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Jill Stout's List: Modern Art: Cubism, Surrealism, and Dadaism

  • Introduction to Modernism

    View this section as an introduction to the movement which encompasses Cubism, Surrealism, and Dadaism. Modernism lasts from about 1910-1950. Respond to the questions in your journal as you explore each site.

  • May 26, 14

    This article gives a good perspective on how and why World War I changed art. It gives an overview of not just painting, but also music and literature, and how the experiences and views of one of the world's deadliest wars. Read this article to understand how the war shaped art, and how the artists used their works to express their views of the world. After reading, reflect on the following questions:

    1. Why did World War I have such a major impact on art?
    2. What are some themes of life after the war that emerged in the art created in response to and after the war?

  • May 27, 14

    The Bechtler Museum of Modern art is located in Charlotte, NC and hold the personal collection of the Bechtler's. Browse through these photographs of the collection located at the museum. Pay attention to the style and themes, especially how varied they are throughout the modernism movement. Reflect on this artwork using the following questions to guide you.

    1. Which piece of artwork is your favorite in the collection and why?
    2. Do you see any trends in the art? What are they?
    3. Would you argue that any of the art is not art? Which pieces would you say this about and why?

  • May 27, 14

    Even though this site is home to poetry, it is important to see the connections in all of the arts, and how the arts are reflections of and influences on society. This page is a good introduction to Modernism. Read through to get a sense of what made the greatest impact on art of the time, especially after World War I. Also, see how the poets used their words to create art in the same way the painters did.

    1. What are some of the greatest influences on Modernism?
    2. In what ways did the poets experiment with form as well?

  • Cubism

    Cubism is an early 20th century, 1910s-20s, modern art movement led by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Response to the questions in your viewing journal.

  • May 27, 14

    The Guggenheim Museum, located in New York, New York was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and houses many Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and Modern Art. This page outline one of the Modern Art movement, Cubism. Read more about Cubism to understand the style and unique characteristics.

    1. What are a few characteristics of Cubism that give it its unique style?

  • May 26, 14

    The Modern Art Museum Website has brief biographies on a number of artists whose work is located in the museum. Scroll through and view the artwork by Picasso and read his brief biography. Use the following questions to help create a response to his artwork. 

    1. What do you think Picasso was trying to achieve in painting using characteristics of the movement he helped to create (planes, geometric solids (cubes, cones, etc.), multiple perspectives rather than one focal point)? 
    2. How is Faulkner's novel, As I Lay Dying, a literary representative of cubism?

  • May 27, 14

    The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, located in New York, New York, is the largest museum in the United States. Many of the world's greatest artists' work are located in this museum. Read this page about Henri Matisse to have a better view of this influential modern artist. After reading, respond to the following question:

    How do Matisse's locations and contemporaries influence his artwork?

  • May 27, 14

    Marcel Duchamp's "Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2" is housed in The Philadelphia Museum of Art. View the image and read about it below the painting. This painting is one of the most famous of the Modernism period. 

    1. Why do you think this painting caused such a stir when it premiered?
    2. Are you able to appreciate the form of the painting? If you are, explain what you appreciate about it. If you are not, explain your opinion.

  • Dadaism

    Dadaism is modern art form which may have begun in Zurich, Switzerland in 1916. It is a direct response to World War I, and shows the artists negative reactions to the war. As you view each site, reflect on the movement and the artists in your journal using the guiding questions.

  • May 27, 14

    This page from The Museum of Modern art in New York, New York, and gives a general introduction to Dadaism. Use the following questions to respond to this movement.

    1. Hugo Ball said of the Dadaists, “For us, art is not an end in itself." In what ways is Dadaism representative of this statement?
    2. Dadaism has been labeled as an anti-art movement. What do you think was meant by this labeling?

  • May 26, 14

    This website, "Making Sense of Marcel Duchamp," shows a timeline of Duchamp's work. Click on some of the pictures to view more information about the artwork. After viewing and reading about some of his pieces, use the following questions to help create a response to his artwork.  

    1. How does Duchamp's art rebel against standard ideas about what art is? 
    2. What are some of the themes of Duchamp's work?

  • May 27, 14

    This is one of the most famous accounts of Duchamp's "readymade" pieces of art called "The Fountain" which he signed "R. Mutt." This sculpture belongs to the movement knows as Dadaism. Duchamp argued that, “An ordinary object [could be] elevated to the dignity of a work of art by the mere choice of an artist.” 

    1. What characteristics of Dadaism are plainly evident in this "Fountain"?
    2. What do you think was Duchamp's message when he made this piece of art?

  • May 27, 14

    Francis Picabia belonged to the movements of Cubism, Dadaism, and Surrealism before turning his back on the Dadaists. But during this time he painted many mechanical portraits. In this biography of Picabia, it states that he said, "It flashed on me that the genius of the modern world is machinery." 

    1. Do you agree with Picabia's statement? Have you ever thought about machines as art?
    2. Click on "View works by this artist." What is your opinion of some of these pieces of art?

  • Surrealism

    Surrealism began as a literary movement with the concept of automatic writing which was to release the thoughts of the subconscious, but then it developed into visual art. The Surrealists were influenced by Freud's psychological ideas and dream studies. As you view the art by each of these Surrealists and read their biographies, use the questions to help guide your journal responses.

  • May 27, 14

    Khan Academy's Smart History has a great collection of and timeline of the major art movements of the world. Read this page to get a better sense of the aims and beliefs behind the Surrealist movement.

    1. What is the relationship between the subconscious and Surrealism? How could an artist capture what's in our subconscious?

  • May 27, 14

    The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL has the largest collection of Dali's work outside of Europe. Dali, a Spanish Surrealist, was highly imaginative. His most famous painting is "The Persistence of Memory." View some of Dali's artwork in this permanent collection and use the follow questions to guide your response.

    1. What is your initial reaction to Dali's style? Why was this your first response?
    2. What strikes you most about Dali's artwork?

  • May 27, 14

    Rene Magritte was a Belgian Surrealist who often used ordinary items in unusual settings. One of his most famous paintings of a pipe says "Ceci n'est pas une pipe," meaning "this is not a pipe" because, in fact, it is just a painting of a pipe. View the artwork located on the different levels of this digital museum. Be sure to check out "Words and Images" on Level 3. Clicking on different groupings of pictures will give you textual information about them.

    1. What's striking to you about Magritte's work?
    2. In what ways does Magritte fit in with the Surrealist Movement?

  • May 27, 14

    Man Ray is an American who spent most of his life in Paris and is best known for his photography. You can view some of his work here: http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/displayObjectList?maker=2036

    1. What unique style did Man Ray contribute to the field of photography?

  • May 27, 14

    This might be the longest article, but I saved the best for last. Be sure to at least skim all the way through and look at all of the artwork in this article.

    1. Choose one of the six paintings the the article highlights and reflect on how the painting represents that moment in Miró's life.

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