“Artists of the time applied their individualized visions of the nation to rethinking modernism," says Art Institute of Chicago stating about the movement of art in the 1930's. The Art Institute of Chicago is a well established and vast collection that holds art from different times. In the 1930's the Great Depression was a significant struggle in everyone's lives, and artists wanted to bring more enthusiasm back to America which had low hopes for the future. Artists that were able to accomplish inspiring people had a new form of art adapting new concepts for people to discover in another perspective. These artists helped in raising many's spirits and hopes to look past their dark times for a brighter future. Many new types of art were coming out around the 1930's, some of the most popular being Neoplasticism, Surrealism, and Regionalism. Art at the time was created for people to put their minds off of their hardships, and political disputes in their lives.
De Stijl, translated from Dutch to The Style was not only another name for Neoplasticism, but it was also a Journal. The Journal, created during the time of WWI, was written by a Dutch Painter named Theo Van Doesburg helped by Piet Mondriaan. They principled the theories and artistic philosophies of Neoplasticism. The ideals of, "'The Styles' reduced art to the bare essentials: form and color and even more precise the vertical and the horizontal directions and the primary colors of red, blue and yellow along with black and white." (Dillen 1). One of the first artists to advocate this type of artwork was Piet Mondriaan. Piet Mondriaan lived from 1872-1944 creating works like Evening; Red Tree, and Composition with Red Blue and Yellow. He did not limit Neoplasticism to only painting, as it was incorporated in architecture, stage sets, and furniture design. Neoplasticism was an ideal of Utopian structure, intent on spreading the form of spiritual harmony and order amongst a chaotic time.
As the ideal of spiritual harmony and order in the form of art arose, another art concept came into view which was the complete opposite, commonly known as Surrealism. "Surrealism is an aesthetic philosophy that aims for the liberation of the mind by emphasizing the critical and imaginative powers of the subconscious," (Dillen 1). Surrealism is just a representation of the subconscious and dreams coming to life. Surrealism wasn’t as popular during the 1930’s, yet it always had a story like most art which made people think. It did its job on distracting people from the fears of war and struggle, drawing in the viewer to a whole new world of abstraction. Its very well known that "Its philosophical "father" was Andre Breton, a French poet, and writer who published the Surrealist guidelines, called Manifesto in 1924 in Paris."
(Wancurza). He helped emphasize to those that did not understand Surrealism that it focused on the individual's unconscious, dreams, and psyche. Even if Surrealism seemed chaotic and fictional, it brought to life a sort of controlled chaos for the people to feel that they are in control.
Unlike the first two arts, looking at the reality of what went on in the calmed rural parts of America rather than the chaotic industrialized cities was what Regionalism focused on allowing people's image of America at the time come into view. Bruno Dillen says that “Regionalism is a realist modern American art movement wherein artists shunned the city and rapidly developing technological advances to focus on scenes of rural life,” which relied on the reality of what was going on beyond the liveliness of the cities. He also said that "Regionalism was widely appreciated for its reassuring images of the American heartland" (Dillen 2). Not only did it calm the nation, but informed many of the modern concerns of the country in the 1930's. And according to Chapman University, “Regionalism is often considered a reactionary movement,” this movement in art was a way for artists to express what was going on, unlike the other two art forms. Regionalism evolved with America exploring different avenues of issues and positivity to reveal to people. Even though Regionalism focused more on the country, it allowed people to learn to focus on the positivity of America banding together to get through a rough time.
In the 1930’s, Neoplasticism, Surrealism, and Regionalism was a way for artists to help people as well as themselves keep their minds off of the growing issues and troubles of the country and the world. The Great Depression in America caused much unhappiness and forced many to give up hope of a new beginning, believing that the nightmare would never end. Mondriaan helped people focus on the form, color, directions, and primary colors along with blacks and whites of Neoplasticism to ignore their evergrowing paranoia. Breton allowed people to explore their psyche in Surrealism to help study their psychological make-up and prevent any harm from the Great Depression in America. The artists of America supported the people adapt and expand their knowledge of the growing problems, but shined a ray of light to lessen their anxiety of the issues. The three advanced artforms help make up an essential style, called Modernism to help express the people's plights about the Great Depression and bring them together to bear on the problem until it would resolve. Modernism is always adapting, and still provoking new thoughts and concepts which connects to the dilemmas and obstacles of the ever growing world.
De Stijl, translated from Dutch to The Style was not only another name for Neoplasticism, but it was also a Journal. The Journal, created during the time of WWI, was written by a Dutch Painter named Theo Van Doesburg helped by Piet Mondriaan. They principled the theories and artistic philosophies of Neoplasticism. The ideals of, "'The Styles' reduced art to the bare essentials: form and color and even more precise the vertical and the horizontal directions and the primary colors of red, blue and yellow along with black and white." (Dillen 1). One of the first artists to advocate this type of artwork was Piet Mondriaan. Piet Mondriaan lived from 1872-1944 creating works like Evening; Red Tree, and Composition with Red Blue and Yellow. He did not limit Neoplasticism to only painting, as it was incorporated in architecture, stage sets, and furniture design. Neoplasticism was an ideal of Utopian structure, intent on spreading the form of spiritual harmony and order amongst a chaotic time.
As the ideal of spiritual harmony and order in the form of art arose, another art concept came into view which was the complete opposite, commonly known as Surrealism. "Surrealism is an aesthetic philosophy that aims for the liberation of the mind by emphasizing the critical and imaginative powers of the subconscious," (Dillen 1). Surrealism is just a representation of the subconscious and dreams coming to life. Surrealism wasn’t as popular during the 1930’s, yet it always had a story like most art which made people think. It did its job on distracting people from the fears of war and struggle, drawing in the viewer to a whole new world of abstraction. Its very well known that "Its philosophical "father" was Andre Breton, a French poet, and writer who published the Surrealist guidelines, called Manifesto in 1924 in Paris."
(Wancurza). He helped emphasize to those that did not understand Surrealism that it focused on the individual's unconscious, dreams, and psyche. Even if Surrealism seemed chaotic and fictional, it brought to life a sort of controlled chaos for the people to feel that they are in control.
Unlike the first two arts, looking at the reality of what went on in the calmed rural parts of America rather than the chaotic industrialized cities was what Regionalism focused on allowing people's image of America at the time come into view. Bruno Dillen says that “Regionalism is a realist modern American art movement wherein artists shunned the city and rapidly developing technological advances to focus on scenes of rural life,” which relied on the reality of what was going on beyond the liveliness of the cities. He also said that "Regionalism was widely appreciated for its reassuring images of the American heartland" (Dillen 2). Not only did it calm the nation, but informed many of the modern concerns of the country in the 1930's. And according to Chapman University, “Regionalism is often considered a reactionary movement,” this movement in art was a way for artists to express what was going on, unlike the other two art forms. Regionalism evolved with America exploring different avenues of issues and positivity to reveal to people. Even though Regionalism focused more on the country, it allowed people to learn to focus on the positivity of America banding together to get through a rough time.
In the 1930’s, Neoplasticism, Surrealism, and Regionalism was a way for artists to help people as well as themselves keep their minds off of the growing issues and troubles of the country and the world. The Great Depression in America caused much unhappiness and forced many to give up hope of a new beginning, believing that the nightmare would never end. Mondriaan helped people focus on the form, color, directions, and primary colors along with blacks and whites of Neoplasticism to ignore their evergrowing paranoia. Breton allowed people to explore their psyche in Surrealism to help study their psychological make-up and prevent any harm from the Great Depression in America. The artists of America supported the people adapt and expand their knowledge of the growing problems, but shined a ray of light to lessen their anxiety of the issues. The three advanced artforms help make up an essential style, called Modernism to help express the people's plights about the Great Depression and bring them together to bear on the problem until it would resolve. Modernism is always adapting, and still provoking new thoughts and concepts which connects to the dilemmas and obstacles of the ever growing world.