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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

plane, rejecting the traditional techniques of

perspective, foreshortening, modeling, and
- Braque, on seeing Picasso's Les chiaroscuro, and refuting time-honored
Demoiselles at his studio, intensified his theories that art should imitate nature.
similar explorations in simplification of form. Cubist painters were not bound to copying
He made a series of landscape paintings in form, texture, color, and space; instead,
the summer of 1908, including Houses at they presented a new reality in paintings
L'Estaque in which trees and mountains that depicted radically.
were rendered as shaded cubes and
pyramids, resembling architectural forms. - The painting of Picasso the Les
Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1907 presaged
- Cubism was introduced to the the new style; in this work, the forms of five
public with Braque's one-man exhibition at female nudes become fractured, angular
Daniel- Henry Kahnweiler's gallery on the shapes. As in Cézanne's art, perspective is
rue Vignon in November 1908. It was this rendered through color, with the warm
exhibit that led French art critic Louis reddish-browns advancing and the cool
Vauxcelles to describe them as "bizarreries blues receding.
cubiques," thus giving the movement its
name.

- The experiments of Picasso and

Braque owe much to Kahnweiler, who was
the major supporter of their work. Picasso
and Braque were both quite poor in 1907
and Kahnweiler offered to buy their works
as they painted them, thus freeing the
artists from worrying about pleasing patrons
or receiving negative reviews. After the
1908 exhibit, with few exceptions, the two
artists exhibited only in Kahnweiler's gallery. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo
Picasso

- Cubism was a truly revolutionary

style of modern art developed by Pablo' - The Cubists saw the limitations of
Picasso and Georges Braque. perspective as an obstacle to progress.
They wanted to introduce the idea of
- It was the first style of abstract art 'relativity' - how the artist perceived and
which evolved at the beginning of the 20th selected elements from the subject, fusing
century in response to a world that was both their observations and memories into
changing with unprecedented speed. the one concentrated image. To do this, the
- Cubism was an attempt by artists Cubists examined the way that we see.
to revitalize the tired traditions of Western Cubist painting, paradoxically abstract in
art which they believed had run their course. form, was an attempt at a more realistic way
The Cubists challenged conventional forms of seeing.
of representation, such as perspective, - A typical Cubist painting depicts
which had been the rule since the Italian real people, places or objects, but not from
Renaissance. Their aim was to develop a a fixed viewpoint. Instead it will show you
new way of seeing which reflected the many parts of the subject at one time,
modern age. viewed from different angles, and
- The Cubist style emphasized the reconstructed into a composition of planes,
flat, two-dimensional surface of the picture forms and colors. The whole idea of space
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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

is reconfigured: the front, back and sides of

the subject become interchangeable
elements in the design of the work.
- Cubism had two distinct phases.
The early phase which lasted until about
1912 was called Analytical Cubism. Here
the artist analyzed the subject from many
different viewpoints and reconstructed it
within a geometric framework, the overall
effect of which was to create an image that
evoked a sense of the subject. These
fragmented images were unified by the use
of a subdued and limited palette of colors.

Juan Gris (1887-1927) 'Violin and Glass', - Around 1912, the styles of Picasso
1915 (oil on canvas) and Braque were becoming predictable.
Their images had grown so similar that their
- Pablo Picasso and Georges
paintings of this period are often difficult to
Braque conceived and developed Cubism
tell apart. Their work was increasingly
but other artists also adopted the style. The
abstract and less recognizable as the
Spanish artist Juan Gris, who is often
subject of their titles. Cubism was running
referred to as the "Third Musketeer of
out of creative steam.
Cubism', was the best of these and he
refined the Cubist vocabulary into his own - In an attempt to revitalize the style
instantly recognizable visual language. and pull it back from total abstraction,
Other notable artists associated with Picasso began to glue printed images from
Cubism were Fernand Leger, Robert the 'real world' onto the surface of his still
Delaunay, Albert Gleizes, Jean Metzinger, life. His painting 'Still Life with Chair
Louis Marcoussis, Marie Laurencin and Caning was the first example of this
Roger de La Fresnaye. 'collage' technique and it opened the door
for himself and other artists to the second
- The Cubists believed that the
phase of the Cubist style: Synthetic
traditions of Western art had become
Cubism (artyfactory).
exhausted and another remedy they applied
to revitalize their work was to draw on the
expressive energy of art from other cultures,
especially African art. However, they were
not interested in the true spiritual or social
symbolism of these cultural objects, but
valued them superficially for their
expressive style.

Violin and Jug by Braque (Example of

Analytical Cubism)

LEFT: Pablo Picasso, 'Head of a Woman',

1907 (oil oncanvas) RIGHT: Dan Mask from
West Africa
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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

- Marinetti's manifesto glorified the

new technology of the automobile and the
beauty of its speed, power, and movement.
Exalting violence and conflict, he called for
the sweeping repudiation of traditional
values and the destruction of cultural
institutions such as museums and libraries.
The manifesto's rhetoric was passionately
bombastic; its aggressive tone was
purposely intended to inspire public anger
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) 'Still Life with and arouse controversy.
Chair Caning', 1912 (oil on canvas) - Marinetti's manifesto inspired a
group of young painters in Milan to apply
Futurist ideas to the visual arts. Umberto
Boccioni, Carlo Carrà, Luigi Russolo,
Giacomo Balla, and Gino Severini
- Cubism was born in France but
published several manifestos on painting in
emigrated across Europe and integrated
with the artistic consciousness of several 1910. Like Marinetti, they glorified originality
countries. It emerged as Futurism in Italy and expressed their disdain for inherited
(illustrated above), Vorticism in England, artistic traditions.
Suprematism and Constructivism in - Boccioni also became interested
Russia, and Expressionism in Germany. in sculpture, publishing a manifesto on the
It also influenced several of the major subject in the spring of 1912. He is
designs and architectural styles of the 20th considered to have most fully realized his
century and prevails to this day as mode of theories in two sculptures, Development of
expression in the language of art. a Bottle in Space (1912), in which he
represented both the inner and outer
contours of a bottle, and Unique Forms of
Continuity in Space (1913), in which a
human figure is not portrayed as one solid
- Futurism, an early 20th-century
form but is instead composed of the multiple
artistic movement centered in Italy,
planes in space through which the figure
emphasized the dynamism, speed, energy,
moves.
and power of the machine and the vitality,
change, and restlessness of modern life. - Futurist principles extended to
architecture as well. Antonio Sant'Elia
- During the second decade of the
formulated a Futurist manifesto on
20th century, the movement's influence
architecture in 1914. His visionary drawings
radiated outward across most of Europe,
of highly mechanized cities and boldly
most significantly to the Russian avant
modern skyscrapers prefigure some of the
garde. The most significant results of the
most imaginative 20th-century architectural
movement were in the visual arts and poetry.
planning.
- Futurism was first announced on
February 20, 1909, when the Paris
newspaper Le Figaro published a
manifesto by the Italian poet and editor
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti.

- Marinetti coined the word Futurism

to reflect his goal of discarding the art of the
past and celebrating change, originality, and
innovation in culture and society.
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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

- Non-objective art can go by many

names, including concrete art, geometric
abstraction, and minimalism. However,
minimalism can be used in other contexts
as well.

- The term non-objective art was first

used by the Russian Constructivist artist
Alexander Rodchenko (1891-1956) in the
Giacomo Balla: Dynamism of a titles of some of his pictures (eg. Non-
Dog on a Leash Objective Painting: Black on Black 1918,
MOMA, New York). It was then taken up by
others, such as his compatriot Kasimir
Malevich (1878-1935) - the inventor of
Suprematism - who wrote (in 1919) "In
referring to non-objectivity.

- The earliest pioneers of non-

objective art were Kandinsky (1866-1944),
Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) and Theo van
Doesburg (1883-1931), Mikhail Larionov
(1881-1964) and Natalya Goncharova
Boccioni, Umberto: Unique Forms of
Continuity in Space
(1881-1962), Kasimir Malevich and
Alexander Rodchenko. Major abstract art
movements which embraced geometric
- Boccioni, who had been the most- abstraction included, in chronological order:
talented artist in the group, and Sant'Elia Cubism (1908-14), Futurism (1909-14),
both died during military service in 1916. Orphism (c.1910-13), Rayonism (1912-14),
Boccioni's death, combined with expansion Vorticism (1913-14), Suprematism, (c.
of the group's personnel and the sobering 1913-18), De Stijl (1917-31),
realities of the devastation caused by World Constructivism (c. 1919-1932), Bauhaus
War I, effectively brought an end to the (1919-33), Mondrian's Neo-Plasticism and
Futurist movement as an important Doesburg's Elementarism. Thereafter,
historical force in the visual arts. non-objective art was promoted by the
Abstraction-Creation Group (c. 1931-36),
Hard Edge Painting (late 1950s, Early
1960s), Op-Art (fl.1960s), and Post
Painterly Abstraction.
- Non-objective art is a type of
abstract or non-representational art. It tends
to be geometric and does not represent
specific objects, people, or other subjects
found in the natural world. - Non-objective painting typically
uses geometric motifs on a shallow picture
- One of the best-known non- plane. As a general rule no use is made of
objective artists is Wassily Kandinsky. linear perspective to create the illusion of
Though paintings like his are most common, pictorial depth, neither is impasto employed
this style can be used in other media as well. to create textural effects. Also, the picture is
Non-objective art takes non- purposely devoid of any references to
representational to another level. Most of worldly things, either material or emotional.
the time, it includes geometric shapes in flat Non-objective art is abstraction in its purest
planes to create simple and clean form.
compositions. Many people use the term
"pure" to describe it.
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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

most common origin stories is that Richard

Huelsenbeck found the name by plunging a
- Dadaism was an artistic and knife at random into a dictionary. The term
literary movement that began in Zürich, "dada" is a colloquial French term for a
Switzerland. It arose as a reaction to World hobbyhorse, yet it also echoes the first
War I and the nationalism that many thought words of a child, and these suggestions of
had led to the war. Influenced by other childishness and absurdity appealed to the
avant garde movements - Cubism, group, who were keen to put a distance
Futurism, Constructivism, and between themselves and the sobriety of
Expressionism its output was wildly conventional society. They also appreciated
diverse, ranging from performance art to that the word might mean the same (or
poetry, photography, sculpture, painting, nothing) in all languages - as the group was
and collage. Dada's aesthetic, marked by avowedly internationalist.
its mockery of materialistic and nationalistic
attitudes, proved a powerful influence on
artists in many cities, including Berlin,
Hanover, Paris, New York, and Cologne, all
of which generated their own groups. The
movement dissipated with the establishment
of Surrealism, but the ideas it gave rise to
have become the cornerstones of various
categories of modern and contemporary art.

Hannah Hoch (1889-1978) Incision With The

Dada Kitchen Knife Through Germany's Last
- Switzerland was neutral during
Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch' 1920
WWI with limited censorship and it was in
(Collage)
Zürich that Hugo Ball and Emmy
Hennings founded the Cabaret Voltaire - The aim of Dada art and activities
February 5, 1916 in the backroom of a was both to help to stop the war and to vent
tavern on Spiegelgasse in a seedy section frustration with the nationalist and bourgeois
of the city. In order to attract other artists conventions that had led to it. Their anti-
and intellectuals, Ball put out a press authoritarian stance made for a protean
release that read, "Cabaret Voltaire. Under movement as they opposed any form of
this name a group of young artists and group leadership or guiding ideology.
writers has formed with the object of
- In 1917, after Ball left for Bern to
becoming a center for artistic entertainment.
pursue journalism, Tzara founded Galerie
In principle, the Cabaret will be run by
Dada on Bahnhofstrasse where further
artists, guest artists will come and give
Dada evenings were held along with art
musical performances and readings at the
exhibits. Tzara became the leader of the
daily meetings. Young artists of Zürich,
movement and began an unrelenting
whatever their tendencies, are invited to
campaign to spread Dada ideas, showering
come along with suggestions and
French and Italian writers and artists with
contributions of all kinds." Those who were
letters. The group published an art and
present from the beginning in addition to
literature review entitled Dada starting in
Ball and Hennings were Hans Arp,
July 1917 with five editions from Zürich and
Tristan Tzara, Marcel Janco, and Richard
two final ones from Paris. Their art was
Huelsenbeck.
focused on performance and printed matter.
- In July of that year, the first Dada evening
was held at which Ball read the first
manifesto. There is little agreement on how
the word Dada was invented, but one of the
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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

dealt a powerful blow to the modern art

world.

- The bold new approaches of the

Dadaists stirred controversy within - The Surrealist movement started
contemporary culture. in Europe in the 1920's, after World War 1
with its nucleus in Paris. Its roots were
- Their swift break from tradition, found in Dada, but it was less violent and
their impassioned pursuit of a new mode of more artistically based. Surrealism was first
expression, and their willingness to bring the work of poets and writers (Diehl, 1986).
the revered world of "fine art" back to a The French poet, André Breton, is known
more level and egalitarian playing field as the "Pope of Surrealism." Breton wrote
through both humor and inquisitive the Surrealist Manifesto to describe how he
investigation, allowed Dada artists to attract wanted to combine the conscious and
both fans. and foes of their work. Some saw subconscious into a new "absolute reality"
Dadaist expression as the next step forward (de la Croix 708). He first used the word
in the avant-garde march; others missed the surrealism to describe work found to be a
significance and instead saw works, such as "fusion of elements of fantasy with elements
Duchamp's readymades, as not art but of the modern world to form a kind of
simply their constituent objects (leading to superior reality." He also described it as
some of the originals being relegated to the "spontaneous writing" (Surrealism 4166-
refuse pile). 67). The first exhibition of surrealist painting
was held in 1925, but its ideas were
rejected in Europe (Diehl, 1986). Breton set
up an International Exhibition of Surrealism
in New York, which then took the place of
Paris as the center of the Surrealist
movement (Pierre, 1971). Soon surrealist
ideas were given new life and became an
influence over young artists in the United
States and Mexico. The ideas of Surrealism
were bold and new to the art world.

The Fountain by Duchamp - Surrealism is defined as "Psychic

automatism in its pure state by which we
- Duchamp was the first artist to use propose to express- verbally, in writing, or in
a readymade and his choice of a urinal was any other manner- the real process of
guaranteed to challenge and offend even thought. The dictation of thought, in the
his fellow artists. There is little manipulation absence of any control exercised by
of the urinal by the artist other than to turn it reason and outside any aesthetic or
upside-down and to sign it with a fictitious moral concerns" (Leslie, 1997). In other
name. words, the general idea of Surrealism is
- Dadaism gripped audiences into nonconformity. This nonconformity was
the 1920s, but the movement as a whole not as extreme as that of Dada since
was destined to crumble. Some, like Man surrealism was still considered to be art.
Ray, found their inclinations moving into the Breton said that "pure psychic
subconscious realm of Surrealism; automatism" was the most important
others found the pressures on the modern principle of Surrealism. He believed that
European artist too weighty to bear. The true surrealists had no real talent; they just
rise to power of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s spoke their thoughts as they happened.
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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

Surrealism used techniques that had unconscious, freed from the controls of the
never been used in the art world before. conscious mind; others, notably Miró, used
Surrealism as a liberating starting point for
- Surrealists strongly embraced the
an exploration of personal fantasies,
ideas of Sigmund Freud. His method of
conscious or unconscious, often through
psychoanalytic interpretation could be used
formal means of great beauty.
to bring forth and illuminate the unconscious
(Surrealism, 1970). Freud once said, "A
dream that is not interpreted is like a
letter that is not opened," and Surrealists
adapted this idea into their artwork
(Sanchez, 2001). Although Surrealists
strongly supported the ideas of Freud,
Breton visited him in 1921 and left without
his support (Leslie 1997).

- Freud inspired many Surrealists,

but two different interpretations of his ideas
lead to two different types of Surrealists; Salvador Dali: The Persistence of
Automatists and Veristic Surrealists. Memory
Automatists focused their work more on
feeling and were less investigative. They
believed automatism to be "the automatic
way in which the images of the
- A number of specific techniques
subconscious reach the conscious"
were devised by the Surrealists to evoke
(Sanchez, 2001). However they did not
psychic responses. Among these were
think the images had a meaning or should
frottage (rubbing with graphite over
try to be interpreted. Automatists thought
wood or other grained substances) and
that abstract art was the only way to convey
grattage (scraping the canvas)- both
images of the subconscious, and that a lack
developed by Ernst to produce partial
of form was a way to rebel against
images, which were to be completed in the
traditional art. In this way they were much
mind of the viewer; automatic drawing, a
like Dadaists. On the other side Veristic
spontaneous, uncensored recording of
- Surrealists believed subconscious
chaotic images that "erupt" into the
images did have meaning. They felt that
consciousness of the artist; and found
these images were a metaphor that, if
objects.
studied, could enable the world to be
understood. Veristic Surrealists also
believed that the language of the
subconscious world was in the form of
image. While their work may look similar, - Surrealism shared much of the
Automatists only see art where Veristic anti-rationalism of Dada, the movement out
Surrealists see meaning (Sanchez, 2001). of which it grew. The original Parisian
- The major Surrealist painters Surrealists used art as a reprieve from
were Jean Arp, Max Ernst, André Masson, violent political situations and to address the
René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Salvador unease they felt about the world's
Dalí, Pierre Roy, Paul Delvaux, and Joan uncertainties. By employing fantasy and
Miró. The work of these artists is too dream imagery, artists generated creative
diverse to be summarized categorically as works in a variety of media that exposed
their inner minds in eccentric, symbolic
the Surrealist approach in the visual arts.
Each artist sought his own means of self- ways, uncovering anxieties and treating
exploration. Some single-mindedly pursued them analytically through visual means.
a spontaneous revelation of the
GROUP 3 GE-6 ART APPRECIATION

Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

Birth of Liquid Desires by Salvador

The Barbarians by Max Ernst
Dali

- Though Surrealism originated in

France, strains of it can be identified in art
throughout the world. Particularly in the - Constructivism, a Russian artistic
1930s and 1940s, many artists were swept and architectural movement that was first
into its orbit as increasing political upheaval influenced by Cubism and Futurism, is
and a second global war encouraged fears generally considered to have been initiated
that human civilization was in a state of in 1913 with the "painting reliefs" abstract
crisis and collapse. The emigration of many geometric constructions of Vladimir Tatlin.
Surrealists to the Americas during WWII
- The expatriate Russian sculptors Antoine
spread their ideas further. Following the war,
Pevsner and Naum Gabo joined Tatlin and
however, the group's ideas were challenged
his followers in Moscow, and upon
by the rise of Existentialism, which, while
publication of their jointly written Realist
also celebrating individualism, was more
Manifesto in 1920 they became the
rationally based than Surrealism. In the arts,
spokesmen of the movement. It is from the
the Abstract Expressionists incorporated
manifesto that the name 'Constructivism'
Surrealist ideas and usurped their
was derived; one of the directives that it
dominance by pioneering new techniques
contained was "to construct" art. Because
for representing the unconscious. Breton
of their admiration for machines and
became increasingly interested in
technology, functionalism, and modern
revolutionary political activism as the
industrial materials such as plastic, steel,
movement's primary goal. The result was
and glass, members of the movement were
the dispersal of the original movement into
also called artist-engineers.
smaller factions of artists. The Bretonians,
such as Roberto Matta, believed that art - Other important figures associated
was inherently political. Others, like Yves with Constructivism were Alexander
Tanguy, Max Ernst, and Dorothea Rodchenko and El Lissitzky. Soviet
Tanning, remained in America to separate opposition to the Constructivists' aesthetic
from Salvador Breton. Salvador Dalí, radicalism resulted in the group's dispersion.
likewise, retreated to Spain, believing in the Tatlin and Rodchenko remained in the
centrality of the individual in art. Soviet Union, but Gabo and Pevsner went
first to Germany and then to Paris, where
they influenced the Abstraction-Création
group with Constructivist theory, and later
in the 1930s Gabo spread Constructivism to
England and in the 1940s to the United
States. Lissitzky's combination of
Constructivism and Suprematism influenced
the de Stijl artists and architects whom he
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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

met in Berlin, as well as the Hungarian - Many of the pioneers in

László Moholy-Nagy, who was a professor Constructivism had also studied
at the Bauhaus. In both Dessau and Suprematist ideas, but they increasingly
Chicago, where (because of Nazi experimented with three-dimensional
interference) the New Bauhaus was designs. They also began to attack
established in 1937, Moholy-Nagy traditional forms of art, which it was thought
disseminated Constructivist principles. Constructivism could supplant: painting was
officially declared "dead" at the '5x5-25'
exhibition, where Aleksandra Ekster,
Lyubov Popova, Alexander Rodchenko,
Varvara Stepanova, and Alexander
Vesnin each presented five works.
Paintings were included, but Popova
declared that they should only be
considered as designs for eventual
constructions. Rodchenko's Black on
Black series of paintings, however, made a
statement. Directly confronting Malevich's
White on White, which was meant to be the
Scale model of Vladimir Tatlin’s 1920 ultimate representation of a new reality,
Monument to the Third International by Rodchenko's black paintings announced the
Jeremy Dixon end of an era - "Representation is finished;
- Vladimir Tatlin and some of his it is time to construct."
colleagues, such as Lev Bruni, Ivan Kliun,
and Ivan Puni, influenced by Pablo
Picasso's Cubist sculptures, began to make
abstract, nonutilitarian constructions in
Russia in the years just before the 1917
revolution.

- Constructivism developed side by

side with Suprematism, the two major Ozonator by Ivan Kliun
modern art forms to come out of Russia in
- The international character of the
the 20th century. But unlike Suprematism,
movement was proven by the various
whose concerns with form and abstraction
origins of its artists. Naum Gabo, Antoine
often seem tinged with mysticism,
Pevsner, and El Lissitzky brought
Constructivism firmly embraced the new
Constructivism from the Soviet Union to the
social and cultural developments that grew
West. Laszlo Moholy-Nagy came to
out of World War I and the October
Germany from Hungary, Theo van
Revolution of 1917. Concerned with the use
Doesburg from the Netherlands. Ben
of 'real materials in real space', the
Nicholson was the most prominent English
movement sought to use art as a tool for the
Constructivist. Josef Albers and Hans
common good, much in line with the
Richter encountered the movement in their
Communist principles of the new Russian
native Germany but were also instrumental
regime. Many of the Russian Constructivist
in its international dissemination.
works from this period involve projects in
architecture, interior and fashion design, - Constructivist art is marked by a
ceramics, typography and graphics. commitment to total abstraction and a
wholehearted acceptance of modernity.
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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

Often very geometric, it is usually - The harmony and order were

experimental, rarely emotional. Objective established through a reduction of elements
forms which were thought to have universal to pure geometric forms and primary colors.
meaning were preferred over the subjective Die Stijl was also the name of a publication
or the individual. The art is often very discussing the groups theories which was
reductive as well, paring the artwork down published by van Doesburg. The publication
to its basic elements. New media were often Die Stijl represents the most significant work
used. Again, the context is crucial: the of graphic design from the movement, but
Constructivists sought an art of order, the ideas of reduction of form and color are
which would reject the past (the old order major influences on the development of
which had culminated in World War I) and graphic design as well.
lead to a world of more understanding, unity,
- The artists and architects
and peace. This utopian undercurrent is
associated with De Stijl - painters such as
often missing from more recent abstract art
Mondrian, van Doesburg and Ilya
that might be otherwise tied to
Bolotowsky, and architects such as Gerrit
Constructivism.
Rietveld and J. J.

- P. Oud-adopted what they

perceived to be a purer form of geometry,
consisting of forms made up of straight lines
- De Stijl, a Dutch word meaning
and basic geometric shapes (largely
"The Style" is a group of Dutch artists in
rendered in the three primary colors); these
Amsterdam in 1917, including the painters
motifs provided the fundamental elements
Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, and
between surfaces and the distribution of
Vilmos Huszár, the architect Jacobus
colors. In Neo-Plasticism in Pictorial Art, of
Johannes Pieter Oud, and the poet A. Kok;
compositions that avoided symmetry and
other early associates of De Stijl were Bart
strove for a balanced relationship Mondrian
van der Leck, Georges Vantongerloo,
explained: "As a pure representation of the
Jan Wils, and Robert van't Hoff. Its
human mind, art will express itself in an
members, working in an abstract style, were
aesthetically purified, that is to say, abstract
seeking laws of equilibrium and harmony
form. The new plastic idea cannot, therefore,
applicable both to art and to life.
take the form of a natural or concrete
- As a movement, De Stijl influenced representation."
painting, decorative arts (including furniture
- In a narrower sense, the term De
design), typography, and architecture, but it
Stijl is used to refer to a body of work from
was principally architecture that realized
1917 to 1931 founded in the Netherlands
both De Stijl's stylistic aims and its goal of
(Curl, 2006). Proponents of De Stijl
close collaboration among the arts. The
advocated pure abstraction and universality
Worker's Housing Estate in Hoek van
by a reduction to the essentials of form and
Holland (1924-27), designed by Oud,
color; they simplified visual compositions to
expresses the same clarity, austerity, and
vertical and horizontal, using only black,
order found in a Mondrian painting. Gerrit
white and primary colors.
Rietveld, another architect associated with
De Stijl, also applied its stylistic principles in - The passing of Theo von
his work; the Schröder House in Utrecht Doesburg facilitated the death of the
(1924), for example, resembles a Mondrian movement. Individual members remained in
painting in the severe purity of its facade contact, but De Stijl could not exist without a
and in its interior plan. Beyond the strong central character. Thus, it may be
Netherlands, the De Stijl aesthetic found wrong to think of De Stijl as a close-knit
expression at the Bauhaus in Germany group of artists. The members knew each
during the 1920s and in the International other, but most communication took place
Style (Encyclopedia Britannica).
GROUP 3 GE-6 ART APPRECIATION

Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

by letter. For example, Mondrian and and their replacement with a single unified,
Rietveld never met in person. undifferentiated field, network, or other
image that exists in unstructured space.

5. Their paintings fill large canvases to give

these aforementioned visual effects both
monumentality and engrossing power.
- Abstract Expressionism is a
broad movement in American painting that The early Abstract Expressionists
began in the late 1940s and became a had two notable forerunners: Arshile Gorky,
dominant trend in Western painting during who painted suggestive biomorphic shapes
the 1950s. using a free, delicately linear, and liquid
paint application; and Hans Hofmann, who
The most prominent American Abstract
used dynamic and strongly textured
Expressionist painters were:
brushwork in abstract but conventionally
Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, composed works.
Franz Kline, and Mark Rothko. Others
included Clyfford Still, Philip Guston,
Helen Frankenthaler, Barnett Newman,
Adolph Gottlieb, Robert Motherwell, Lee
Krasner, Bradley Walker Tomlin, William
Baziotes, Ad Reinhardt, Richard
Pousette-Dart, Elaine de Kooning, and
Jack Tworkov.

Most of these artists worked, lived, or

exhibited in New York City. The movement
comprised many different painterly styles
varying in both technique and quality of Gorky, Arshile: The Liver Is the Cock's Comb
expression.

Despite this diversity, Abstract Expressionist

paintings share several broad
characteristics. Among them are:

1. They are basically abstract. They depict

forms not drawn from the visible world.

2. They emphasize free, spontaneous, and

personal emotional expression, and they
exercise considerable freedom of technique
and execution. 3. They show similar Hans Hofmann The Gate, 1959-1960
emphasis on the unstudied and intuitive
application of that paint in a form of psychic
improvisation akin to the automatism of the
Surrealists, with a similar intent of - Inspite of the diversity of the
expressing the force of the creative Abstract Expressionist movement, three
unconscious in art. general approaches can be distinguished:
4. They display the abandonment of - One, Action painting, is
conventionally structured composition built characterized by a loose, rapid, dynamic, or
up out of discrete and segregable elements forceful handling of paint in sweeping or
GROUP 3 GE-6 ART APPRECIATION

Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

slashing brushstrokes and in techniques of her career, Bourgeois created abstract

partially dictated by chance, such as statuettes of discarded wood that she found
dripping or spilling the paint directly onto the and painted in such a way that her her
canvas. Pollock first practiced Action process was visible, challenging prior
painting by dripping commercial paints on conventions of "finished" works of
raw canvas to build up complex and tangled naturalistic sculpture.
skeins of paint into exciting and suggestive
linear patterns. De Kooning used extremely
vigorous and expressive brushstrokes to
build up richly coloured and textured images.
Kline used powerful, sweeping black strokes - Op Art can be defined as a type of
on a white canvas to cre stark monumental abstract or concrete art consisting of non-
forms. representational geometric shapes which
- The middle ground within Abstract create various types of optical illusion. For
Expressionism is represented by several instance, when viewed, Op Art pictures may
varied styles, ranging from the more lyrical, cause the eye to detect a sense of
delicate imagery and fluid shapes in movement (eg. swelling, warping, flashing,
paintings by Guston and Frankenthaler to vibration) on the surface of the painting. And
the more clearly structured, forceful, almost the patterns, shapes and colors used in
calligraphic pictures of Motherwell and these pictures are typically selected for their
Gottlieb. illusional qualities, rather than for their
- The third and least emotionally substantive or emotional content. In addition,
expressive approach was that of Rothko, Op artists use both positive and negative
Newman, and Reinhardt. These painters spaces to create the desired illusions."
used large areas, or fields, of flat color and - Op art, also called optical art,
thin, diaphanous paint to achieve quiet, branch of mid-20th-century geometric
subtle, almost meditative effects. The abstract art that deals with optical illusion.
outstanding color-field painter was Rothko, Achieved through the systematic and
most of whose works consist of large- scale precise manipulation of shapes and colors,
combinations of soft-edged, solidly colored the effects of Op art can be based either on
rectangular areas that tend to shimmer and perspective illusion or on chromatic tension;
resonate. in painting, the dominant medium of Op art,
- Abstract Expressionism had a the surface tension is usually maximized to
great impact on both the American and the point at which an actual pulsation or
European art scenes during the 1950s. flickering is perceived by the human eye. In
Indeed, the movement marked the shift of its concern with utterly abstract formal
the creative centre of modern painting from relationships, Op art is indirectly related to
Paris to New York City in the postwar such other 20th-century styles as Orphism,
decades. In the course of the 1950s, the Constructivism, Suprematism, and
movement's younger followers increasingly Futurism-particularly the latter because of
followed the lead of the colour-field painters its emphasis on pictorial movement and
and, by 1960, its participants had generally dynamism. The painters of this movement
drifted away from the highly charged differed from earlier artists working in
expressiveness of the Action painters. geometric styles, however, in their
purposeful manipulation of formal
- In the field of sculpture, artists as relationships in order to evoke perceptual
diverse as Smith and Bourgeois were illusions, ambiguities, and contradictions in
considered Abstract Expressionists. Smith's the vision of the viewer
welded-steel statues often mingle
- The principal artists of the Op art
intersecting geometric shapes with brushed-
metal finishes, resembling the painterly movement as it emerged in the late 1950s
techniques of his colleagues. In this phase and '60s were Victor Vasarely, Bridget
Riley, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Larry
GROUP 3 GE-6 ART APPRECIATION

Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

Poons, and Jeffrey Steele. The movement

first attracted international attention with the
Op exhibition "The Responsive Eye" at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York City in - The senior exponent and pioneer
1965. Op art painters devised complex and of Op art effects even as early as the 1930s
paradoxical optical spaces through the is Victor Vasarely, Hungarian in origin, but
illusory manipulation of such simple working in France since 1930. Vasarely's
repetitive forms as parallel lines, work can sometimes dazzle the eye, but he
checkerboard patterns, and concentric does not aim to disturb the spectator's
circles or by creating chromatic tension from equilibrium.
the juxtaposition of complementary
(chromatically opposite) colors of equal - The effect of the work of British
intensity. These spaces create the illusion of artist Bridget Riley can be to produce such
movement, preventing the viewer's eye from vertigo that the eye has to look away.
resting long enough on any one part of the Though carefully programmed, her patterns
surface to be able to interpret it literally. "Op are intuitive and not strictly derived from
art works exist," according to one writer, scientific or mathematical calculations, and
"less as objects than as generators of their geometrical structure is often disguised
perceptual responses." by the illusory effects. Riley refuses to
distinguish between the physiological and
psychological responses of the eye.

- Peter Sedgley (born 1930), a

Briton living mainly in Germany, became
known about 1965 for his experiments with
one of the recurrent images of late
twentieth-century painting, the "target" of
concentric rings of color. The effect was
intensified by changing lights of red, yellow
and blue, electrically programmed.

Victor Vasarely's Sign-sculpture

- Op art goals were shared by the

French Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel
("Group for Research in the Visual Arts")
and by the Chilean-born artist Jesús
Raphael Soto. These artists made large-
scale sculptures that employ light and
motors, as well as sculptural materials, to
create the illusion of movement in space
that is fundamental to all Op art.
- Other artists associated with Op Art
include: Yaacov Agam, Josef Albers,
Richard Allen, Getulio Alviani, Richard
Anuszkiewicz, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Tony
DeLap, Gunter Fruhtrunk, Julio Le Parc,
John McHale, Youri Messen-Jaschin,
Reginald H. Neal, Bridget Riley, Jesus
Rafael Soto, Julian Stanczak, Günther
Uecker, Ludwig Wilding, and Marian
Zazeela.

Fall', Bridget Riley, 1963

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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

(1928-87). Other American exponents

included: Jim Dine (b. 1935), Robert
Indiana (aka John Clark) (b. 1928), Ray
- The term “Pop-Art'” was invented Johnson (1927-95), Alex Katz (b. 1927),
by British curator Lawrence Alloway in Claes Oldenburg (b. 1929), Ed Ruscha (b.
1955 to describe a new form of "Popular" 1937), James Rosenquist (b. 1933), and
art - a movement characterized by the Tom Wesselmann (b. 1931). For more,
imagery of consumerism and popular please see Andy Warhol's Pop Art of the
culture. Pop Art emerged in both New York sixties and seventies.
and London during the mid-1950s and
- Leading British Pop artists included: Sir
became the dominant avant garde style until
Peter Blake (b. 1932), Patrick Caulfield
the late 1960s.
(1936-2006), Richard Hamilton (b.1922),
- Pop art became a cultural event David Hockney (b. 1937), and Allen Jones
because of its close reflection of a particular. (b. 1937).
social situation and because its easily
comprehensible images were immediately
exploited by the mass media. Although the
critics of Pop art described it as vulgar,
sensational, non aesthetic, and a joke, its
proponents, a minority in the art world, saw
it as an art that was democratic and non
discriminatory, bringing together both
connoisseurs and untrained viewers.
Drowning Girl by Roy Lichtenstein

- Pop Art is characterized by bold,

simple, everyday imagery, and vibrant
block colors, it was interesting to look at
and had a modern "hip" feel. The bright
color schemes also enabled this form of
avant garde art to emphasize certain
elements in contemporary culture, and
A Bigger Splash by David Hokney
helped to narrow the divide between the
commercial arts and the fine arts. It was the
first Post-Modernist movement (where
medium is as important as the message) as
well as the first school of art to reflect the - By the 1960s, pop art had served
power of film and television, from which much of its purpose. It reached its peak in
many of its most famous images acquired the late 1960s. After that, relative to the
their celebrity. Common sources of Pop 1950s, society was significantly less
iconography were advertisements, conformed, many historical events had
consumer product packaging, photos of film shaped the world, and the new worries of
stars, pop-stars and other celebrities, and the United States would lead to pop art
comic strips. declining. Pop art had been popular around
the world, but during the Vietnam War era,
with societal unrest and more anti-American
- In American art, famous exponents sentiment overseas, pop art, which had
of Pop included Robert Rauschenberg become more identified with America, pop
(1925-2008), Jasper Johns (b. 1930), Roy art became undermined.
Lichtenstein (1923-97) and Andy Warhol
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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

- Even after its decline, pop art - Minimalism was also a reaction to
bounced back and has become Neo-Pop. the most prominent style of art pursued in
Pop art is still everywhere, especially in ads the 1950s Abstract Expressionism, in which
and posters. Now, pop art still lives on in the the art conveyed multiple meanings of
works of Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, and intense emotion, ideas, feelings and was
Stuart Semple. Pop art has influenced sometimes created in spontaneous or
movements such as Photorealism, Neo- unplanned ways. Abstract Expressionists
Expressionism, and Post-Modernism often used thick brushstrokes that were
(Hudelson, 2016). clearly done by hand. An example of
Abstract Expressionism is Willem de
Kooning's work Woman V, done in the
early 1950s. It is aggressive, emotional, and
almost violent in its brushstrokes and line.

- By the late 1950s, some artists

began rebelling against what they
considered Abstract Expressionism's
excesses. They headed in a completely
opposite direction toward Minimalist Art.

"Balloon Rabbit (Yellow)" by Jeff Koons

- Several important characteristics
identify Minimalist Art. One of the most
common is repetition, or creating multiple
images of the same shape, especially
simple geometric forms like lines and
squares. Artists repeat shapes and produce
paintings composed of vertical color blocks.
Many works are extremely simple, pared
down to the fewest possible lines or forms
needed to paint the image. Areas are
smooth and finished, devoid of obvious
"SacredHeart (With Hope)” by Damien Hirst brushstrokes or hint of the artist's hand.
Minimalist art focuses on things like
geometry, line, and color. Early works
tended to be monochromatic, limited to one
color and related hues (like black, grey, and
- Minimalism was an art movement
white). Another way to identify a Minimalist
that developed in the United States in the
painting is by looking for precise and hard-
late 1950s and reached its peak in the mid
edged borders between areas of color.
to late 1960s. It is also sometimes called
There is no shading or subtle transition.
Minimalist Art or ABC Art because it
focuses on basic elements. It grew out of - Several important characteristics
ideas expressed in the early 20th century by also identify what is not in Minimalism. It is
people like the Russian artist Kazimir not expressive. The artist removes all
Malevich, who pioneered Abstract Art by elements of biography or emotion. When
painting pictures with no reference to things you stand in front of a Minimalist painting,
visible in the real world - no trees or people, you won't see big ideas, social agendas or
no landscapes or still-life scenes. In complex subject matter. The paintings are
abstraction, the art does not have to about geometry, shapes and color. It is art
resemble something else. for art's sake without emotion involved.
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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

- Some of the most prominent

Minimalist artists were sculptors, people like
Sol LeWitt and Donald Judd. The latter
began his art career as a painter and art
critic in the 1940s. He was extremely
important for his work to define minimalism,
especially in his essay Specific Objects,
which advocated for art made from
Dan Flavin untitled (To Pat and Bob
everyday materials. But he gradually moved Rohm), 1969 "Dan Flavin, 2 works" at Judd
into woodcuts and then focused the rest of Foundation
his career on sculpture.

- Among prominent Minimalist

painters, one of the earliest was Ellsworth
Kelly (1923-2015). His works feature hard-
edged precise borders between blocks of
color. Active first in the mid-1950s, he
predates the clear establishment of
Minimalism. But in paintings like Red Yellow
Blue White and Black from 1953, he clearly
displays the characteristics later connected
to Minimalist Art, especially hard-edged flat On the Importance by Donald Judd
areas of color. He later moved on to more
sculptural works.

- One of the most important

Minimalist painters is Frank Stella. In the - A modern form of contemporary art
late 1950s, he caught the immediate which gives priority to an idea presented by
attention of the art world with his series of visual means that are themselves
Black Paintings, monochromatic paintings secondary to the idea. Conceptual art, while
with uniform geometric lines created in having no intrinsic financial value, can
bands of black paint. An example of one of deliver a powerful message, and thus has
these works is The Marriage of Reason and served as a vehicle for socio-political
Squalor II, painted in 1959. When asked comment, as well as a broad challenge to
once to define Minimalist Art, Stella the tradition of a 'work of art being a crafted
summed it up this way: 'What you see is unique object. Indeed, some conceptual
what you get." artists consider that art is created by the
viewer, not by the artist or the artwork itself.

- NOTE: Due to the overlapping

nature of conceptual, installation and
performance art, many artists are involved
in all three genres.

- The ideas behind this form of visual

art were explored by Marcel Duchamp
(1887-1968), the so-called father of
Conceptual Art, although the term was first
used by Edward Kienholz (1927-94), in the
Frank Stella, The Marriage of Reason late 1950s. Duchamp, who became the
and Squalor II, 1959 (Black Painting) darling of the radical Dada movement
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Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

(founded by Tristan Tzara), created Duchamp, which is a ready-made urinal.

numerous challenging works such as his 'Give If You Can, Take if You Have To' by
"readymades" series of found objects, of Jacek Tylicki is also a well-celebrated
which the most celebrated was Fountain conceptual art form. It is a stone sculpture
(1917), a standard urinal basin, which built on Palolem Island, India in 2008.
Duchamp submitted for inclusion in the
- Robert Rauschenberg was invited
annual, exhibition of the Society of
to take part in the group exhibition Les 41
Independent Artists in New York. (It was
présentent Iris Clert (or 41 Portraits of Iris
rejected.). Surrealism was another source
Clert] for the inauguration of Galerie Iris
of early conceptualism. Later proto-type
Clert's new exhibition space in Paris in 1961.
conceptual works included '4- 33 the
Calvin Tomkins reports that Rauschenberg,
controversial musical composition by John
who was in Sweden for the installation of
Cage (1912-1992), the three movements of
another exhibition at the tune, forgot to
which contain not a single sound or note of
make a portrait as promised. At the last
music.
minute he sent the telegram stating "THIS
- Conceptual art was in part a IS A PORTRAIT OF IRIS CLERT IF I SAY
reaction against the tenets of "formalism" SO" for inclusion in the show.
as expressed by the trenchant New York art Rauschenberg's purely conceptual
critic Clement Greenberg (1909-94). contribution destabilizes all conventions of
Formalism considers that the formal traditional portraiture, proclaiming identity as
qualities of a work - such as line, shape, a subjective condition: unstable and at the
and color self-sufficient for its appreciation, whim of the speaker (or reader). The
and all other considerations - such as referent of the "I" in his text becomes
representational, ethical, or social aspects - ambiguous as each viewer reads the work.
are secondary or redundant. While Rauschenberg's absurd gesture
follows in the Neo-Dada spirit of the time, it
simultaneously presages the trend toward
emphasizing the conceptual in art that
would come to the fore later in the decade.
- Conceptual Art is all about
"ideas and meanings" rather than "works
of art (paintings, sculptures, other precious
objects). It is characterized by its use of text,
as well as imagery, along with a variety of
ephemeral, typically everyday materials and
"found objects." It also typically incorporates
photography and video, as well as other
contemporary media such as computers,
performance art, projections, installation art
and sound. One might say it was an artistic
revolt against the increasing
commodification of art, and/or the creative - Damien Hirst (1965) is an English
limitations imposed by modern art taught in visual artist of international renown and
traditionalist venues. reportedly one of the Great Britain's richest
living artist with an estimated wealth
exceeding mind-boggling £200 million. Hirst
is the most prominent representative of
Britart group of emerging artists that shook
- One of the famous examples of the art world during the late 1980s and early
Conceptual Arts is 'Portrait of Iris Clert' by 1990s. Hisrt's career exploded after his
Robert Rauschenberg, which is a major international exhibition during the
telegram sent to the Galerie Iris Clert. 1993 Venice Biennale which showcased
Another one is 'Fountain' by Marcel
GROUP 3 GE-6 ART APPRECIATION

Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

Hirst's famous work entitled Mother and personally chose Joseph Kosuth as the
Child Divided, showing cow and calf cut in winner of Cassandra Foundation Grant.
sections and exhibited in clear display
- Katrin Fridriks (1974) is a
cases filled with formaldehyde. Hirst is
renowned Icelandic conceptual painter and
probably most widely recognized for his so
installation artist from Reykjavik, and one of
called spot paintings which feature rows of
the leading artists of a new abstract
randomly colored circles painted by his
expressionism movement. Fridriks'
assistants.
hyperkinetic abstract paintings are filled with
swirls of vibrant color, address serious and
rather worrying environmental and political
issues such as genetic research, cloning,
overconsumption and exhaustion of natural
resources.

- Robert Montgomery (1972), a

London-based Scottish artists, widely
known for his standout public intervention
pieces that introduce poetry into urban and
industrial landscapes through forms of
captivating light installations, recycled - Self-taught French conceptual
sunlight plastered over existing billboards artist and graphic designer Sébastien
and advertisements, these seemingly Preschoux uses hundreds of meters of
simple yet rather graphic poems of strings in different colors to create
extraordinary beauty and mesmerizing captivating and highly intricate installations,
effect can be enjoyed during sunsets all most usually placed in natural environments.
across the world. - Preschoux's string installations
are made permanent by photographer
Ludovic Le Couster, who captures their
photographs with strategic lighting carefully
placed in such a way that the stretched
pieces of thread turn to mesmerizing vibrant
stills.

- One and Three Chairs, 1965, is a

work by Joseph Kosuth. An example of
conceptual art, the piece consists of a chair,
a photograph of the chair, and an enlarged
dictionary definition of the word "chair".

- Kosuth lives and works between

New York and Rome, where he teaches at - Jenny Holzer (1950) is one of the
the Instituto Universitario di Architettura di most famous and most awarded American
Venezia. In 1968, only one week before his conceptual artist from New York, widely
death, the great Marcel Duchamp praised for her provocative lan- guage-
based public works that deal with powerful
subjects of consumerism, torture, disease
GROUP 3 GE-6 ART APPRECIATION

Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

and death. Jenny Holzer created and photograph, which is just a representation of
acclaimed series of captivating screen reality. The artwork that is produced is not
printing paintings featuring declassified based on direct observation of the real
government documents pertaining to world but it is something that is already
prisoner abuse. filtered through the camera lens. It is still
distant from the real world in a factual and
- Aside from the modern artists metaphorical sense.
above, the famous names in Conceptual Art
are Isidore Isou, Yves Klein, Wolf Vostell, 2. Photorealist artists mostly emphasize that
Piero Manzoni, Barrie Bates aka Billy their works are not forms of social
Apple, Christo, George Brecht, Henry commentaries. This distinguishes it from
Flynts, and Yoko Ono, among others. hyperrealism. The themes of photorealism
are generally focused on mass and
consumer symbols such as cars,
mechanical toys and fast food restaurants.

- Photo-realism, also called Super- 3. Photorealist artists are dependent on high

realism, is an American art movement that resolution photographs in accomplishing
began in the 1960s, taking photography as their works. Other more traditional artists
its inspiration. Photo-realist painters would consider this as a form of cheating.
created highly illusionistic images that The photorealist artists acknowledge the
referred not to nature but to the reproduced reality. of modern-day mass production,
image. Artists such as Richard Estes, which include photographs. Their
Ralph Goings, Audrey Flack, Robert techniques merge reality with artificiality.
Bechtle, and Chuck Close attempted to 4. Light and the interaction of light with on
reproduce what the camera could record. surfaces are among the main concerns of
Several sculptors, including the Americans photorealist artists. They use slide
Duane Hanson and John De Andrea, machines to project photographic images
were also associated with this movement. onto empty canvas. In this matter, they are
Like the painters, who relied on able to unite color and light elements into
photographs, the sculptors cast from live one. As a result, reflective surfaces such as
models and thereby achieved a simulated chrome metal on cars are accurately
reality. rendered.
- Photo-realists typically projected a 5. Photorealist artists like 'other practitioners
photographed image onto a canvas and of pop art have reintroduced the primacy of
then used an airbrush to reproduce the process and careful planning. They put little
effect of a photo printed on glossy paper. emphasis on improvisation in creating art.
Estes claimed that the idea of the painting Draftsmanship and precise brushwork
was involved primarily with the photograph become the focus. They have given
and that the painting was just the technique importance to the traditional techniques of
of finishing it up. academic art that emphasizes on skilled
craftsmanship that value discipline rather
than impulsive improvisations.

Generally speaking, photorealism has the

following characteristics:

1. It complicates the idea of realism by

merging the real with the unreal to some
extent. The painted image on a canvas is
distinctly recognized as something that
exists in reality, it is still based on a Jar of Tootsies by Thaneeya McArdie
GROUP 3 GE-6 ART APPRECIATION

Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

Energy Apples
by Audrey
Flack
- Most installation art has certain
elements in common. Artists often create
installations in mixed media. Mixed media
means using more than one art medium.
Such works might involve traditional arts like
painting, sculpture, and textiles as well as
words, text, and utilitarian materials. Many
installations incorporate, found objects,
Diner by John cast-off everyday materials repurposed for
Baeder use in art. Some installations use audio and
video components, as well as light and
other technologies.

- Because they are large, most

installations are site-specific. They are
created to be placed into and around a
Glenray specific space, like a large gallery in a
Tutors' modern art museum. Some installations
Firework involve actions by the artist as part of the
artwork. Both factors result in most
installations existing for a temporary or finite
amount of time. When the installation is
over, the physical work disappears,
although it may be documented in photos or
video. For this reason, most installation art
falls under the category of time-based
media, which is art that is described by its
duration rather than just the typical
- Installation art is the term for measurements of height, length, and width.
works, room-sized or larger, in which the
whole space is considered a single unified - Installation art is about the
artwork. It is different from a gallery room experience of the person immersed in it.
filled with works by multiple artists or an Audiences see these works by walking into
exhibit space with a selection of works by them or through them and being surrounded
one artist. The installation is one cohesive by them. Installations can be sensory
work of art. experiences involving sight, sound,
smell, and sometimes touch.
- Installation art developed in the
20th century. It grew out of artists working in - By its nature, installation art serves
the 1950s and 1960s who focused on as a rebuttal to the monetary focus often
conceptual art, which is art based on ideas placed on art. In a world where some art
rather than aesthetic qualities of finished commands increasingly astronomical prices
works. Some artists began to create at auction, artists who create installation art
environments, curating gallery spaces, or knowingly create art that cannot have
organizing events that happened in the real monetary value. It can't be collected
world in a set period of time. Such work fed because it's so large and complex. The
into the idea of room-sized works. The term value lies in the experience of the art itself.
'installation art began to be used in the
1970s.
GROUP 3 GE-6 ART APPRECIATION

Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

the local and international art scene, the

government, the corporate community and
the general public are tirelessly responding
- Installation art ranges from the very to this demand.
simple to the very complex. It can be
- This makes the art scene in Manila
gallery based, computer-based,
- contrary to all the stereotypes of it being
electronic-based, web-based the
decadent, inspiring, chaotic and laidback -
possibilities are limitless and depend
worth touring and revisiting several times.
entirely upon the artist's concept and aims.
Art Radar reveals when it is best to mark
Almost any type of material or media can be
your calendars, how to efficiently navigate
utilized, including natural or man-made
the city and gives suggestions for several
objects, painting and sculpture, as well as
prestigious and down-to- earth art venues
recent media such as film, animation,
that would help you make the most of
various forms of photography, live
Manila's established yet flourishing art
performance art (including happenings),
scene.
sound and audio.

- Some compositions are strictly

indoor, while others are public art,
constructed in open-air community spaces,
or projected on public buildings. Some are
mute, while others are interactive and
require audience participation.

Astreopora by Leeroy New

- Consisting of strong Malay and
Chinese influences, as well as those of - Leeroy New is a native of General
Spanish and American colonization and Santos City who draws inspiration from
the effect of American globalization, Manila anything and everything around him and
has developed into Southeast Asia's most even jumps from one medium to another
progressive art hub. The city is paving its such as film, theater, fashion, sculpture
way to becoming an international art and visual arts. He also joined efforts to
destination. rehabilitate and restore pride in Manila's
main waterway, the Pasig River through the
- Currently, many old buildings are Bakawan Floating Project.
being turned into galleries and alternative
spaces. Filipino artists are increasingly
participating and being included in
international art fairs, auctions and
biennales, with contemporary pieces being
acquired by key collectors and museums all
over the world. Filipino artists are also often
invited to residency programs abroad, and
conversely many foreign artists visit and
complete residencies in Manila with growing
frequency. - Aze Ong elevates the craft of
- However, with all of these crocheting to more than table spreads or
developments, Manila's contemporary art bed covers. Her colorful crocheted creations
scene is far from its peak or exhaustion. vary, from a gigantic bell jar to an upside
Revisions and improvements are clearly down tulip, from funny hats to kimono-
needed - and fortunately, individuals from inspired robes, from traditional tribal
GROUP 3 GE-6 ART APPRECIATION

Lesson 4: Cubism to Installation Art

clothing to an out-of-this world

impressions of leaves.

- Patty Eustaquio explores themes

of shadow, fragmentation, and dissonance
through painting, drawing, and installation.

- Raffy Napay is a son of a tricycle

driver and seamstress. He grew up joining
competitions to help with his family's day to
day needs. Because of the fumes he
inhaled in paints, he later used thread and
needles in his works. "Ang Mananahi ng
Buhay at Makinang na Makina" earned
the nods of the jurors of the 2010 Philippine
Arts Award. Since then, thread became
Napa's medium. (Courtesy of spot.ph)

Other installation artists are:

1. Lou Lim

2. Lyra Garcellano

3. Hanna Pettyjohn

4. Isabel Gaudinez Aquilizan