MODERNISM – PART III (27.05.2013)

John Cage’s 4 minutes 33 seconds of silence is also a form of minimalism.

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conceptual art

(Conceptualism) - an art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the

work take priority over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of works of
conceptual art, sometimes called installations, may be constructed by anyone simply by
following a set of written instructions (you don’t even have to do it, the important thing is
the idea).

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There was an artist who buried a transmitter in the ground and it was his idea of art. You
couldn’t see it, because it was buried.

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And there was an exhibition showing a room with two transmitters transmitting some
waves undetectable for human ear.
WHAT MATTERED WAS THE IDEA.

/Uciekano często od tradycyjnych form przekazu takich jak obraz, czy rzeźba (nie odrzucano ich
jednak). Uważano, iż nie jest ważne samo dzieło sztuki, większą rolę przykładano do samego
procesu twórczego, a swoje prace prezentowano w formie filmów, fotografii, inscenizacji,
happeningów, performance-ów, płócien wraz z zapisami słownymi lub matematycznymi wzorami
mającymi wyrażać jakąś myśl./

Marcel Duchamp is known as the patron of conceptual art.

1. What is postmodernism?

There are two solutions:

1) Negation of modernism – post in a sense of rejection.
2) Continuation of modernism – post in a sense of later.

It’s all about how the people interpret facts – different points of view and opinions. Also, it’s hard to
evaluate the things so close to us. It’s a matter of time when certain things would become clear, if we
look at them from a perspective.

2. Modernism vs. Romanticism

Modernism

Romanticism

Modernism as a rejection of Romanticism

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focuses on reason,

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scientific approach to art,

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artist – a scholar, a scientist,

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the concept of art as an organic work(?)
(it’s planned, not spontaneous and it’s a
result of very hard work),

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some modernist movements (imagism,
minimalism) downplayed the
importance of personal emotion (art
should be impersonal, universal and
objective).

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focuses on emotion,

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Romantics believed in inspiration,

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artist – some kind of a prophet,

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you don’t have to study books of other
authors in order to be able to write,

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subjective and individual,

Modernism as a continuation and fulfillment of Romanticism

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emphasis of originality,

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many different sounds in music,

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art should mean something.