Event 3: Modernism at the De Young Museum

     I attended the exhibit on Modernism at the De Young Museum this past weekend. Modernism is extremely fascinating since it is much more than just an artistic movement and incorporates aspects of philosophy. Modernism was born out of the transition from non-production based society into industrial society and organization. The production demands and events surrounding World War I helped shape the modernist view of the world and directly affected the art that came out of this period.

     This piece either did not have a definitive author or the designator slate fell off, since there was no background information on it. I photographed it because of its geometry. When viewed in the right way from the side, there is a division into thirds. Despite this it appears to be unbalanced because of the yellow streaks that place most of the emphasis on the upper third. When viewed from the standard point of view as shown in the photo, a design that resembles a square wave characterizes the very bottom as well as the bottom of the upper third. The top of the lower third has a honeycomb design that recedes into the white as it grows downward. From the POV shown above, the work is perfectly symmetrical. This is unusual as most of the pieces in the exhibit that characterize the modernist philosophy are organized without symmetry. An example of this is Burgoyne Diller's "First Theme" shown below.

 Burgoyne A. Diller's  "First Theme" (1962)

     "First Theme" can be classified as non-objective art. This means that it does not depict or represent anything in the natural world. This specific piece foreshadowed Diller's later works, which also incorporated strict geometric shapes and the inherent properties of this shapes. Artwork that is heavily grounded in geometry and more specifically in rectangular shapes brings the Cubism art movement to mind. These works seem like blueprints or foundations for Cubist art, despite the fact that they were done after Cubism had run its course. Since the time periods are flipped it cannot be said that the Modernist focus on geometry inspired Cubist works, but rather that it is a distillation of the Cubist style into the bare essence: shapes. 

 Joseph Albers' "Study for Homage to the Square: Light Rising" (1950)

     This was one of several works in Albers' signature series. Every piece in the series consisted of a different variation of three or four squares inside of each other. He chose different colors to represent different climates and bring out different connections to the viewers. Again, this is a foundation piece incorporating the bare necessity to create a visual piece which is geometry. These piece exhibits y-axis symmetry, although it does not appear so in this photograph because of the angle at which I took it.

 David Salle's "Coming and Going" (1987)

     David Salle's "Coming and Going" is a perfect integration of mathematical art techniques as well as the combination of art and technology in a piece. A scene showing an accordion player as well as several observers is depicted with a flowering plant overlaying it. A brown eye watches the viewer and exists on the plane above the plant and the scene. The organization of objects in the z-plane is easily identifiable in the accordion scene primarily because of the stark contrast between the eye's color and the bottom plane's lack thereof. The image is black and white, signifying both aged technology and an aged worldview or vision (the eye.) The bottom right third shows a mostly naked being on its side. The lighting is dark and the mood follows suit. Despite this, the top third of the piece is very uplifting, showing random elements of Western society. 

     Here is the proof that I was at the event. I had a headache that day and decided to sit down. This was taken unbeknownst to me. I ended up leaving the exhibit without taking a good picture since I had forgotten to. As a result, this sad image is my only picture.

Works Cited

"Burgoyne Diller." Burgoyne Diller - First Theme - Spanierman Modern. Spanierman Modern, 4 Aug. 2009. Web. 31 July 2014. <http://www.spaniermanmodern.com/09_Gallery-Selections-Aug/diller080282cframef.htm>.

"Cubism - The First Style of Abstract Art." Cubism. Arty Factory, n.d. Web. 31 July 2014. <http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/art_movements/cubism.htm>.

"Josef Albers Study for Homage to the Square: Departing in Yellow 1964." 'Study for Homage to the Square: Departing in Yellow', Josef Albers. Tate, 1 Dec. 2012. Web. 31 July 2014. <http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/albers-study-for-homage-to-the-square-departing-in-yellow-t00783>.

Pavlopoulos, Theodor. "The Fourth Dimension in Painting: Cubism and Futurism." The peacocks tail. WordPress, 19 Mar. 2011. Web. 31 July 2014. <http://pavlopoulos.wordpress.com/2011/03/19/painting-and-fourth-dimension-cubism-and-futurism/>.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Modernism (art)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 31 July 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/387266/Modernism>.