Lecture 10: Modernity and Modernism

I'm not quite sure what to think about today's lecture. It was all about Modernism and Modernity, how it came about and what it is, and I'm not sure I fully understand it. I have managed to grasp the main concept of what Modernism is, but I have come to realise that it is so much more complex than what I originally thought it was.

John Ruskin was the first to use "modern" to describe visual communication, and it generally meant to be modern you were more sophisticated and/or stylish. More edgy. This meant that Art and paintings could be classed as "modern", but this didn't always mean that they were modernist. For example, Ruskin described Holman Hunt's "Hireling Shepard" (1851) as modern, as it didn't follow the norm of classical paints. The colours Hunt used were much brighter and contrasted with one another, something that classical paintings didn't typically do.

Hireling Shepard (1851) - William Holman Hunt

Moderism didn't only occur in paintings however, cities were often effected by modern change too, and it is said that modernism is inseparable from the city as this is where modernism happens. Paris is a great example of this as it was considered to be the most modern city of the 19th century. Take the Eiffel Tower for example. When it was first built in 1887-1889 it wasn't very popular, as it wasn't very visually pleasing and it dominated the city and it's old buildings. But modernist artists didn't focus on the style, but more of the philosophy behind the piece, and wanting to emerge from the subjective responses of artists and designers.
George-Eugene Haussmann was instructed by Napoleon III to redesign Paris, and bring more air and light to the center of the city. This meant that a lot of the narrow streets were demolished throughout the years of 1853 to 1870, to make way for new buildings that Napoleon commissioned. Again, not many approved of this at the time, because many were in favour of the narrow spaces as this made it easier to police.

Modernism in Animation
Gerald McBoing-Boing is a brilliant example of a modern animation. United Productions of America (UPA) adapted Dr. Seuss' story that had originally appeared on a children's record, about a boy who could only speak using sound effects. UPA wanted to break away from the strict animation methods that Disney were setting/producing, and step away from making animations that were high in realism. They felt this was very limiting, and thought that animations didn't have to "obey the rules of the real world" and proceeded to experiment with different styles.

Gerald McBoing-Boing (1951)