuchascastirontoproducerailroadbridgesandglass-and-irontrainsheds,ortheEiffelTower,whichbrokeallpreviouslimitationsonhowtallman-madeobjectscouldbe,andatthesametimeofferedaradicallydifferentenvironmentinurbanlife.
Themiseriesofindustrialurbanity,andthepossibilitiescreatedbyscientificexaminationofsubjectsbroughtchangesthatwouldshakeaEuropeancivilizationwhichhad,untilthen,regardeditselfashavingacontinuousandprogressivelineofdevelopmentfromtheRenaissance.Withthetelegraph'sharnessingofanewpower,offeringinstantaneityatadistance,theexperienceoftimeitselfwasaltered.
Thebreadthofthechangescanbeseeninhowmanydisciplinesaredescribed,intheirpre-20thcenturyform,asbeing"classical",includingphysics,economics,andartssuchasballet.
Thebeginningofmodernism1890–1910
Olympia(1863),byÉdouardManet.
ClementGreenbergwrote"WhatcanbesafelycalledModernismemergedinthemiddleofthelastcentury—andratherlocally,inFrance,withBaudelaireinliteratureandManetinpainting,andperhapswithFlaubert,too,inprosefiction.(Itwasawhilelater,andnotsolocally,thatModernismappearedinmusicandarchitecture)."[1]The"avant-garde"waswhatModernismwascalledatfirst,andthetermremainedtodescribemovementswhichidentifythemselvesasattemptingtooverthrowsomeaspectoftraditionorthestatusquo.
Inthe1890sastrandofthinkingbegantoassertthatitwasnecessarytopushasidepreviousnormsentirely,insteadofmerelyrevisingpastknowledgeinlightofcurrenttechniques.ThegrowingmovementinartparalleledsuchdevelopmentsastheTheoryofRelativityinphysics;theincreasingintegrationoftheinternalcombustionengineandindustrialization;andtheriseofsocialsciencesinpublicpolicy.Itwasarguedthat,ifthenatureofrealityitselfwasinquestion,andifrestrictionswhichhadbeeninplacearoundhumanactivitywerefalling,thenart,too,wouldhavetoradicallychange.Thus,inthefirstfifteenyearsofthetwentiethcenturyaseriesofwriters,thinkers,andartistsmadethebreakwithtraditionalmeansoforganizingliterature,painting,andmusic.
SigmundFreudofferedaviewofsubjectivestatesinvolvinganunconsciousmindfullofprimalimpulsesandcounte
- 配套讲稿:
如PPT文件的首页显示word图标,表示该PPT已包含配套word讲稿。双击word图标可打开word文档。
- 特殊限制:
部分文档作品中含有的国旗、国徽等图片,仅作为作品整体效果示例展示,禁止商用。设计者仅对作品中独创性部分享有著作权。
- 关 键 词:
- modernism