What is Modernism? How and why this style gained popularity amongst the nations around the world? What does Modernism emphasized that other art movements lacked? One of the pioneers of the Modernist movement was the French architect Le Corbusier when he designed buildings that mimic the simplistic classical Greco-Roman architecture whose colors were limited to monochrome pigments (Goldhagen 145). In his book, Towards New Architecture, he argued that structures such as buildings and houses were meant to shelter as well as to protect the people living inside. Using this fundamental principle, Le Corbusier attacked the lavish and non-functional designs of the Baroque period; stating that the things manufactured following this style were nothing more than simple displays rather than functional equipment designed to make the human life comfortable. In other words, houses are built as an edifice for protection; to serve its purpose of sheltering the human body from the nature’s elements (sunlight, rain, etc.). The rooms within it enable the tenants to perform their personal and daily chores such as bathing, household chores, and a place for rest. It is really important that within a house, there should be a right number of rooms allotted for every family member as well as for performing these daily tasks (Le Corbusier 114-115). For Le Corbusier, these are the universal truth of the architecture of houses and buildings and yet, the Baroque period neglected these fundamentals and adopted a corrupted style known for its decadent patterns; designs which can be seen on the Baroque style bookshelves, small windows, excessively mirrored rooms, too much chandeliers, and lavishly sculpted wardrobes and overcrowded painted rooms.
“Daylight hardly enters your homes. Your windows are difficult to open. There are no ventilators for changing the air such as we get in any dining car. Your chandeliers hurt the eyes. Your imitation stone stucco and your wallpapers are an impertinence [sic], and no good modern picture could ever be hung on your walls, for it would be lost in the welter of your furnishings” (Le Corbusier 115, 117).
Furthermore, he also considered the Parthenon and the Roman architecture one of the finest styles ever created by man noted to its geometric appropriateness and simplicity. Throughout the centuries, the art movements from the Renaissance revived the Greco-Roman classicism before transforming to the corrupted and raucous style of the Baroque period. Modernism swept away all Europe in the dawn of the 20th century. Unlike the previous styles, modernists rejected the notion of incorporating lavish opulent carvings, designs, paintings to their works for the fear of over-design or corrupting the real aesthetic simplicity of their architecture. Rather than focusing on the decadent designs, the highlighted the modernity by making the buildings to adapt to the changing times; the call for functional designs was all the rage in the early twentieth century. In fact, modernists strived hard to achieve the finest designs by exploring different materials to improve the quality and physical appearance of their works. Such that they did not only restricted themselves to use concrete and cement alone; but rather, the modernists adapted an airy and spacious type of design that allows the insides of the room to ‘breath’ in a sense that there will be no need to use too much artificial lighting because the design of the house/building utilizes the sunlight energy coming from the sun to illuminate the interiors of the edifice; which in return creates a naturalistic, paradise aura that captivates the imagination and the soul of the ordinary people. Among the latest innovations in architecture brought by the modern period is the use of materials such as glass and metal framework which is a greater contrast to the previous period. Most especially, the mass-produced glass made it possible for the architects to incorporate this new material in improving the lighting inside the buildings/houses because glass is a transparent material that allows the light to pass through it; therefore, providing a natural light without the need of excessive chandeliers. It might be apt to consider that modernism was the revival of the pure traditional style of the Greco-Roman styles. The philosophy of modernists is to incorporate the available materials with the newer ones in order to create a brave and bolder style that reflects the society’s technological advancement (Carpenter et al., 112-113). In fact, Le Corbusier even reiterated once that it is important for architects and engineers to use mathematical principles in constructing the buildings so that they can be classified as modern in a sense that they are following the logical and right way of construction rather than based from artistic perspective alone. He further emphasized that:
“modern life demands, and is waiting for, a new kind of plan, both for the house and for the city” (Le Corbusier 2-3).
The discourse about the history of the modernism does not necessarily apply only to Le Corbusier’s work. Another school that elevated the modernism as a style of art in the 20th century was the Bauhaus; hence, the term Bauhaus movement denotes a complete abandonment of the hierarchical symbolisms that used to divide the society by replacing them with more neutral and functional styles that liberate the mankind from the oppressive decadence of the past centuries. To explain this statement, Robinson and Vogel attested that the styles from the past era only contributes to the wide gaps between people within a society such that the lowly people (e.g. the working class and those from different races) “are all forced to acknowledge” that there is an art meant for the cultured and the elite members of the society that portrays their high taste. These so-called high art were richly ornamented and lavishly executed to the point that the figures do not seem to appear as realistically similar from the real life; therefore, the majority of the citizens cannot decipher nor fully appreciate what is the connection and the meaning of the artwork as well as the artist’s message because the designs are overcrowding the paintings (180-181). The Bauhaus movement emerged from the Bauhaus art school in Weimar, Germany founded by Walter Gropius in 1919. The school operates under the credo of combining the functionality and high art to produce newer designs that will blend in the modern society’s changing perceptions. This school known for its creativeness and remarkable bravery for experimenting new designs popularized the Bauhaus movement; in other words, the style of the building complies in accordance to what Le Corbusier’s definition of right architecture, the one that follows the scientific analysis rather than relying on art alone. Like the earlier Modernism, Bauhaus movement’s total rejection of decadence symbolized the transition to what is now known as the International Style. International style in architecture has been widely adopted by many countries abroad due to its functional and simple elegance. The lack of reliance toward the lavish decorations is the main reason why this style has managed to bridge the gap between the elite and the common people. It is due to the lack of symbols or visual reminders that prohibit the rest of the population to connect with the art itself. For instance, lavish designs of the Baroque and Romantic period indicated wealth and power; most of these are commonly found in the homes of the wealthy people who can afford to pay artists to decorate their homes with such chaotic artworks that do not seem to follow the fundamental truth of what a home should be. One example of the architecture constructed using the Bauhaus style was the chairs created by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier; the main traits that separates their styles from the Baroque period was the new materials used in constructing them. Previously, artists used only wood and concrete to construct chairs and decorated them with flamboyant designs that seem to go beyond the boundary of aesthetic preferences. The Louis XIV chairs inside the Palace of Versailles is one good example of a chair that contrasts the Bauhaus style because of its design. The Bauhaus style chairs only used economical and mass-produced materials so that people from all walks of life can buy them. In other words, the Bauhaus movement opened the art and craft industry to minimalistic design that eventually became popular with the people since it does not overdesigned with sculptures. Rather, the Bauhaus artists focused on the functionality; whether the chair is ergonomic or not; this style does not rely on art alone. The style was based from the scientific studies that make a chair really a chair. For instance, chairs are made to support a person while sitting and many of the Bauhaus designs from the earlier period of the 20th century has been adopted by furniture designers because the design shows how these devices supports the body while sitting. The goal is not to please the user aesthetically but whether the chairs are effective in easing the tensions caused by prolonged sitting due to work. Steel is the material widely used in constructing the chairs because it is resistant to decaying, sleek, polished, lightweight, and can be bent to various shapes according to the specifications of the designer. Another artist whose design followed the Bauhaus movement was Marianne Brandt whose modern rendition of the tea kettle became one of the collections of this style. The tea kettle was made up of metal. The metal can be molded into various shapes and sizes; the tea kettle was surely a creation made to be mass-produced to the market. In fact, the metal tea kettle is very functional compared to the porcelain one because the liquids inside the device can be reheated again once it gets cold and the transfer of heat using a metal tea kettle is much faster. The porcelain tea kettle cannot be heated and therefore, the right choice is to settle with a metal type.
As a conclusion, the Modernist period is the era of new styles based on the scientific principles, new technologies, and changing perception of the people towards art. It is a style that crosses different hierarchy by limiting the design to what is only functional to be used by humans. In other words, the design itself became the catalyst to the complete removal of inequality against races and the ordinary citizens. The Bauhaus movement is the part of the Modernist period that combined the aesthetics into something functional without the inclusion of opulent designs (Winton, The Bauhaus, 1919–1933).
WORKS CITED
Carpenter, Andrew, Rolf Loeber, Hugh Campbell, Livia Hurley, John Montague, and Ellen Rowley. Architecture. Dublin, Ireland: Royal Irish Academy, 2015. Web. JSTOR. 23 Mar. 2016.
Goldhagen, Sarah Williams. “Something to Talk about: Modernism, Discourse, Style.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 64.2 (2001): 6-17+105. Web. JSTOR. 23 Mar. 2016.
Le Corbusier. Towards New Architecture. Trans. Frederick Etchells. 1927. London: Butterworth Architecture, 1989. Web. Google Book.
Robinson, Lillian S. and Lise Vogel. “Modernism and History.” New Literary History 3.1 (1971): 177-199. Web. JSTOR. 23 Mar. 2016.
Winton, Alexandra Griffith. “The Bauhaus, 1919–1933.” August 2007. Web. Metmuseum.org. 23 Mar. 2016.
