Modernist movement was the catalyst that opened new ways of interpreting art as a tool for political and social discourse reflecting the rise of ideas and improvisation of imagery/performance through the use of contemporary materials available at that time. The term ‘modernist’ ubiquitously dominated the art critiques from the past decades in an attempt to explain the society’s rejection of the traditional iconography of the previous movements. With the advent of rapid industrialization spurred the growth of ideas that defined the social and political landscape of the 20th century. This changes brought by the modernist ideals revolutionized the art into something that is less direct and abstract; two characteristics that aptly illustrate the shift from conventional humanistic figures towards the simplified imagery. The Modernist movement valued the purity of the artwork they produced and the functionality to adapt to the changing times by using neutral elements of lines in order to portray the image on to the canvas. And yet, this period also spearheaded the trend to explore new materials for artworks with the purpose of catching the society’s attention with the bizarre representations of the world through the lens of modernism mixed with the new innovations in mass media.
Even though the Modernism originated in the late 19th and early 20th century, its principles flourished and continued to influence the depictions of the contemporary art. According to Hopkins, the tide of the Modernist culture had been felt and exhibited in the 1960s where the society was in its rebellious phase of transition from traditionalist to radical modernized hip culture. In this period of artistic turmoil, new forms of artistic expressions emerged to counter the traditional modernism with the aim of taking the art into a whole new level wherein artists can freely incorporate themselves with their works but with less clutter and done in simplistic styles. (131). For instance, Frank Stella’s Die Fahne Hoch completed in 1959 shows the repeated patterns of geometric lines forming square edges. The center of the panel features horizontal and vertical lines crossing onto each other; dividing the panel into four equal quadrants. These four quadrants also had the same pattern of straight lines bent on the center with ‘arms’ branching to opposite directions. The artist used these lines to fill in the muted black background by covering the foreground with the same lines of similar lengths to design the simple background. The lack of objectification in this painting, as Hopkins noted was the artist’s way of associating himself with the Fascist political ideology whereas the black background of the canvas was made to resonate the fact that the photography at that time were limited to monochromatic black and white pigments. In other words, Stella’s painting does not intend to display the message ubiquitously unlike the previous modernist paintings; rather, the artist encourages the views to analyze the time period in which the art was created and associate these information to form a distinct and relevant explanation as to why the majority of Stella’s paintings remained in black colors and abstract imagery. (Hopkins, 134-135).
Many art historians consider Stella’s painting as one of the finest examples of proto-Minimalism in visual art. By its name, the subjects are minimized up to the point that audiences can no longer discern what is the image depicted on the painting; this new form of avant-garde style in painting demanded rejection of conventional imagery which somehow mirrors the old authoritarian idealism of the old world. The new style of the 20th century mirrored the modern artists’ turn from secularism to extreme abstract depictions in order to remove the traces of the old world that used to be the symbol of class inequality in the past. With the Minimalist imagery, figures were toned down to neutral images that do not demand appreciation from different classes but rather emphasized the current visual culture without the restrictions of class, religion, or racial differences. Furthermore, the demand for the manufacture of abstract works soon established the art both as a way of artistic portrayal and mass producing the works for the market. Artists such as Stella and Warhol began to employ workers to cope with the growing the demands and established systematic ways of mass producing works of art so that the ordinary people can afford to buy them on the market. (Hopkins 135). The quality of the work produced with the use of modern equipment allows cheap mass production and at the same time, coping the rush deadlines faster. These new technologies brought by industrialization and modernism enabled the rapid propagation of these works easily. The artistic community’s diversified styles and rejection of traditional designs back in the 1960s was mirrored on Stella’s Die Fahne Hoch’s neutral and cold stance against the events in the society. In a deeper context, this painting emphasizes the society’s lack of interest on the old corrupted styles of the previous movement and was more concerned in viewing art as the tool to express their hidden madness and philosophy.
In addition to the new painting styles, the modern period also brought various media that has been proven to be more effective than painting in communicating ideas to the general audiences. The invention of the TV in the early twentieth century England permeated the rise of the mass media phenomenon that allowed the rapid transmission of information from one source to the public. Cameras invented in the late 19th century became modernized and handy that most artists of the 1970s preferred the device rather than the painting method because cameras are cheap and most of all, it can record images as they occur without going through all the trouble of painting the little details. With the cameras and TVs, the visual culture of the 20th century became extremely diversified in a sense that artists did not remained tied to one style or genre; rather they adjusted their styles according to the norms of the era such as the use of the camera associates themselves with the pragmatism since the camera is much easier to utilize than paintings. However, the presence of systematic manufacturing of works of art also contributed to the lack of ‘sites’ as discussed by McFadden where an artwork seemed to “depart” from its traditional location such as the museum gallery into something unconventional; in other words, the notion of “sitelessness” argued by McFadden comes from the fact that modern-minimalistic works of art seemed out of place and suffer identity crisis on the museum walls due to their unusual design that echoed the events prior to their timeline. The “sitelessness” refers to the rejection of the tradition especially in art. In the past, the majority of the artistic works were done within the premises of an art studio or gallery but in the 1970s, the crisis of sitelessness became dominant that it shook the artistic world. One artist named Robert Irwin decided to abandon painting and switched to a more conventional and pragmatic method of dealing visual imagery and that is through the use of the camera in lieu of traditional art materials. Irwin’s response towards the growing “sitelessness” prompted him to conduct many voyages that lead him to different places in search of objects and scenery which can become a new avant-garde style. As McFadden noted, one of the main functions of gallery is to allow the flourish of artistic movements and to preserve them for future generations to come; yet with the radical changes brought by modernism, this universal truth of a gallery’s function was nullified and instead, many artists tried to utilize new equipment and travel to new places tom promote their art instead of conducting museum exhibits. The mass media and its cronies (e.g. television, radio, and print media) became the catalysts that broke the traditional function of the gallery as an institution dedicated for artistic gatherings and exhibitions. (McFadden 251-258). One of its repercussions was to portray the establishment as immovable edifices that store the relics of the oppressive cultures. In return, the new practice also challenged the viewers since for many years, the society is accustomed to go to the museums to observe and study the works of the masters and theatrical performances; however, the mass media brought these two in a location where it is not related and then occurs the sense of “sitelessness” because the arts that were originally called “fine arts” done inside enclosed galleries and theatres in the previous centuries are now performed outside for the public enjoyment. For example, in 2012, the Spanish financial institution, Banco Sabadell celebrated its 130th anniversary in banking industry. They organized a ‘flashmob’ or surprise performance for the local viewers featuring the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, Amics de l'Òpera, and Coral Belles Arts where they played Beethoven’s orchestra piece called Ode to Joy or The Ninth Symphony. Although the performance brought happiness on the audiences and gained worldwide recognition, this video is an appropriate example of an art’s “sitelessness” as a result of the invention of the internet. The fact that this musical performance was originally meant to be performed inside the theatres has been brought out on the streets and performed so that they younger generation may learn to appreciate the old music crafted by the great musicians. As a conclusion, the modernism contributed and modeled the contemporary art of the 20th and 21st centuries by incorporating systematic ways to manufacture art to the masses and at the same time evoking sitelessness which is the complete removal of a traditional art/performance from its original artistic location and exposing it to the public in order to grab attention. The challenge has been placed on viewers’ side to criticize whether this practice should be continued or not.
WORKS CITED
Banco Sabadell. “Som Sabadell flashmob.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 31 May 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Hopkins, David. After Modern Art: 1945-2000. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. E-Book.
McFadden, Jane. “Here, Here, or There on the Whereabouts of Art in the Seventies.” N.d. PDF File. 30 Mar. 2016.
Stella, Frank. Die Fahne Hoch! 1959. Enamel on Canvas. Whitney Museum of American Art.
