japanese interior design michelle galindo
the term modern art sounds like itmeans art that is popular at the moment, but in fact, modern art is a stylethat originated over 150 years ago, and includes artists that by nowhave attained classic status, such as picasso, matisse, and gauguin. and what's even more ironic is thatthe movement they pioneered, considered revolutionaryand even scandalous at the time, was inspired largely by an objectof a traditional and ancient design. as far back as the renaissance, the primary european art movementsemphasized conventional representation
and adherence to classical forms. but that began to change in the late 19th century as artists like van gogh and cã©zanneexpanded the boundaries of painting. soon, a movement arose that soughtto create an entirely new style of art, and one way of doing so was to lookbeyond western civilization. for example, paul gauguin movedto the island of tahiti in the 1890s. there, he found inspiration in the island'sinhabitants, landscape, and culture to create artwork that intertwinedeuropean themes and polynesian lore. others looked the cultures of the islamic world,
but the most influential inspirationwould come from sub-saharan africa. as european empires expandeddeeper into the african continent, its artifacts and artworks made their wayinto the hands of museums and collectors. one such collector was henri matisse, who showed his friend picasso a mask he had acquired made by the dan tribe of the ivory coast. the mask awoke picasso's curiosity, leading him to visit the trocadã©ro ethnographic museum in paris in 1907. founded to house acquisitions from colonial conquests,
the museum boasted a collection of african art, with stylized figures and masks made of wood and decorated with simple colors and materials. the visit was a revelation for picasso, who proclaimed that african maskswere what painting was all about. at this time, picasso had been workingon a painting of five nude women in a style that would later cometo be known as cubism. and while three of these ladiesshow facial features found in ancient iberian art,
a nod to picasso's spanish heritage, the faces of the two on the rightclosely resemble african masks. created in 1907 after hundredsof sketches and studies, "les demoiselles d'avignon" has been considered the first truly 20th century masterpiece, breaking with many previously held notions in art. it was at once aggressive and abstract, distorted yet primal in its raw geometry, a new artistic language with new forms,colors, and meanings.
and these avant-garde qualitiescaused a sensation when the painting was first exhibitedalmost ten years later. the public was shocked, critics denounced it as immoral, and even picasso's own friendswere simultaneously surprised, offended, and mesmerized at his audacity. more artists soon followed in picasso's footsteps. constantin brã¢ncuè™i and amedeo modigliani in paris,
as well as the german expressionists, all drew on the aesthetics of african sculptures in their work. others looked to a different continentfor their inspiration. british sculptor henry moore based manyof his semi-abstract bronze sculptures on a replica of a chacmool, a distinctive reclining statuefrom the toltec-maya culture. pre-columbian art was also a majorinfluence for josef albers. he created a series of compositions, such as the geometrical serieshomage to the square,
that were inspired by pyramidsand local art he encounteredon his frequent visits to mexico. inspiration from ancient cultures initiated one of the most revolutionary movements in art history, but were these artists playing the roleof explorers or conquistadors, appropriating ideas and profitingfrom cultures they considered primitive? questions like this deserve scrutiny,as artists continue to redefine standards. perhaps not too long from now, the bold innovations of modern artwill seem like stale orthodoxies,
ready to be overturned by a new setof radical trailblazers drawing inspiration from anotherunlikely source.