American Moderism

What is American Modernism?

American modernism is an artistic and cultural movement in the United States starting at the turn of the 20th century with its core period between World War I and World War II and continuing into the 21st century. Modernism was a rebellious state of mind that questioned all artistic, scientific, social and moral conversions.

Nihilism- The Belief in Nothing:
Modernists viewed the world, and especially human existence, as being meaningless. 

Before Modernism the goal of an artist was to achieve perfection within their art in the following categories: A highly polished style, use of historical or mythological subject matter and a moralistic tone.

During Modernism artists deliberately created pieces that completely went against what was seen as acceptable and developed a type of art that was strange, unknown and unlabeled in itself. Modernism created a new language of images which expected the viewer to engage with the art work.

         Modernists explored both Primitivism and Perversity in their work. Primitivism was a term that explains how modernists rejected technology and embraced the natural primal roots of primitive man. Modernists were free to explore their personal and artistic freedom. Perversity was a term given to modernists work which explored the uncivilized nature of man.

FASHION:

The 1920's was a big decade for women, fashion, music and American culture. Women were given the right to vote and ready-to-wear fashion began to spread around America. More women began to earn their own wages and fashion as a status symbol was no more important as the class distinctions were becoming blurred. Women were beginning to want inexpensive fashion and in the aspect of mass production of contemporary style womenswear clothing, America was ahead of any other country. 

Flappers:
During the 1920's the term 'Flappers' was also created. Flappers were a "new breed" of young women in the 1920's who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz music, and flaunted their nonacceptance for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking alcohol, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles, and otherwise going against social and sexual norms.

Lingerie:
Flappers did away with corsets and pantaloons in favor of "step-in" panties. Without the old restrictive corsets, flappers wore simple bust bodices to restrain their chest when dancing. They also wore new, softer and suppler corsets that reached to their hips, smoothing the whole frame, giving women a straight up and down appearance, as opposed to the old corsets which slenderized the waist and accented the hips and bust.

The lack of curves of a corset promoted a boyish look. Adding an even more boyish look, the Symington Side Lacer was invented and became a popular essential as an everyday bra. This type of bra was made to pull in the back to flatten the chest. Other women envied flappers for their flat chests and bought the Symington Side Lacer to enhance the same look; large breasts were commonly regarded as a trait of unsophistication. Hence, flat chests became appealing to women, although flappers were the most common to wear such bras.


JAZZ AGE:

The Jazz Age was a period in the 1920's, ending with the Great Depression, in which jazz music and dance became popular, mainly in the United States, but also in Britain, France and elsewhere. Jazz originated mainly in New Orleans as a fusion of African and European music and played a significant part in wider cultural changes in this period, and its influence on pop culture continued long afterwards. The Jazz Age is often referred to in association with the Roaring Twenties.

The spread of jazz was encouraged by the introduction of large-scale radio broadcasts in 1932. The radio was described as the "sound factory." Radio made it possible for Americans to experience different styles of music without physically visiting a jazz club. The radio provided Americans with a trendy new avenue for exploring the world through broadcasts and concerts from the comfort of their living room.

POP ART 1950's:

Key characteristics of pop art are:

• Usually includes very bright colours.
• Recognizable imagery, drawn from popular media or products.
• In sculpture, an innovative use of media.
• Flat imagery influenced by comic books and newspaper photographs.
• Images of celebrities or fictional characters in comic books, advertisements or magazines.

Andy Warhol is a very famous Pop Artist.