Women Writing Art History in the Nineteenth Century written by Frazer sets out to correct received accounts of the
Women Writing Art History in the Nineteenth Century written by Frazer sets out to correct received accounts of the
Kirk Ormand is a classics professor at Oberlin University who specializes in sexuality in the ancient world. Throughout chapters eight, ten, and thirteen of his book Controlling Desires, Ormand looks at many aspects pertaining to Roman sexuality. An overarching theme of the three chapters looks at what was considered normal sexual behavior in Rome, with a focusing at times on homosexuality in Rome. Over the course of the chapters, Ormand looks at Rome’s origins and interrelation to Greece with regards to sexuality, how each gender was supposed to act, and how laws and others may use language of sexuality against one another. Lastly Ormand looks at how the imperials, specifically the infamous Nero, went about different sexual escapades.…
In Martha Ward’s essay Impressionist Installations and Private Exhibitions, Ward explores the ways in which the location of exhibitions and the way that they were organized impacted painting in late nineteenth-century Paris. With the art market flourishing and governmental policies encouraging independence, it was wise for artists such as the Impressionists to branch out and showcase their works in diverse ways. Throughout her essay, Ward stresses the varying “social and aesthetic distinctions that contemporaries experienced as significant and held to be definitive,” (Ward 49). Increasing social expectations led to increased restrictions, boundaries between the public and the private became challenging. Private showings represented the varying artistic principles that could…
Rosalind Krauss, Originality of the Avante-Garde " Originality of the Avante-Garde" - the most famous book of Krauss - is a collection of essays written and published primarily in the 1980s. In them, Krauss analyzes the most varied stories of the history of art modernism - from Duchamp and Giacometti to Sol Levitt and Ellsworth Kelly. However, examining the art of the twentieth century, she constantly calls into question the very position of the researcher, the conceptual framework in which the research takes place.…
Avant-garde is the new and unusual or the experiment of ideas in the arts. Rosalind Krauss challenges many modern artists and art eras accusing them of coping one another, doubting the originality of “avant-garde” work. The question of originality in art is one that has is the main issue of the essay; perhaps it is most accurate to say that she has pushed the way thinking of art in another direction. Krauss, however, using the three examples of Rodin’s sculpture, Monet’s painting, and the widespread use of the grid in modern painting, essentially stating; originality is not found anymore. Krauss writes, “What would it look like not to repress the concept of the copy?”…
The abstract expressionism movement emerge right after the World War II and it all began in the United States. There was finally a movement that would put the country on the spotlight of the world of art; Harold Rosenberg believed Americans had discovered something new, techniques that were not used in European art. He attempted to define this new art and to let everyone know that this movement was a developed version of art from americans. Correspondingly, Action painters like Jackson Pollock found their own americanized style and their own definition of abstract art.…
The dispute between Poussinists and Rubenistes, was ultimately not only about the form and style of painting, but also about the philosophical or political connotations that had risen in light of the discourse regarding neoclassicism and romanticism, which is, if simply defined, the distinction between the prevalence of reason and that of emotion. Throughout this paper, I plan to inspect the idea of artistic competition in art history, using the example of one of the largest artistic competitions that took place in the mid-1800s in France: the controversy between the Poussinists and Rubenistes, between those who advocated for the precedence of drawing and sketch and those who argued for the rule of color. By looking at the ‘formal’ aspects…
Richard Rodriguez’s “The Achievement of Desire” is a retrospective style essay, where he explains the extraordinary educational experiences he endures and the cultural conflicts he undergoes. Richard tackles a psychological battle that makes him choose between education and family: growing up with poorly educated, immigrant parents, who had to make many sacrifices to achieve their greatly improved, yet relatively low economic status, which they are very happy with; while at the same time being surrounded by peers in his school, with the American mentality of improving from generation to generation. Richard’s ambition to learn, and to be like his teachers, separated him from his cultural background. Almost immediately, at a very young age, Richard…
Changing Attitudes in Art In the first half of the twentieth century, the world experienced events unlike anything it had ever seen before. From the pinnacle of prosperity to the horrors of hell, those who lived during this time period went through a multitude of emotions and experiences. Two world wars, divided by an intermission of a little over twenty years that included the Great Depression nearly pushed the world over the edge to an apocalyptic end.…
Art is in everything we see, do, and create. We buy it, sell it, display it in our homes, go visit it in galleries and museums. It’s a talent that has been influencing minds for centuries and the tradition is by no means being hampered in our modern-day world. With so much art out there, it is getting continuously more difficult to define “contemporary art”(Kimball). It is making increasingly less sense to discuss avant-garde art or even the future of art, as if all art were going in the same direction.…
Introduction The twentieth century’s art had a long and hard period of the development between the two World Wars. The early twentieth century started from the Fauvism movement that was led by Henri Matisse and his coloured way to define the reality. The avant-garde stream brought an art revolution that included Cubism and Dadaism. The Abstract Expressionism emerged in the U.S. after the chaos of the World War II.…
Walter Bendix Schonflies Benjamin was born into a wealthy Jewish family in Germany. He was a German philosopher who is associated with the Frankfurt School and his areas of interests were literary theory, language, aesthetics, and technology. Benjamin was influences by and is associated with the work of Karl Marx, Theodor Adorno, and Bertolt Brecht. Moreover, one of Benjamin’s most influential writing is titled, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1936).…
Conquest, slavery, and the dawn of the Industrial Revolution are inexplicably linked in modern history. Conquering began as a means of expanding land for cotton production. While cotton grew very well in Asia, Africa, it did not do well in the soil and climate of the British Isles. To many, manufacturing seemed like a poor alternative when placed in comparison with the lucrative cash crop. As a result, attention shifted to the West Indies where there was an exploding demand for cotton.…
Introduction In the 18th century, a change of thinking occurred in all arts from philosophy to literature to art. This resulted in a new movement called Enlightenment where “enlighten” refers to “the idea of shedding light on something, illuminating it, making it clear”. Indeed, the purpose of thinkers of this movement was to spread the light of science and reason in a world that was too much linked to traditions. This new way of thinking began to chance every aspect of people’s lives and in France, where the people was oppressed by the expenses of its kings, it led to the French Revolution.…
Throughout the 1900’s, the developments of the arts were profoundly impacted by the current social, political, and economic affairs of European life. At a time shaped so much by desperation and the loss of faith, artists and writers reflected their innermost emotions and personal struggles through creative outlets. After the devastation of a war, the transition from an optimistic, vibrant life to dismal feelings seemed to essentially shape the progress of European culture. Particularly, in the beginning half of the twentieth century, art and literature were characterized by both a period of disillusionment following the first World War, and the heavy influence of propaganda utilized by totalitarian regimes. After a period of anxiety before…
Ever since there has been life on earth, art and music have played in important role in our society. Throughout history, music as well as art, has been an indicator of what the mindset was from many cultures. Starting in the late nineteenth century, we can start to see a different style of art emerge, which was the modern era. This era introduced many styles such as impressionism, expressionism, symbolism, and pop art, to name a few. Like any new concept or idea, this was an exciting time for many artists, many of them thrilled with their new found opportunities.…