Modernism
Political/Social Milestones WWI (1914-1918) People disillusioned Great Depression (1929) American Dream nightmare Women break traditions Vote, gender roles, appearance
Moderns Rebellious Question America’s founding values Rejection cynical, loss of innocence Question America’s founding values Rejection Puritan values/beliefs Capitalism Crisis of faith Turn to science and psychology Freud – subconscious Arts reject conventional forms
Jazz Age (1920s) Reject Puritanism Puritans – hard-working Moderns – life of luxury & pleasure Flappers, bootleggers, jazz, gangsters, prohibition Harlem Renaissance African Americans move north Explosion of creativity among black artists
Modern Poets Symbolism Imagism Rejected realism Spirituality, imagination, dreams Point to bigger meaning Imagism Capture image with words Use EXACT words Let image speak for itself
Modern Art
Themes in Early Modern Art Uncertainty/insecurity. Disillusionment. The subconscious. Overt sexuality. Violence & savagery.
Claude Monet~Impressionism Poppies Light changing qualities. Ordinary subject matter. Movement a crucial element of human perception and experience. Not blended; color more important than perfect lines. Took painting outside studio. Pain life as you saw it. Perception over imagination.
Edvard Munch -Expressionism Tendency of an artist to distort reality for an emotional effect— “being alive.” Using bright colors to express a particular emotion. The Scream
Henri Matisse~Fauvism Fauvism emphasized intense color, bold lines, and vigorous brush strokes. Color for color’s sake. Translated feelings in an almost clumsy way. The Moroccans
Pablo Picasso~Cubism Objects are broken up, analyzed, and re- assembled in an abstracted form Subject is depicted from a multitude of viewpoints. Art didn’t have to resemble nature. Three Musicians
Pablo Picasso~ Guernica What do you think of cubism?
Salvador Dali~Surrealism The Persistence of Memory Stresses the subconscious or non-rational significance of imagery. Confusing and startling images, like those in dreams. Often features unexpected juxtapositions (things placed close together for contrasting effect). What are some possible meanings of this painting?
Salvador Dali
Renee Magritte~Surrealism The title says, “This is not a pipe” The Son of Man
Our Town
Thornton Wilder Born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1897 Highly educated Greek and Roman classics, Yale University, archaeology in Rome, Princeton University Read widely in English, French, and German and conversed in Italian and Spanish. Won many Pulitzer Prizes The Bridge Of San Luis Rey (1927), Our Town (1938), The Skin of Our Teeth (1943), The Matchmaker (1954), Hello, Dolly! (1964) Earned 10 Tony Awards on Broadway Died on December 7, 1975 at the age of 78 in Hamden, Connecticut
Agree/Disagree Daily life is boring. Most people appreciate what they have. If they knew they were going to die tomorrow, most people would be happy with the way they lived. In order for your life to have meaning, you have to achieve great things. People are mostly unaware of each other. It’s impossible to be grateful for what you have until it’s gone. It’s easy to enjoy life’s “little things.”
Thornton Wilder would believe anything in your ordinary life is important… Why? To Wilder, human life, however painful, dreary, or inconsequential in its daily events, is both a precious gift in its own right as well as a portion of the mysterious plan that rests in the “Mind of God.”
Where does Our Town take place? Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire from 1901-1913 Fictitious town representing small town America at the turn of the century Out-of-the-way, simple existence Modeled after Peterborough, New Hampshire
Central Values of Our Town Christian morality "Love your neighbor as you love yourself" Mark 12:31 Known as the “Golden Rule” Community The family Appreciation of everyday pleasures
“Our claim, our hope, our despair are in the mind, not in ‘scenery “Our claim, our hope, our despair are in the mind, not in ‘scenery.’” --Thornton Wilder MODERN ELEMENTS Stage directions read No sets, no scenery, few props; invisible At the time he wrote this, theater sets on Broadway were lavish. Wilder was being radical and experimental Mimed actions 4th wall broken Narrator also acts
“It's a little play with all the big subjects in it “It's a little play with all the big subjects in it.” -- Thornton Wilder Play aims to capture the universal experience of being alive and existing: Act I: “Daily Life” Act II: “Love and Marriage” Act III: “Life and Death”