Modern Art 101

Modern Art 101

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome. Today, we're going to talk about modern art. We're
diving into the origins of modern art, how it started
and where it began, and the visionary artists who dared
to redefine creativity. Grab your coffee or your sketch pad
and let's get into it. So to understand modern art,

(00:22):
we need to set the stage. Modern art isn't just
a time period, it's a revolution. It marks a shift
away from traditional forms, styles, and expectations. Before the nineteenth century,
art was primarily about realism, religion, and grand historical themes.
But modern artists asked what if art could be about emotions,

(00:47):
abstract ideas, or even the artist's perspective. Modern art is
often said to have begun in the mid nineteenth century,
driven by industrialization, urbanization, and changing world views. It's not
just art, its response to the modern world. The birthplace

(01:09):
of modern art France, specifically Paris. In the eighteen sixties
and eighteen seventies. Paris was the cultural capital of the
world at the time, buzzing with innovation, experimentation, and rebellion.
One pivotal moment came in eighteen sixty three with a

(01:29):
Ceylon de Refuse. The exhibition of rejects. When traditional art
juries rejected hundreds of works from the annual Paris Ceylon,
Emperor Napoleon the Third excuse Me authorized an exhibition for
these rejected pieces. Among them was Les de genre surle

(01:51):
erbe by Edward Manette, a painting that shocked viewers with
its bold departure from convention. Manet and other artists of
his era began challenging the status quo, and their work
paved the way the impressionist's names like Claude Monette, Edgar

(02:12):
Degas and Renoir. First, Edward Manette considered a traditional figure.
Manet's work like Olympia and La de Joerna Serb, challenged
societal norms and artistic traditions. Then the impressionists. Monette's impression

(02:34):
Sunrise gave the movement its name. Focusing on light, color
and atmosphere over precise detail. Renmark captured lively social scenes,
while Degas brought movement to life with his ballet answers.
As the nineteenth century ended, new styles emerged, Vincent van

(02:55):
Gouh's expressive brushstrokes, Paul Seizon's structural innovations, and Paul Gogan's
use of symbolism. Laid the groundwork for the twentieth centuries
avant garde movements. But modern art wasn't confined to France.
In Spain, Pablo Picasso and Brock spearheaded Cubism, a style

(03:20):
that fractured the visual world into geometric forms. Across the Atlantic,
American artists like Georgia O'Keefe began exploring abstraction with regional themes.
So what made these artists break away from tradition. The
world was changing rapidly. The Industrial Revolution transformed society and

(03:44):
cities grew into bustling hubs of activity. Philosophical shifts like
those inspired by Frederic Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud encouraged artists
to explore the subconscious and question established. No, art wasn't
just about representation anymore. It became a tool to express

(04:06):
inner turmoil, social critique, and even pure imagination. By the
twentieth century, modern art had taken hold across the globe.
Movements like Favism, Expressionism, and Surrealism pushed boundaries further. The
rise of galleries and art affairs brought this new wave

(04:29):
to a wider audience. Today, the modern spirit of modern
art lives on in contemporary works. If modern art had
a birthplace, it would be Paris. But we talked about that.
So let's go back. While Impressionism is beloved today, it

(04:53):
was mocked in its time. Critics called the works childish scribbles,
and the public often viewed them as jokes. Renoir's lush,
joyful painting of social scenes like Dance at La Moulin
de la Guillette, now in the Museum do or See,

(05:13):
were dismissed as frivolous. Edgar Degas, who captured the gray
secret of ballet dancers in works like the Rehearsal on Stage,
was accused of lacking polish. But despite the backlash, these
artists persisted. They believed art should reflect modern life, not

(05:37):
just its beauty, but its complexity and impermanence. So let's
go a little bit further into the trail blazers of
the late nineteenth century. By the eighteen eighties, Impressionism began
to evolve into new styles. Artists like Vincent Vangoux, Paul Gogan,

(05:59):
and Paul Says broke away to explore more personal and
symbolic themes. So Van Goes's Starry Night eighteen eighty nine
is one of the most iconic paintings in the world today,
painting during his stay at the Asylum in Saint Remindi, Province.
It captures a swirling, dreamlike night sky. Van Gou's expressive

(06:23):
brushstrokes and vibrant colors were groundbreaking, but his work went
largely unrecognized during his lifetime. You can go see Starry
Night at the Museum of Modern Art in New York
or the MoMA, and it is absolutely amazing in person.
If you've ever seen a picture of it. If you
can go see it in person, it will absolutely blow

(06:44):
your mind. Meanwhile, Seizon's innovative approach to structure and form
layed the groundwork for Cubism. His painting Mont Saint Victor,
on view at the Philadelphia Museuse of Art broke landscapes
into geometric shapes, influencing artists like Pablo Picasso. By the

(07:10):
early twentieth century, modern art had spread beyond France. In Spain,
Pablo Picasso and Brock revolutionized art with Cubism, fracturing subjects
into geometric forms. In Vienna, Gustav Klementz The Kiss nineteen
o seven and nineteen oh eight became a symbol of
the art Nouveau movement, with its gilded embrace of sensuality

(07:33):
and intimacy. You can find it today at the Belvidere
Museum in Vienna, and of course across the Atlantic. American
artists like Georgia O'Keefe and Alfred Stieglips embraced abstraction, bringing
the spirit of modern art to a new frontier. What

(07:54):
may these artists persist despite criticism. They were driven by
a belief that art could capture the essence of their
rapidly changing world. Modern art wasn't just about breaking rules.
It was about finding new ways to connect with people
emotionally and intellectually especially. Isn't that what art is all about?

(08:16):
Is it about expression of self expression and about being
able to show somebody what you're feeling or what you're
seeing from a different perspective. That's what I believe today.
Their legacy lives on in the museums that house their
works and in the countless artists they inspired. So when

(08:38):
you have some time, go find some of these paintings,
see them in person, compare and contrast them to the
art that came before them, and you will see the
great difference and the huge impact that these modern artists
had on our contemporary art. Thank you for listening, and

(09:02):
make sure to tune in next time for another episode.
We will talk even in more depth about modern art
and get into specific artists about their techniques, their lives,
their growing up, how they became artists, the criticisms they
endured where their art is being shown, and some of

(09:26):
the stories that followed. I think that it's something that
we all want to know that some of these artists
were thought to be crazy and mentally ill, and so
their art was not taken seriously until after their deaths.
They never really saw or heard any acclamation about their work,

(09:49):
and I think that that is so terribly sad. And
I know that there are some groundbreaking artists that even
today in our modern world experience it's the same thing.
So tune in for our next episode when we dive
deeper into those issues.