Age of Anxiety 1920s to 1950s Post WWI

Music “ Unentrinnbar” from Four Pieces for Mixed Choir by Viennese composer Arnold Shoenberg Characteristics of Music included: 1. abandon traditional harmony and tonality tone music common in 1920’s 3. uses abstract or mathematical tone row 4. no patterns detected by average person but can be heard by trained person

Reasons for Anxiety Brutality of WWI Impersonal attitude of warfare Industrialization created impersonal atmosphere Pessimism for the future Lack of belief in reason, progress and rights of individuals

Writers of the Times Frenchman- Paul Valery; poet German- Friedrich Nietzsche; philosopher Frenchman- Henri Bergson; philosopher Frenchman-Georges Sorel; socialist Frenchman- Jean-Paul Sartre; philosopher Frenchman- Albert Camus; philosopher

Paul Valery Poet “Crisis of the Mind” “Almost all the affairs of men remain in a terrible state” Reflects the uncertainty of the political, economic, and social scenes post WWI

Friedrich Nietzsche Philosopher turned insane Claimed Christianity embodied “slave morality” to glorify weakness, envy and mediocrity “God is Dead!”(death of God leaves people disoriented)

Friedrich Nietzsche Superman” can free himself from hum- drum thinking of the masses (Germans liked this part) Questioned all values; saw morality – reason, democracy, progress and respectability as worn out and suffocating self-realization and excellence

Henri Bergson Dissatisfaction with established ideas Immediate experience and intuition as important as science for understanding reality Philosophy sought to combine mystical experience with enlightenment rationalism in explanation of the world(reality)

Georges Sorel Tried to give socialism a mystical (religious) aura rather than a rational scientific truth Rejected democracy(rule by the masses) Believed in the success of the worker’s revolution BUT… Believed that the masses of a new socialist society would need the leadership of a small revolutionary elite(Lenin felt the same way)

EXISTENTIALISM This is the true voice of anxiety!! Most were atheist(how can one believe in a God that allowed the carnage of WWI to occur?) Search for values in a world of terror Recognize that people, in order to define their existence, must make choices to ACT(unless they kill themselves then they have no choices) Choices define existence

Jean-Paul Sartre Human beings simply exist; “they appear on the scene” /attempt to define their purpose With no God to help, honest people experience despair “Man is condemned to be free”(compare to Rousseau) Believe one gives meaning to life through actions If one acts courageously and consistent, one can overcome life’s absurdities

Albert Camus Defined existentialism for the masses Defined existence by choosing to fight Hitler in WWII Became a freedom fighter in the French resistance/chose not to accept tyranny Nobel prize for Literature 1957 (The Plague- 1947) Argued that people hold on to life with no meaning– therefore “absurd”.

Scientists of the Time Freud- the unconscious Einstein- relativity; fluidity of time Rutherford- split the atom/precursor to the atomic bomb Planck- quantum physics Curies- radiation

Attitude of Literature early 20 th Century General climate of pessimism, relativeness and alienation Writers adopt a limited often confusing viewpoint of the individual Focus on the complexity and irrationality of human mind where memories and desires are forever scrambled

Authors/Literature Virginia Woolfe: literary group the Bloomsbury; dealt with women’s issues; Jacob’s Room William Faulkner- The Sound and the Fury James Joyce- Ulysses T.S. Elliot- The Wasteland George Orwell Kafka- The Trial and The Castle

Architecture= functionalism Functionalism- buildings must be useful; serve the purpose for which they were built Bauhaus- German school combined art as well as architecture; attracted talent worldwide Chicago House- Louis H Sullivan; created skyscrapers to sustain urban growth Frank Lloyd Wright- most famous functionalist ; Falling Waters (in western PA)

Bauhaus-Dessau, Germany

Frank Lloyd Wright- functionalism/Falling Waters

Art Most was a reaction to the French Impressionists of the mid-1800’s such as Monet and Renoir. New style emerged as post-impressionism or expressionism Portray unseen worlds of inner emotion (influence of Freud) Create an image that needs interpretation—not the normal image/look beyond the obvious

Art- Fin de Siecle The Fauves-the wild beasts- group of painters led by Matisse –painting so extreme given nickname Cubism- Picasso; complex geometric shapes Dadaism- means hobbyhorse in French; attacks conventional techniques-delights in outrageous Surrealism-painted fantastic world of wild dreams

Vincent Van Gogh-Potato Eaters

Matisse-Red Room

Gaugin-The vision after the Sermon

Picasso- Les Demoiselles d’Avignon

Picasso- Girl with Mandolin/cubism

Picasso-cubism/Guernica

Duchamps-Nude descending staircase

Duchamps- Fountain/Dadaism

Dali- Surrealism/Persistance of Memory

Dali- Soft Construction of Boiled Beans

Munch- The Scream