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Modern Art in Design
The modern outlook of our society that is reflected in the profession of art and design goes back to the late 18th C AD. Fundamentally the notion of freedom and liberty is declared as one of man's birth rights. In 1789, the French also attempted through bloody revolution to create a new society, with the revolutionaries rallying to the cry of equality, fraternity, and liberty.
The French Revolution that raised the spirit of liberty could not achieve the goal. The spirit of liberty attempted to not only the physical liberty but also the intellectual liberation (Enlightenment) at the beginning of the 20th century. Creative people of various forms dreamt of a society free from all the bondage. The Russian Revolution, perhaps the most idealistic and utopian of all, also failed.
It is in the ideals of the Enlightenment that has the roots of Modernism, and the new order of art and the artist (performing artists), are to be found. The perception of the future goal of modern art has been the creation of a better society. Therefore, the birth of modern industrial design comes out of the social revolution through the liberation of the intellect that gave birth to the freedom of mind. The spirit of new thinking started challenging all the conventional thoughts and practices. Naturally such social and intellectual revolution created huge debates.
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Plate10.AÉdouard Manet, Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe,
1863 Oil, (Musée d'Orsay, Paris) |
Plate10. B Édouard Manet, Olympia,
1863 Oil, (Musée d'Orsay, Paris) |
Above are the two most controversial paintings (plate10 A&B) around the middle of 19th century set the stage for a new movement that would shake the establishment of art world? It is conserved Manet’s work laid the foundation for the modern art. The composition of female nude figure along with the male clothed figures (plate10 A) challenged the validity of such subject. The compositions were considered as obscene. Similarly a Caucasian female in nude against a black clothed woman became the controversial issue. The society was not ready to accept such revolutionary changes. However, the paintings duly served the purpose by rejecting the so called conventional thinking and practices and raised some questions.
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Plate11. A James Whistler, Arrangement in Grey & Black
(Whistler’s Mother) 1871 |
Plate11. B Symphony in White, No. 1:
The White Girl (1862) |
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