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“The dissonance and disjunction, radical freedom and radical uncertainty of the twentieth century found full and precise expression in the arts.” (Richard Tarnas, The Passion of the Western Mind, p. 391)
The following is a summary of the seven art movements.
Impressionism
Impressionism was a radical and deliberate break with classical art forms, and it set the pace for many of the styles of the twentieth century. The world of the Impressionists was an entirely subjective one. They were not concerned with painting what was (the objective world), but what they experienced (the subjective world).
“Impressionism was a result of trying to follow the philosophical program of the Enlightenment. There is no external reality; all we can know is what we experience. What we experience is color and shape, not some external reality that painting merely copies as best it can.” (Robert Sungenis, Art Through the Ages: Its Philosophical and Theological Meaning)
The Impressionists were the first group of artists to self-consciously challenge the Western view of objective reality. They cracked the door to a new way of viewing reality. The artists who followed them would push the door wide open.
Postimpressionism
The Postimpressionists elevated their subjective impression over objective reality, and changed the 20th century attitude toward art.
They painted with intense and unnatural colors applied in large, flat areas. They chose colors primarily for their emotive rather than their representational qualities. They exaggerated form and shape, and emphasized the subjective rather than objective qualities of the visible world.
“As philosophy had moved from unity to a fragmentation, this fragmentation was carried into the field of painting. The fragmentation shown in Postimpressionist paintings was parallel to the loss of hope for a unity of knowledge in philosophy. It was not just a new technique in painting. It expressed a new worldview.” (Francis Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live? Francis Schaeffer p. 197)
Cubism
The Cubists abandoned conventional perspective and fragmented the world into intersecting geometric planes, representing the world simultaneously from different viewpoints. They violated the physical laws of nature and discarded a consistent light source.
“For a century that questioned the very concept of absolute truth, Cubism created an artistic language of intentional ambiguity.” (Robert Rosenbloom, Cubism and Twentieth Century Art, p. 9)
The Cubists expressed a worldview of radical subjectivity and individual relativism; the only thing real to the Cubists was their own mind.
“[Cubism] was intended to be as destructive as it was creative, shocking, deliberately ugly, and undeniably crude.” (Peter Watson, The Modern Mind p. 63)
Surrealism
Surrealism was an artistic movement that explored the realm of dreams and the unconscious mind. It was heavily influenced by the writings of Sigmund Freud.
Freud taught that we repress our primal desires into the unconscious part of our mind. These urges then manifest in odd behavior patterns, slips of the tongue, and especially dreams. Dreams to Freud were “the royal road to the unconscious.” “In dreams, the ego is like a sentry asleep at its post.”
The Surrealists were especially interested in the conflict between the ego (our rational behavior) and the id (our primal instincts). They sought to approximate the nonsensical quality of dreams by painting realistically in the classical tradition, but juxtaposing objects and images in irrational ways to shock their audience.
Dada
Dada was an art movement that sought to deride culture through inane and absurd art. The artists of Dada believed that any faith in humanity's ability to improve itself through art and culture was naive and unrealistic.
“Dada doubts everything.” (Tristan Tzara, Dada Manifesto on Feeble Love and Bitter Love, p. 7)
They created works using chance and irrationality: poems made from pieces of newspaper chosen randomly or by picking words out of a hat. They also displayed everyday objects as art.
“Dada carried to its logical conclusion the notion that everything has come about by chance; the result was the final absurdity of everything, including humanity.” (Francis Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live? p. 199)
Abstract Expressionism
The chaotic randomness of life characterized by Dada and the subconscious world of the Surrealists merged into the school known as Abstract Expressionism.
These artists valued individuality and spontaneous improvisation. They advocated freedom of expression in a spirit of revolt – revolt against conventional forms and revolt against Western art. There was no direct correlation between their paintings and external reality. They painted the expression of their own subjective minds. “Today painters do not have to go to a subject matter outside of themselves. They work from a different source. They work from within.” (Jackson Pollock)
Pollock’s “drip and splash” style was an attempt to remove all historic content from art and to free the unconscious impulses of the mind. Pollock once said, “Every good painter paints what he is.” That was certainly true with the Abstract Expressionists. The chaos on their canvas reflected the chaos in their life.
Pop Art
Pop Art rejected the traditional distinct between high art, with its transcendent message and lofty portrayal of the human spirit, and the trendy and fleeting spin of commercial advertising. Instead, it celebrated the banal elements of popular culture.
The Pop artists took inspiration from the use of everyday objects. They used any form of objective subject matter; nothing was taboo and nothing was off limits. The more commonplace, the better.
Lichtenstein’s comic book art and Warhol’s repetitive silk-screens of celebrities characterized a culture and an art movement that was more about self-promotion than substance.
Conclusion
The Impressionists first questioned the reality of the objective world. As the spirit of skepticism spread throughout the century, art forms became more abstract, and artists drifted farther into the radical subjectivity of their own minds. In the end, all that was left was the funny papers and lurid repetitions of Marilyn Monroe.
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