timeline of Key works
The panopticon, 1791
It is possible to draw an interesting connection between Schoenberg’s modernism and Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon. Bentham was an 18th century philosopher and social theorist that proposed the idea of a prison-like institution with a single watchman to save money; in the late 1700’s this concept was unfathomable. Both the architectural design and intended purpose of the Panopticon pushed social theorists and architects to consider the role of surveillance and the power of conditioning. It would be interesting to see how this influenced modernism. [Research missing]
Cross, Jonathan. “The Stravinsky Legacy.” New York: Cambridge University Press (1998). 3-7. Print. |
Les Fleurs du Mal, 1857
“Fleurs du Mal,” one of Baudelaire’s books of poetry, is a particularly poignant example of the blending of romantic tradition with modernist concepts. Much of Baudelaire’s poetry seems to fall within the romantic, especially in form; it is carefully metered with even stanzas and rhyming lines. Throughout “Fleurs du Mal” are abundant references to nature, and many of the poems take place in nature or around animals. In breaking with the romantic tradition, though, many of the poems relate to modernist themes. J’aime le Souvenir de ces Époches Nues follows the traditional romantic style, but follows a very modernist idea of looking to the past and ancient, “primitive” cultures for inspiration whilst berating the industrial age (Baudelaire 19). Similarly, Le Masque and Hymne à la Beauté fall under the traditional romantic construction and remain extremely emotional, but explore themes of beauty in a changing world and do not contain the same kind of hopeful, emotional swell that most romantic poetry does (Baudelaire 41, 45). All of these poems address subject matter that was far from the tradition of romantic poetry, but maintained the form of the traditional romantic poem. Baudelaire’s poetry is remarkable in its ability to straddle the line between two movements and in blurring the lines between what is romantic and what is modern.
Baudelaire, Charles. The flowers of evil. Oxford University Press, 1993. |
The Railway, Edouard Manet - 1873
To further investigate this Impressionist ideal, Mary Cassatt can be analyzed in comparison to another famous painting of the time, The Railway by Edouard Manet. In this painting, Manet depicts a mother and a daughter at what seems to be a train station. The curious thing about this painting though, is Manet’s use of perspective from the viewer. This scene is almost like a snapshot of a particular moment in time, but at the same time, it also looks like a portrait. The mother is facing the viewer, making eye contact, but the daughter is fully turned away from the viewer to where her face is not seen at all. This is similar to Cassatt’s painting, Woman in Red Bodice and her Child, when Cassatt’s subjects are facing away from the viewer and the only way the faces are seen are because of the mirror in the painting. Each painting portrays a real life event. There is also an obvious relationship between mother and child in the two paintings unto which was a common Impressionist style trait. The similarities between the two paintings also provide more evidence as to why Cassatt can be considered an Impressionist. Though many individuals form multi-perspective opinions, Cassatt can be considered a significant contributor to the Impressionist movement because of the interpretation of similar artist’s works unto which were influential of the time.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 1886
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde uses the ideas behind pseudo-scientific movements like degeneration theory in order to present Mr. Hyde, Jekyll’s “evil” alter-ego, as a representation of abject groups in British society, most notably homosexuals. Stevenson’s treatment of the character Mr. Hyde, who is constantly described as deformed and almost inhuman, and most characters feel they despise the man immediately without being able to say exactly why. The physical manifestation of his deviancy falls in line with the degenerationist discourse, and the body which Hyde possesses serves to represent the abject groups which pose a threat to mainstream society, namely homosexuals. Degeneration and other scientific theories were used to systemically indoctrinate upper-class values into society. The negative effects of the practice of psychiatry as it stood in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are explored in Mrs. Dalloway, though their effects are presented much more negatively than they are in Jekyll and Hyde. This likely has to do with Woolf’s own struggles related to mental illness and her sexuality contributing to her status as a kind of outsider in her own culture; this was not true of Stevenson, who wrote from a much more bourgeois perspective and whose works were more focused on the destruction of abject bodies in order to construct a normalized group in the upper class.
Davidson, Guy. "Sexuality and the Degenerate Body in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Australasian Victorian Studies Annual 1 (1995): 31-40. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 292. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2014. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 May 2015. |
The Starry Night, 1888
If Levine and Lindley’s arguments on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, as found on Major Critical Arguments 2, are combined, it can be seen that the lens and background the reader brings to the text dictates the automatic association and interpretation the person forms about the text. For example, to a person with a scientific lens, they would see the Darwinistic accents of the novel and come to understand the significance of events in the novel in relation to the concept of Darwinism. On the other hand, if a person read the text with a religious background, they would see the primitive evil and the contrast between light and dark, good and evil, and frame everything in this religious mindset. In the same way, a literary scholar would firstly analyze Conrad’s allusions, diction, imagery, and use of em dashes to gain their interpretation of the significant events in the novel. The multiplicity and duality of meanings and interpretations of the text is a key foundation to the Modernist movement, and implies that a person can read or view the same piece of art over and over again, and if seen with different lenses, see something different every time. This same theory can be applied to van Gogh’s “Starry Night”, in that it can be seen in a purely artistic, religious, and scientific light all at the same, depending on the viewpoint and lens of the viewer.
Whitney, Charles A. "The Skies of Vincent Van Gogh." Art History. 3rd ed. Vol. 9. N.p.: Blackwell Limited, 1986. 351-62. Print |
Van Gogh's Churches, 1885-1890
I argue that Van Gogh's social status as an artistic and religious outsider manifested itself in a literal representation of building exteriors in his paintings of churches, particularly in his pieces Old Church Tower at Nuenen, View of the Church of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, and The Church at Auvers; his isolation and obsession with his outsider status only increased throughout his life, a process reflected in his paintings by the progression of earth-toned to bright, bold colors and an increase in physical distance from the subject. Van Gogh was a religious outsider because he abandoned the clergy in order to become an artist. This was reflected in his paintings, most prominently in his paintings of churches. His paintings of religious buildings were always done from an outdoors view, a physical representation of Van Gogh’s separation from the church. Van Gogh demonstrated his artistic outsider-ness in his paintings as well. Van Gogh painted with thick, bold strokes of unblended bright colors, a style unheard of and wholly unpopular in his time. This painting style ostracized him from the rest of the artistic community, and prevented him from selling his works. Van Gogh’s isolation only increased over time, and is visible as the increase in viewing distance from the churches in his paintings, as well as the steady increase in the contrast and intensity of his colors. Van Gogh’s artistic and religious position as an outsider had a clear influence in his works.
Van Gogh, Vincent. Old Church Tower at Nuenen. 1885. Oil on canvas. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Van Gogh, Vincent. View of the Church of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole. 1889. Oil on canvas. Collection Elizabeth Taylor, Los Angeles, California. Van Gogh, Vincent. The Church at Auvers. 1890. Oil on canvas. Musee D'Orsay, Paris, France. |
The Scream, 1893
Through the metaphorical use of water, the discussion of artistic form, and “failed” attempts for knowledge within Virginia Woolf’s works she emphasizes that the process behind attempting to gain knowledge or intimacy is significant. Woolf establishes that the significance within a process lies in the temporary moments of realization that processes produces. These moments of fixed clarity experienced by Woolf’s characters are emphasized by the image of frozen water and while these moments are capable of melting away each process leaves Woolf’s characters with some personal irrevocable knowledge. Woolf provides a concrete explanation of the significance of process, a discussion that Munch’s The Scream attempts and fails to fully address. In The Scream, Munch clearly emphasizes process, but fails to establish any real world significance to process. The movement of the figure in the foreground of the painting is never resolved. There is no temporary moment of fixed frozen identity. Through this Munch fully shows process and the fluid nature of identity, but fails to give fluid processes any defined personal significance. Munch fails to give fluidity and the process of creation meaning, in contrast to Woolf who uses moments of ridged frozen form to display the significant results of fluid processes. Woolf’s representation of process simultaneously coupled this with momentary self-identification provides significance to process in a way Munch’s The Scream fails to.
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The title of Conrad's novel may suggest to the reader that the book is filled with an overbearing darkness, however that is not the case. Conrad simply uses darkness as a way to really draw attention to its opposite, light. Throughout the novel the author uses light to suggest that there is a revealing that is going to take place. This revealing is brought on by Marlow who travels up the river, towards the darkness (Kurtz), and inadvertently sheds light upon the horrors of the Congo that have been diminished by colonial Europe. In this sense, light is actually knowledge as Marlow tears the veil and has become more knowledgeable because of it.
The Old Guitarist, 1903 |
Chaplin used film to express his political views to the masses; however, Chaplin was not the only modernist forcing the masses to question their reality. Like Chaplin, Picasso too used art to express his views on modern culture. For example, Picasso used paintings like “The Old Guitarist” and “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” to influence modern culture by defying traditional rules of perspective. In the “Old Guitarist,” Picasso’s use of solemn blues paired with the exaggerated hunch of the old man playing the guitar lend itself a visual assumption of worry. The manipulation of the old guitarist’s physique, allowed the Picasso to accurately convey the perversion lining the seams of contemporary culture.
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Les Demoiselles D'AviGnon, 1907
While “The Old Guitarist” focused on a cultural depression brought on my the modern age, “Les Demoiselles d’Avigon” put a wrench in the way female nudes were traditionally portrayed in Victorian art. In traditional Victorian art women were portrayed as angelic beings, but in “Les Demoiselles d’Avigon” Picasso challenges both form and setting. Instead of proper serine seductresses, “Les Demoiselles d’Avigon” portrays a harem of prostitutes harshly rendered in front of a dark, damning background suggesting that the modern age had taken the image of the serine nude goddess and whored her out to the darkness modern world.
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Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907
Stein’s opposition of artistic and social tradition by means of disassembling the custom of the time and developing a new “language” reflects the Cubist movement and suggests that she herself was a part of the movement. Looking at Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, viewers can make the connection between the two styles, despite the different mediums. The painting uses a new “language” uniquely developed to communicate its own sense of reality. Using the new artistic language of Cubism to fragment and disassemble the mode of representation that for so long had been the standard, the piece is dismantling specific qualities of women that were predetermined by a patriarchal and Western-centric society, just as Gertrude Stein’s poetry calls for readers to think critically about designated gender roles and the marginalization of women. As Picasso’s piece predates Stein’s Tender Buttons, we must examine the influences Cubism had on her style, for her literary work exemplifies perfectly the values of Cubism, which sought to “unmake, ex-create, or dismantle the existing order,” or, to bring about appreciation for new perspectives different from the ones set by years of tradition by disassembling completely viewer’s perception of objects and preconceived notions in an innovative artistic language.
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Cahlander makes the argument that modernist artists used radical and unconventional styles to deconstruct existing conceptions of time and patriarchal order, especially pertaining to fixed notions of gender roles and feminine identity. These avant-garde styles defined a new artistic language which was used as a tool to dismantle preconceived ideas and reveal new perspectives on reality. Cahlander contends that this use of innovative styles was exemplified first by the qualities of the cubist movement and defines Gertrude Stein as a cubist in this way, despite her medium of poetry instead of painting. While I find Cahlander’s argument to be sound in the assertion that radical uses of style served to deconstruct existing ideas and offer a new language with which to communicate alternatives, I hold that the cubist movement was actually limited in its ability to do this. By looking at Joyce’s Ulysses (published 1922) and Stein’s poem “Patriarchal Poetry” (published 1927), it can be seen that these modernist writers used unconventional forms to communicate alternative perspectives not by inverting or deconstructing existing ones, but by revealing the multiplicity of possibilities which exist through the use of mobility and tractability. Cahlander claims that because cubism preceded Stein, her works should be examined as literary manifestations of cubist influence and ideas. However, in a period dominated by the drive to ‘make it new’, it is more likely that Stein, as well as Joyce, used the years between the emergence of cubism and the publications of their forenamed works to develop further innovative and sophisticated means of subverting the patriarchal order in their writing. While cubist works did challenge preconceived ideas about things like gender and time through their controversial representations of women and use of conflicting, fragmented perspectives, they were limited by the ability to represent only a finite number of perspectives in a given image and their restriction to a single, fixed finality of form. Thus, considering the authority of Joyce and Stein’s ability to represent infinite perspectives and express mobility in their works, to consider them analogous to cubists is to neglect the clear superiority of their artistic nuance and resulting advancements in overturning the fixed, patriarchal ideas which so plagued modernists.
Les demoiselles d'avignon, 1907
One of the best examples of art inspired by “Modernist” principles of innovation and exploration of the soul is Pablo Picasso’s famous painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. Unlike anything ever before produced, Les Demoiselles did to the ancient art of painting what Chaplin did to the newborn art of cinema. Picasso portrays five women in an abstract, contorted, and angular fashion which bears little resemblance to the human form, two of whom are wearing African themed masks that distort their appearances. However, most viewers immediately identify and connect with the women, as they perfectly translate a certain universal internal passion transferred from artist to viewer. This universality connects Picasso with his audience just as it does for Chaplin with his. This is not to say that no meaningful or lasting art can be produced in the post-modernist period, but that no meaningful art can be created without powerful artist inspiration. In other words, for example, while the fear of hunger can motivate a worker to work well and get paid, that same fear cannot inspire an artist to create a piece which feels so intrinsic it is as if the artist stole it from our dreams. That kind of soul-lifting art can only be created by an artist inspired solely by their art, not by money or influence.
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Understanding the role of the artist in relation to their artwork is a central theme underlying the Modernist Movement. As each artist’s beliefs regarding art and the portrayal of reality through art were refined, the question of whether the artist mattered arose. Joseph Fisher argues that during a time when artist received pressure from the government and society, the artists began creating art that expressed their individual views. This claim is entirely true, yet disappoints due to the lack of appreciation of the artists work. Fisher describes Pablo Picasso’s famous painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, suggesting that similar to Chaplin, Picasso found inspiration through his art. Fisher suggests that an artist employed art as a tool that displayed their thoughts and opinions. Additionally he proposes that the art itself provided inspiration for the artist. In disagreement, art is a manifestation of an artist’s internal behavior and struggles and the artist themselves is the sole provider of inspiration. Artists of the modernist era created artwork that naturally expressed elements of their soul. Art was a manifestation of the unleashed dispositions and deepest cravings of modernist artists, and in studying their art we gain a more profound understanding of the artist.
Les demoiselles d'avignon, 1907
Much like Frank Lloyd Wright’s renowned Fallingwater house, Picasso’s painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon resulted from a process of inside-the-box creativity, using the artist’s expertise and knowledge of antecedents to create a new work on the foundation of the old. While the painting expressed radical, even offensive representations of the female figure which were unprecedented at the time, its influences were not from outside the artist’s conceptual box. Rather, Picasso was influenced by many traceable factors in the making of the radical painting. These things included inspiration from the works of Cézanne, whose paintings often included warped or multiple perspectives, as does Picasso’s Les Demoiselles. Picasso also believed that African art bore many relations to the intentions of Modernism, an influence that is expressed in the African masks donned by two of the women in the painting. In addition, the artist was also building on his own expertise in his emerging style of cubism, a result of Modernist feelings of fragmentation and recognition of the multiplicity of perspectives. While Les Demoiselles was rejected at first for its bizarre and unprecedented portrayal of women, in hindsight this rejection speaks to the reason for its historical significance. The painting was, indeed, revolutionary and remarkable, but it was also Picasso’s manifestation of what had come before him.
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Art in the modernist movement, with all its’ sensationalism and radicality, depended on a broad audience’s reaction to grant it significance. Modernists believed their experiments in form, which shattered traditional norms and shocked audiences, did not belong in Victorian art museums, but in public, with the people. Lizz Marks argues that a piece’s significance depends on it having, and affecting, an audience. Marks compares two designs by Frank Lloyd Wright: his famous “Fallingwater” house, and the design “Sugarloaf”, a house which was never built. Marks argues that while both designs document Wright’s important innovations and process, Fallingwater is more significant in terms of modernism. This is because, while Fallingwater still stands as a physical testament to Wright’s genius, Sugarloaf will only ever be a drawing, two-dimensional. If modernists believe the value of art is determined by its interactions with an audience, a piece that is never built and thus received, regardless of its theoretical glory, will never gain significance. On the contrary, “Fallingwater” can be experienced in full; a viewer can explore the artist’s spacial experiments with their own eyes. In my paper, I will explore the work of Langston Hughes to show that art that identifies itself with its intended audience has an even greater significance in terms of modernism, and use this lens to view and interpret T.S Eliot’s The Waste Land.
Les Demoiselles d'avignon, 1907
Theodor Adorno’s description of Stravinsky’s modernism as
being “regressive” parallels many of Pablo Picasso’s famous paintings,
specifically Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. This work displays many attributes of
regression, specifically its African influence. At this time all pertaining to
Africa was considered primitive and uncivilized. By incorporating African mask
features into this piece, Picasso demonstrated an appreciation of the “savage”.
While most were still in favor of high art, this suggested a regressive
attitude toward art because society was just coming from Romanticism and the
Victorian Era. Despite dissimilarities, Bentham's’ Panopticon and Picasso’s Les
Demoiselles d'Avignon each displays traits comparable to modernisms of their
own as well as the modernisms of Schoenberg and Stravinsky.
Cross, Jonathan. “The Stravinsky Legacy.” New York: Cambridge University Press (1998). 3-7. Print. |
Creative Evolution, 1907
In his article titled “’Begson Resartus’ and T.S. Eliot’s Manuscript,” Habib analyzes Eliot’s critiques of Bergson’s philosophy and argues that although Eliot and Bergson had a difference in opinion, in many ways Eliot’s arguments stem from a desire to return literature back to traditional roots. Habib describes Eliot’s true desire, “to restore a continuity with tradition, to impose on the map of history a retrospective idea of unit,”(273). In fact, Habib argues that Eliot actually has much in common with Bergson in the way he portrayed the inner self and in the way he portrayed time in his poetry. One of the key differences between Eliot and Bergson’s philosophy that Habib discusses, is the difference when it came to the use of language when expressing feeling. Bergson did not believe that language could fully capture feeling it could only be used to symbolize feeling. Habib explains that in Bergson’s argument, “language is inescapably general; it can never express the true individuality of an object or situation,”(271). Bergson believed that the only way to express feeling through language was to use it unconventionally, use it as art rather than as a literal device. Habib points out that as a poet Eliot did just this. In much of his poetry, Eliot uses langue in a novel way to express and create a feeling. However Habib argues that, Eliot’s disagreement with Bergson’s philosophy comes from a stubborn adherence to classical ideals that poetry should be interpreted, not immediately felt. Although Eliot was able to play with language in a way that created feeling, he believed that poetry should not only be about capturing a feeling, it should be about explaining and examining it.
Habib, M.A.R. ""Bergson Restartus" and T.S. Eliot's Manuscript." Journal of the History of Ideas 54.2 (1993): 255-76. Print. |
Portrait of a woman, female figure (1910)
The time that Van Gogh spent with Sien and the peasant class caused him to alter his perception of the ideal woman to a modern, literate figure, but his opinion changed again when he suffered a mental breakdown, and desired a more maternal type of woman, perhaps to comfort him from the harsh realities of the modern world. Georges Braque, born just 8 years before Van Gogh’s death, also went through a transition in the way that he portrayed women in his paintings. Beginning as an impressionist painter, Braque was influenced by the Fauvists and especially the style of cubism. In Braque’s painting Portrait of a Woman, Female Figure, the woman is practically indistinguishable, because Braque focused on texture and form, rather than aiming to create an accurate representation of the woman. Although Van Gogh’s perception of the ideal woman changed over time, each time it was always concrete and specific, and he had inserted his beliefs toward women into the painting in some way. Braque’s portrayal of women, on the other hand, was much less determined by his views toward what the ideal woman should be like. He focused more on form rather than details, and this is reflected in the complex composition and texture in Portrait of a Woman, Female Figure, in which it is hard to distinguish many details at all, leaving the painting to be interpreted by the viewer as they wish.
In her essay “Portraiture of Vincent Van Gogh: an in-depth look at his views toward women as seen through his paintings”, the author argues that van Gogh painted his concrete and specific view of women, regardless of how his relationship and opinions with the women changed over time. She contrasts van Gogh with Braque, specifically Braque’s Portrait of a Woman, Female Figure, and how Braque sought to focus on the “form and fluidity of women” unlike van Gogh who was set on depicting the women in his paintings with detail and accuracy, which revealed his opinions of women throughout his lifetime. She uses this comparison to argue that Braque’s abstract depiction allowed viewers freedom in what they perceived and saw in his work, whereas van Gogh’s absolute forms left little freedom for viewers to interpret the meaning of and be affected by his painting. She fails to address the impact of the viewer’s personal relationship and lens with the artwork in her analysis of abstraction creating a larger breadth of possible meanings a viewer can find in a given painting. It is evident in the study of van Gogh’s Starry Night, that viewership with different lenses does indeed vastly change the possible meaning derived from a given piece of artwork. Van Gogh’s Starry Night can be seen scientifically, by looking at the placement and arrangement of the stars, religiously, by comparing the relative size of the stars and sky in comparison to Earth, and artistically, by examining van Gogh’s struggle between painting nature imagined and nature seen. |
Ellen Hann argues that Van Gogh’s use of emotional reflection to create art instead of direct and realistic representation of individuals push to create beautiful art, without the formalist qualities. Traditionally, for art to be considered beautiful or “good” art, certain criteria had to be achieved including symmetry, invisible brushstrokes, even distribution of light and proportion. In addition to these characteristics, women in paintings historically had been portrayed and insignificant and even as sex objects. But the Post Impressionist aimed to communicate equality and gender as a insignificant factor in everyday life. Women were started to be painted as real, educated women, instead of fantasies. Hann argues this point by using Van Goghs paintings as exemplary pieces. In addition, Hann focuses on Braque’s piece, Portrait of Female Figure to interpret these subjective objectives. I argue that Hann’s was correct in the assumption that Van Gogh and Braque was adding to this social issue of gender objectifying. Post Impressionism art had the same goal, with just many different approaches. Virginia Woolf approached the social issue but through literature instead of painting, like Van Gogh. All in all, the purpose of Post Impressionism all moves forward to achieve the same goal – elicit and encourage an emotional response. The ways to go about that goal are endless and many are seen in the Post Impressionism art and literature, but all come back to the same goal of wanting to create a moving connection piece for all viewers.
violin and candlestick, 1910
When looking at Georges Braque’s Violin and Candlestick, it is easy to analyze it based upon the ideas and strategies that Mina Loy employed—particularly the strong themes of fragmentation, polysemy, and vagueness. Just as Loy uses challenging vocabulary and unexpected word choice that requires her reader to slow down, Braque uses jarring lines and thick, rapidly-changing brushstrokes. Braque’s fragmentary techniques demand a closer inspection of all aspects of his work, revealing more symbols and intriguing areas of the painting than upon first glance. The most recognizable images in the composition are the title objects: the Violin and Candlestick. Although they are not depicted entirely, these objects are the most complete figures, especially the recognizable violin. The meaning of these commonplace objects is not explicitly expressed in the painting, thus allowing room for the viewer’s personal interpretation. This is especially notable, due to the multitude of meanings these objects can have, similar to the ambiguous use of “white” by Loy. Both candlesticks and violins are inarguably traditional Victorian objects, clearly juxtaposed in such a Cubist setting. However, these objects can also be handmade or modern—meaning a truly one-of-a-kind piece, not unlike this work itself. In the same fashion that Loy’s literature provides different meanings and requires the audience to look closely, Braque’s choice of objects was intentionally dynamic and complex, commanding variations in interpretation.
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Panel for edwin campbell no.1, 1914
Hughes was not alone in his idea enhancing art by using prior art forms. The idea of integrating one form of art into another to convey a deeper message can be applied to other modernist works, for example, Kandinsky’s “Panel for Edwin Campbell No.1.” Kandinsky used the influence of analytic cubism in creating his abstract work in an attempt to free art and evoke pure feeling. The influence of cubism helped in that it was understood as something unconventional that introduced new ideas and perspectives, much like the blues. Both cubism and the blues were seen as a sort of language that different communities could identify with, though they were not fully understood. Both styles were seen as improvisational in nature, which further helped convey a sense of freedom. Kandinsky took cubism, a form of art that he identified with, and made something new from it with complete abstraction. His abstraction in “Panel for Edwin Campbell No.1,” focuses on the colors presented on the canvas, rather than the shapes, as there are no clear identifiable objects in this work. His use of color to create meaning, as opposed to use of objects, is very similar to Hughes’ use of the blues to create meaning, as opposed to the context of his poetry (though it undoubtedly did).
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The Metamorphosis, 1915
One facet of the Dada movement was a movement to challenge idealized WWI gender norms. In Marcel Duchamp’s, Tonsure, he by shaving a religious symbol only meant for men becoming priests he marks himself as male, but also emasculates himself by riding himself of his virility because priests are meant to be celibate. Photomontage artist and painter also challenged gender roles in her artwork. Hoch used androgyny in her works to challenge the stereotypical image of the woman. Similarly to both of these artists, Franz Kafka too challenged gender norms in his work, The Metamorphosis. The sister of Gregor, the man turned insect, Grete embodies this new gender role change. In The Metamorphosis, as Gregor devolves, Grete evolves taking on more masculine roles such as bread winner and caretaker of now helpless Gregor.
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The Metamorphosis, 1915
Kafka uses the human body to symbolize the inner self. In his book Metamorphosis, Gregor wakes up to find that his human body had transformed into that of a bug. The story follows the rest of Gregor’s transformation as he looses touch of his sense of self and his rationality. To express this transformation, Kafka focuses on descriptions of the bug’s body. As Gregor lives in the body of the bug, he becomes less and less human; his ability to act rationally and his sense of self starts to leave him. This degradation of humanity and self can be seen when Gregor irrationally runs into the living room when his sister was playing violin. This leads his sister Greer to argue for the bug’s termination and to tell her parents, “’you just have to get rid of the idea that it’s Gregor.’”(38). This statement diminishes the last bit of self that Gregor has. Greer’s denial of Gregor’s existence of self completes a transformation of Gregor into the “monster” and ultimately to his death. Gregor’s failure to exist within the eyes of his family as well as himself was the final step in his transformation, which started with his physical body and continued of the mind and to his place in relation to his family and society.
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Rossi argues that Kafka used the human body to symbolize the inner self and explore human condition in The Metamorphosis. I agree that Kafka’s use of Gregor’s body symbolizes the inner self, but while Rossi argues Gregor’s physical transformation causes him to become less and less human and lose his inner self, I argue that Gregor’s transformation is the representation of the struggle to find and accept a personal truth. Kafka uses Nietzsche’s idea of slave morality and personal truth to convey his message, through the slave morality of Gregor’s family, which is apparent in their dislike and disgust of Gregor after his transformation. Rossi argues that Gregor’s last bit of self diminishes when his sister states, “you just have to get rid of the idea that it’s Gregor,” (38), which I would further argue is because his family was unable to accept him for who he was, and his personal truth. Though he explores his “truth” throughout the novel by climbing on the walls and eating scraps, he is ultimately unable to accept his inner self because of the rejection from his family, which is ultimately what kills him. The Metamorphosis serves as a critique of slave morality and the idea of universality of the self through both mind and the body, which can be seen in both Nietzsche’s and Duncan’s teachings and critiques of religion.
the Metamorphosis, 1915
Through “The Dead” Joyce shows how individual identity is far more elusive than socially constructed stereotypes lead us to believe. Joyce attempts to redefine social norms of identification for Irish culture and women through Gabriel’s own realizations. Joyce ultimately defines identity in abstract humanistic qualities but ones that does not limit individual expression. Joyce defines identity to be something that cannot and should not be boxed in by stereotypes and the view of the other. An obviously similar discussion of personal identification within the view of the other is seen in Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Just as Joyce does Kafka discusses a reversal of traditional identities through Gregor and his physical transformation. Gender roles and other social norms are redefined within the Samsa family. The most striking and significant difference between Joyce’s discussion of identity and Kafka’s is the way they begin and end their discussions of identity. They both clearly argue that boxing individuals in to one fixed identity is harmful but Kafka’s understanding of how this happens is far more pessimistic than that of Joyce’s. Kafka forces transformation upon Gregor and the Samsa family compared to Joyce who displays Gabriel coming to his own transformative moment openly. Gregor is forced into a new body driven there by his modern life where as Gabriel chooses to reexamine the identity of those around him. This distinction between in the two discussions of identity show the differences in Joyce and Kafka’s understanding of personal identity in a modern world. Gregor, once transformed, cannot be viewed as his old individual self. Even when he feels he is still his old self his physical identity changes his personal identity. Those around him see him differently and “since the creature cannot maintain the former relationship of being a son and brother, it must not be Gregor” (151). His physical metamorphosis causes the view of the others on him to change ultimately leading to a forced change of identity in himself. Kafka’s understanding of the other’s role in self-identity is similar to Joyce’s in that they both see the negative effects of limiting self-identity but a significant difference in their understanding of this is the severity to which the other has an effect on self-identity. Joyce shows how stereotypes can be revolted against and individual identity can be attempted to be expressed. An optimistic view when compared to Kafka who shows that modern life forces identity upon individuals and then the view of the other internalizes this identity completely debilitating individualism.
Sweeney, Kevin. “Competing Theories of Identity in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.” The Metamorphosis: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Stanley Corngold. New York, NY: Norton & Company, 1996. 140-153. Print. |
The metamorphosis, 1915
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Fragmentation of the individual by religion and industrial life is seen in Gregor in The Metamorphosis by Kafka. Kafka makes allusions to Catholicism. Gregor’s sister makes “appeals to the saints” (Kafka, 19). Gregor makes no reference to the faith that his sister evidences. God no longer provides guidance for Gregor. Instead, he finds a new way to live his life, a new spirituality. Gregor gives into his animal instincts “to keep moving… [crawling] up and down the room” (16). Gregor finds peace through this activity. When he encounters his family, anxiety consumes him. Previously, Gregor worked as a salesman to provide for his family. His job forced him to endure the “torture of travelling, worrying about changing trains, eating miserable food at all hours, constantly seeing new faces, no relationships that last” (4). Industrial life caused Gregor’s miserable existence, perhaps leading to his metamorphosis. Despite no hopes of returning to his previous life, Gregor dwells upon the trouble he is causing his boss, rather than about himself, showing that his identity is still a salesman. Identification with occupation is like the destruction of the individual by capitalism Wright describes. Gregor’s anxieties concerning spirituality and the capitalistic nature of modern society show the stresses that modern individuals faced.
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Paul Huffman argues that in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Gregor as an individual is destroyed by capitalism, and that this extreme drive to work and do nothing else leads to Gregor’s metamorphosis into a bug. This repression of all else but work as leading to a devastating metamorphosis relates to Freud’s theory that repression of natural instincts by societal factors leads to neurosis. In other words, Gregor’s transformation into a vermin is representative of humans in modern society succumbing to neurosis. Huffman argues that as a bug, Gregor gives in to his animal instincts, and that, “Gregor finds peace through this activity”. In terms of Psychoanalysis, giving in to sexual or aggressive desires pacifies the neurosis that comes from repressing them. As a bug, Gregor is fully reduced to his instinctual desires, but is therefore no longer functional in society. This also illustrates Freud’s belief that humans should not give in fully to temptation, but rather be open about them and then suppress them a healthy amount. In Kafka’s Metamorphosis, many of Freud’s observations about human kind are illustrated. For example, the battle between Eros and Thanatos: Gregor’s family struggles throughout the story to love him, but they are repulsed by him and lock him up in order to keep themselves safe. One example of when this death instinct gets out of control is when Gregor’s father throws apples at him, seriously injuring Gregor the bug. Kafka’s book is a rather disgusting story – a young boy waking up as a giant bug – yet it is extremely widely read. Something about its disgustingness is appealing to the population. Something about the idea of waking up as something frightfully disgusting and disconnected to civilization resonates with people’s unconscious. Kafka has successfully taken an inner fear shared by many individuals, and illustrated it in a comic yet profound way. Before he wakes up one morning as a giant vermin, Gregor Samsa is a focused, hardworking young man, devoted to bringing in money for his family, even though he doesn’t love his job or is not even very good at it. This tireless devotion to something that does not align with his inner drives as a human being (sex and aggression) tires him out, and takes away from his happiness. One question that Freud asked was why do people remain so unhappy when they are surrounded by all the conveniences of the modern world? Devotion to an unfulfilling job is one answer to this question. This theory aligns with Huffman’s argument that devotion to a capitalist society can ultimately destroy the individual. Like Huffman states, for Gregor, this hard-working attitude was ultimately his downfall, as he woke up one morning as a bug. Freud is not arguing that humans should never work or do anything productive, simply that continuous and relentless repression of inner drives is a cause of neuroses. The Metamorphosis begins the morning that Gregor Samsa has awoken as a giant vermin. The reason why this metamorphosis occurs remains unclear throughout the rest of the book. Similar to the way that it is unclear why exactly Freud entered the profession of psychiatry, the bulk of his influence happened later on in that career, so the means to that end are not as important as the end itself. Why Gregor transformed into a bug is a mystery, yes, but it is not the point of the story. The point of the story is that he is a bug, and that this transformation, caused by a chronic service to his job and long term repression of instinctual desires, was ultimately the cause of his death.
The Metamorphosis, 1915
In my first essay, I focused on the connections between Oscar Wilde and Modernism. Oscar Wilde was not a Modernist, and is not often viewed as a precursor to the Modernist movement, but I wanted to interpret him as a major influence on the Modernists. I first focused on Wilde’s aestheticism, a philosophy he supported which holds that art’s value lies in its aesthetic quality, instead of in its ability to make statements or inspire thought and which heavily influenced the Modernists. I also wanted to analyze the connections between Wilde and Kafka, which none of the articles I found mentioned. I found the most significant connection to be their interest in presenting the view of the outsider in society. Both Wilde and Kafka were oppressed minorities, being queer and Jewish respectively, and these statuses colored their works. I connected The Metamorphosis to Wilde’s philosophy and works, especially The Picture of Dorian Gray, because both works include grotesque transformations which turn their protagonists into outsiders. The idea of the outsider is, of course, significant to Modernism, but most Modernists merely philosophized over the concept instead of living it. Wilde and Kafka, however, both lived as outsiders, and this strongly impacted their works.
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In her essay, Sarah Horne argues that an artist’s social status and identity influences their work. Horne supports this argument through analysis of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, but this concept can also be viewed when looking at the life and art of Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh was an “outsider” in many ways. He was a social and economic outsider because of his problems with mental illness and his dependence upon his family for monetary support, and he was a religious outsider because he abandoned the clergy in order to become an artist. The identity of the outsider completely surrounded Van Gogh, making him very isolated. This was reflected in his paintings, most prominently in his paintings of churches. His paintings of religious buildings were always done from an outdoors view, a literal, physical representation of Van Gogh’s separation from the church. Van Gogh demonstrated his artistic outsider-ness in his paintings as well. Van Gogh painted with thick, bold strokes of unblended bright colors, a style unheard of and wholly unpopular in his time. This painting style ostracized him from the rest of the artistic community, and prevented him from selling his works. Van Gogh’s social, economic, and religious position as an outsider had a clear influence in his works, much like how Horne argued in her essay.
The Metamorphosis, 1915
Hughes uses his cultural identity in his poetry to show the reader the level of persecution towards blacks, while Franz Kafka in The Metomorphosis uses a fading sense of identity and humanity to show the reader his perspective on the societal expectation of men to provide for their families over spending time with them. While Kafka and Hughes use identity to discuss very different social issues, like Hughes' poetry, Kafka's The Metamorphosis creates tension between society and the outsider. In the case of Kafka's work, society is Gregor's family, and he becomes alienated by them in his transformation, and thus turns into an outsider, with whom the family is disgusted. Upon his reflection of his human self, Gregor realizes that his work from his life as a human had already alienated him from the family. This alienation is a societal issue that Kafka is making commentary on through Gregor's transformation from a man who works constantly, abandoning his family only to earn money, to a bug, showing Kafka’s negative view of men like this. This is not an issue of the self, but an issue rooted in society. While Hughes uses identity in his poetry to address racial issues, Kafka uses identity in his story to discuss the balance between work and family.
Eshelman argues that Hughes and Kafka use the idea of personal identity and social identity in order to show otherness and isolation from society as a whole, and to highlight the problems that arise in reconciling personal ideals and morals with the social ideals and morals that one must display. Eshelman uses Hughes’ poetry and its discussion of race politics in America, along with Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and its deconstruction of the masculine identity to explore how one can navigate the societal expectations and identities that are forced upon them whilst attempting to stay true to the individual identity that they have created. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka shows the struggle to create an identity that fits in with individual morals and family values whilst simultaneously reconciling with the capitalist societal expectations about being a provider and generating income for the family. Similarly, Hughes’ poetry creates tension between the individual and society in order to highlight the racial injustices and the problem of creating With The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Henry Louis Stevenson suggests that these identities are one in the same, and their separation means the disintegration of the individual “self” into an amalgamation of parts that cannot be reconciled as a whole. Stevenson’s narrative is indicative of the foremost attitudes of society toward the individual self and the outwardly presented self, but how can these identities be reconciled when society refuses to accept one as valid?
Hannah Eshelman argues that Hughes uses his racial identity in his poetry as a tool to address racism and the persecution of African Americans in the US. Moving from there, Eshelman makes the larger claim that identity in general is used as a tool to address and discuss pertinent social issues, especially in regards to the alienation of the perceived Other from society. She then applies this idea to Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, which she claims is an example of identity, or, in the case of Gregor, fading identity, being used as a tool to reveal the problems in the societal expectations for the balance between work and family, and the subsequent alienation from society one faces when their identity and Otherness fails to maintain said balance. Similarly, in William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, identity is used to exhibit the danger of preconceived notions of how others in society should behave depending on the identity assigned to them by society. Faulkner forces readers to question how prejudiced understandings of a certain identity is alienates the "real" person behind the identity and takes away their agency and their voice. Identity can be used as a tool to reveal these issues to the collective societal consciousness and prompt people to reevaluate how someone is perceived affects the way they are treated and the rights they are given.
Hannah Eshelman argues that Hughes uses his racial identity in his poetry as a tool to address racism and the persecution of African Americans in the US. Moving from there, Eshelman makes the larger claim that identity in general is used as a tool to address and discuss pertinent social issues, especially in regards to the alienation of the perceived Other from society. She then applies this idea to Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, which she claims is an example of identity, or, in the case of Gregor, fading identity, being used as a tool to reveal the problems in the societal expectations for the balance between work and family, and the subsequent alienation from society one faces when their identity and Otherness fails to maintain said balance. Similarly, in William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, identity is used to exhibit the danger of preconceived notions of how others in society should behave depending on the identity assigned to them by society. Faulkner forces readers to question how prejudiced understandings of a certain identity is alienates the "real" person behind the identity and takes away their agency and their voice. Identity can be used as a tool to reveal these issues to the collective societal consciousness and prompt people to reevaluate how someone is perceived affects the way they are treated and the rights they are given.
Motherhood Portrayed: Madona and Child- The Mothers, 1919
Fra Filippo Lippi Madonna and Child (c. 1440)
Mary Cassatt Mother About to Wash Her Sleepy Child (1880)
Kollwitz, Mother with Dead Child (1903)
Rrose Selavy, 1921 |
The role of a mother is constantly changing to fit the societal norms and cultural needs of her civilization. The function of a mother has often looked been to as a key component to assuaging any ills that face her nation. Over time, motherhood has been politicized, and expectations have become economic platforms. By examining the portrayals of mothers and their children in art, of which there are many, the progression of maternal expectations can be traced.
Some of the most famous images of motherhood were Madonna and Child, as religious depictions, often using spiritual symbolism. Seen in Fra Filippo Lippi Madonna and Child (c. 1440) where the mother's hand reaching towards her infant's neck is said to symbolize the sacrifice of the lamb. As time progressed, the nature of motherhood and the role a mother played changed in western areas such as France and the U.S with advances in healthcare and decreases in infanticide. In Cassatt's Mother About to Wash Her Sleepy Child (1880), and many of her other works examining Mother and Child a new theme of “the happy mother” emerges, reflecting a major shift in the social view of motherhood that occurred in France toward the Enlightenment. “Until this time most aristocratic French women viewed their children as burdens. Infant mortality rates were exceptionally high, ranging from 25 to 30 percent in the half-century preceding the French Revolution” (Buettner). There was a social shift in understanding of the mother's role, heavily influenced and guided by the propagandous promotion by high society of artists who portrayed behaviors they wished to see become commonplace. As Buettner observes, a key part of this shift was carried on the notion that biological mothers ought to nurse their own children. Traditionally, mothers would give birth, pass their baby to a secondary caretaker who would usually raise the baby in a different home until an age that was acceptable for the return to its parent's homes. This age draws parallels between the ages mentioned in Scheper-Hughs, and the time at which mothers in that society recognized their children would live and gave them names. This is a common, understandable trend within civilizations with high infant mortality rates: getting attached too young is not productive. However, when infanticide decreased in France it was imperative that parents become attached to their children so they may grow inspired to have more of them to support the functions of the state. This is encouraged by the notion that a mother should be nursing her own child, by bringing fame and popularity to paintings which display happy mothers breast feeding and nurturing. This resulted in a societal ideological shift along the lines of: mothers should nurse? Mothers should nurse! All mothers must be nursing their own childrenbecause it is only right and natural. With this shift to time spent with children and strengthening those connections came a trend in art towards examination of the psychological relationship between mother and child. A decade or so later, as modernist became aware of the realities of war, this artistic gave shifted society away from the happy mother towards the emotionally distraught mother due to her childs' harm. Wartime and financial crisis brought international hardships and resulted heavily in the death of sons. In Kollwitz, Mother with Dead Child (1903), this tradition of growing psychological proximity between mother and child is brought to a tentative climax. Famous american modernist photographer Man Ray produced one of the most provocative photographs of the modernist era in his Rrose Selavy. The photo was taken of Michael Duchamp a man dressed as a women. The shot captured just this face and nothing more. The photo made headway after appearing on a perfume bottle in 1921. The nature of the transgender image was something Man Ray highlights in many of his photographs throughout the decade. In “Man Ray, African Art, and Modernist Lenses” Wendy Grossman depicts Man Ray’s deliberate attempt to bridge African and Oceanic art. Through photos like like Noire et Blanche, we can see Man Ray utilizing African art to connect the two cultures. He does this by including a white American woman next to a piece of African art. Grossman asserts that “Man Ray’s images also function a contradictory way.”(Grossman 82) Man Ray’s photographs blurred the lines between boundaries of art. This contradiction “reflected and challenged larger ideas at the time.”(Grossman 82) Through Rrose Selavy we can see the same thing with gender. At a time where people were opening up to new concepts of gender roles with the rise of feminism Ray’s photographs of Michael Duchamp sent shockwaves through modernism and even popular culture. The way Man Ray was able to juxtapose within his photographs so vividly is astonishing. Ray also was birding the gap between art and photography. Many modernist looked down upon digital art yet the photographs taken by Ray embodies everything about the modernist movement. For example in the Rrosa Selavy Ray is able to find a new way to abstract the idealistic images of gender, and as seen in his other works he is able to bridge the gap between art forms. |
The Waste Land, 1922 |
In “Undead Eliot: How ‘The Waste Land’ Sounds Now’” by Lesley Wheeler, Eliot’s work is analyzed upon listening to Eliot himself speak the poem, taking note of how hearing the poem spoken aloud affected the understanding. In applying the concepts of playing with form and its impact on meaning, it is interesting to dissect this great modernist work, a poem that contains many allusions to mythology and historical events. Wheeler is adamant that hearing Eliot’s reading of his own work greatly affects the impact of the poem itself, as “the development of the recording’s acoustic texture parallels and affirms the transformation this protagonist experiences, sitting at the edge of his despair, listening to thunder herald healing” (Wheeler 471). Her persistence about the importance behind hearing Eliot’s voice speak the poem emphasizes how sound can affect the audience’s interpretation. She argues that upon listening to Eliot’s voice, the audience is thus given enough auditory imagery that they can imagine a man sitting in despair, an image that is not formally written within the poem itself. Wheeler writes, “Sound is how Eliot expresses personal despair and social critique most forcefully, and also how he survives the apocalypse” (p 469 Wheeler). The poem form is one of the most lyric ways to express inner turmoil and emotion, one that Eliot uses freely within “The Waste Land”.
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UlYSSES, James JOyce - 1922/ Portrait of the artist as a Young Man -1916
The character of Stephen Daedalus serves as Joyce’s literary equivalent, Joyce, like Matisse placing himself between the reader and writing. Throughout the first parts of Ulysses, Stephen serves as a the rational part of his group of friends/housemates in Ulysses. Stephen in this case is a much stronger character than he was as a child and young adult in The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, he was not only conflicted about his place in the Irish and English Cultures as he was with his parents and religion as well. This dual tension is a theme that presents itself through Stephen’s Life. This sort of dual tension is something that Matisse is experiencing as well; between his carefully crafted identity and drive to produce art from the subconscious. Both men,very established in their respective fields, are fighting through their art to find identity, the difference being between lifestyle and art, their professions dictating their personal lives. With the example of Joyce and his Irish nationalism the course of the beginning of Ulysses Joyce paints Ireland on a contrary to how Haines views his country as a study of a somewhat primitive culture. Matisse does this in a similar manner to Joyce as he there is a presentation of a somewhat disturbed idea of actuality, an expressionless model or a primitive view of Ireland, and it is instead turned around into something that is beautiful or meant to be appreciated and identified as being its own entity. The two men held substantial clout in each of their movement’s and were able to actual insert themselves in their work rather than voice their opinion, it is through this that they were able to establish their respective identities.
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The Waste land, t.s eliot- 1922
When read in light of the idea that Hughes’s jazz poetry is more significant for its intrinsic and meaningful relationship with its’ audience, T.S Eliot’s The Waste Land, often considered one of the most important pieces in modernism, loses some of its significance, because Eliot’s obsession with “high art” in modernism alienates it from the general public. In other words, Hughes and Eliot speak in two different languages; Hughes speaks in the language of jazz, a distinctly African-American intellectual dialect, which allowed him to express his important political messages of his poetry to the population they were addressed to. In contrast, Eliot speaks in the pedantic diction of “high modernism”, expressing universal truths, but in a manner that is only truly intelligible by those in the trained in the scope of literary academia. Buried under vague and obscure historical and literary allusions, offered frantically and seemingly without context, the true message of The Waste Land, of unifying cultures and transcending the limitations of language, is an important idea for the world to consider. However, the manner in which Eliot attempts to convey his message sabotages his entire operation. While the radical, imperial meaning of both pieces are applicable to wide audiences, The Waste Land is inaccessible to a majority of that audience, and therefore is fails to have its’ desired effect.
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Blue Room, Suzanne Valadon - 1923
Susanne Valadon presents a piece from the Post Impressionism era unto which portrays many characteristics of the time period that the Post Impressionist were proudly trying to hold. The use of many different approaches to painting this piece show the multiple different techniques used in the Post Impressionism era to all achieve the same goal. Valadon’s “Blue Room” resembles many Post Impressionism ideals as well as addresses social issues of the time period. This piece can be compared to many other from the past to recognize the gender objectivity and how Valadon uses a more subjective approach to communicate the gender issues of the time. Valadon uses similar techniques to Post Impressionism painter, Van Gogh by using obvious brushstrokes and non-formalist techniques. Her display of a fully clothed, educated, smoking women also agrees with Van Gogh’s ideal of portraying women as more than they seem to be, commonly painting women reading books, for example (Fenner, 14). In addition, Valadon is in parallel with Virginia Woolf when she described women in her literature as empowering and enlightening. The use of cool hues and brighter tones, take away the masculinity that paintings of women have historically had, which is another point Woolf argues (Banfield, 472). The different approaches to this piece all communicate the same goal of the Post Impressionist, fortunately, to elicit an emotional response.
Fenner, David E.W. “Why Was There So Much Ugly Art in the Twentieth Century?”
The Journal of Aesthetic Education 39.2 (2005): 13-26.
Fenner, David E.W. “Why Was There So Much Ugly Art in the Twentieth Century?”
The Journal of Aesthetic Education 39.2 (2005): 13-26.
Mrs. Dalloway, May 1925
With individuality in question, the individual struggles to define themselves outside the constructs of scientific discourse. In “‘One Single Ivory Cell’: Oscar Wilde and the Brain” Cohn explores the connection between individuality and determinism, such that the predetermined nature of the human body removes all individuality. This theory would suggest that with the lack of individuality, all people are identified by scientific discourse, reducing them to a single word or conventional category. This identification forces one to view him or herself in a particular manner, rather than exercising their free expression. In Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf explores the notion of an individual being determined by the scientific language surrounding their condition, while one is attempting to define their individuality. The book portrays Septimus and Clarissa as being severely intertwined; both individuals fighting to claim their identity. Through Septimus’s character Woolf suggests that perhaps death is the only way out. Clarissa escapes her fears through her involvement within society, possibly in a similar manner as Wilde. Wilde, Septimus and Clarissa represent individuals who are in the midst of claiming their own identity. As society defines most elements of life through language, individuals struggle to understand themselves and are unable to express their true nature freely. The three characters illustrate the personal battle of an individual struggling to define themselves following a harsh classification by society.
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The argument that Wilde and Woolf’s characters represent the struggle for self-identification in a society that classifies individuals is a discussion that is not limited to Wilde and Woolf’s characters but is also seen in the writings of Kafka and Joyce. The discussion of identity in a modern changing world is central to Modernism in general. Wild and Woolf established through their characters that there is a conflict between society and the individual. Joyce and Kafka continue this discussion by establishing what this view of society does to ones relationships and how these relationships effect identity. Joyce and Kafka both critique the suppression of identity that is caused by Modern society and evaluate the effects of forcing identity to fit within socially constructed views. Joyce explores the negative effects of the modern trend of stereotyping individuals to fit into predetermined roles, but Joyce also sees how these false identities can be fought against. Joyce argues that while the view of the other influences personal identity it can be it can be revolted against. This is seen in Gabriel and Greta’s relationship. Kafka on the other hand shows that personal identity is ultimately defined by how others view an individual. He sees that socially constructed identities and our relationships with other are what determines identity and any personal identity is destroyed in these relationships. Kafka’s more negative idea of identity is seen in the abjection of Gregor as his family sees him as a vermin.
Nymphéas, 1920-1926
Monet was not simply trying to paint each individual reality light revealed as its own, but was in fact striving to represent all realities at once, in a single work. Monet was, in his series of works, attempting to find a way to paint a scene so it included every reality that the light illuminating it could possibly create, therefore representing the absolute truth of the scene, the ultimate reality of nature. Monet first attempted to represent this truth by painting each individual reality he saw. However, simply painting each reality was not enough for Monet, he sought to unify them into a stronger piece, something that would allow the viewer to truly understand the subject. Monet began to attempt to express multiple realities in a single painting, in an effort to allow the viewer to see and understand the ultimate reality he pursued. Monet struggled to achieve this all throughout his life, until when painting his famous Nymphéas painting, he achieved a representation of the ultimate truth through subtle light changes and lack of focal point. The gradual progression of light in the painting captures the ultimate truth of nature in a single work. The key element to the mural’s ability to represent this truth is its lack of a focal point. The entire mural is a long, seamless blend of painted water and flowers and plants, each section so similar in composition to the last that it all blurs together. This blurring is what allows the viewer to really see the painting. The many contrasts of light and form and color do not create confusion, but instead exist in a harmony that lets the viewer see the ultimate truth about the water lilies.
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A very valentine, 1922
If these opinions on Wilde’s trials are combined, an interesting hypothesis forms surrounding depth of Wilde’s genius, in that the interpretation of the trials depends of the medium in which they are consumed. Using the same material, Wilde produced a riveting theatrical performance in the courtroom, and a great literary work at the same time. This presents an interesting juxtaposition as in a theatrical performance, the audience is taken into consideration, whereas in modernist literary works it is not, as the expression of oneself is the primary motive of literary writing. If the theory of medium influencing meaning is applied to Gertrude Stein’s “A Very Valentine,” a very similar conclusion is reached. In a text version of the poem, one can see structural meaning that cannot be as easily seen in the audio version of the poem. In the text, the first thing noticed is the repetition of the word “very” starting every stanza, which gives a definitive and authoritative power to the Valentine’s owner. The valentine becomes an object through the use of the word “my” showing ownership, and “very fine” being interpreted as an object owned and it being worthy of praise. The poem could be seen as a poem from the heart, in that the stanzas look a heartbeat as depicted on a cardiograph. This leads the reader to understand that Stein was secure in her love for her Valentine, and her Valentine was hers alone, and her heartbeat for only her Valentine. In the audio version, the listener hears a completely different meaning due to Stein’s tone and the pace at which she reads it. By her tone of voice, it does not sound as if she is writing the poem, nor does it sound as if she is reading it over aloud as part of her editing process, rather her tone is disinterested and bored, as if she was receiving it from an annoying lover, whom she had rejected multiple times. She pauses at the same stanza breaks as in the written form, but pauses for much longer than a reader would, which leads the listener to pick up on a feeling of disgust and annoyance, rather than the tone of love implied from the textual reading. Just as with Oscar Wilde’s trials, Stein’s poem can be interpreted differently depending on the medium in which it is presented, which calls into question the true intentions of the authors.
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Roberts argues that interpretation depends on the medium in which the message is presented, which thusly questions the true intent of the author. This is a sound argument, and one that can be supported by examination of many other artists and works throughout the Modernist Age. Upon examination of T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land”, it is initially apparent to the reader that one must have an extensive knowledge of mythology and history in order to fully grasp all of the allusions within the poem. With this realization, it is curious that one would write a work, one that is meant to surpass all other literary creations of its time, in such a way that only few intellectuals would be able to understand the meaning behind the words. How is a work supposed to make impact upon society if only a handful are able to grasp that which it references? With this question in mind, one must examine how the work was constructed: its structure, form, and how it sounds. From here, the author spells out simpler ways to understand his meaning, for structure is the blueprint of the whole operation. Upon listening to T.S. Eliot read “The Waste Land” aloud, its 5 separate sections appear to bleed together, interrupted only by the title of each section: The Burial of the Dead, A Game of Chess, The Fire Sermon, Death by Water, and What the Thunder Said. This sort of relationship parallels that of a symphony, in which many movements, though separate, are all related and intertwined in a way that culminates into one auditory masterpiece. In listening to Eliot’s recording, he appears almost bored, for his voice rarely indicates inflection or passionate emotion. It is almost as though a professor were lecturing his class, not pausing for question or explanation, and merely trying to get through his lesson plan thoroughly. In “What the Thunder Said”, this nonchalance slowly bleeds into a prayerful, whisper-like voice which draws a close to the narration. This epic poem goes from being a scholarly, holier-than-though work of art into being a prayer, something that even the lowliest being can perform. Through analysis of the recording of Eliot’s “The Waste Land”, it can be argued that the medium affects the translation to the reader, which presents the idea that perhaps the intent of the author is something that will always remain arbitrary to the readers, in that any audience can therefore create and shape his own understanding of the text based on his or her perception.
Railroad Avenue, 1926
Chasar argues in “The Sounds of Black Laughter and the Harlem Renaissance: Claude McKay, Sterling Brown, Langston Hughes” that black laughter was used by African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance to overthrow the way in which they were construed as the same as the blacks depicted in the minstrel black face performances. Laughter prior to the emancipation of the slaves was an uncommon, as their owners sought to control their behavior, especially acoustically. After the slaves were emancipated, Chasar argues their “laughter was [charged] with the expression of freedom” (61). Chasar argues that African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance used laughter as a weapon to aggressively assert their equality. In poems such as Langston Hughes’s “Railroad Avenue” black laughter became “an elemental force connected to black power” (73). This interpretation seems appropriate because the speed at which the word laughter creates the feeling of the train whirling by, less so a human physical phenomenon which generates the image of a body. Chasar argues that the laughter, in contrast to Danta’s argument, is actually disembodied, thriving as “a pure acoustic force” (74). “Neither truth nor lie” could withstand the new force behind the African Americans. This recalls Bennett’s argument that laughter challenged ideals, in this case the convention of white people to see the African Americans as submissive. Because the African Americans saw themselves as metaphysically equal to the whites, their laughter seen through the lens of Danta, could be argued to have been laughing metaphysically at their physical bodies which within the context of society had marked them as inferior.
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Patriarchal Poetry, 1927
James Joyce and Gertrude Stein, despite their divergent genders, sexual orientations, and stances on feminism, actually share many similarities in their writing’s structural and thematic elements. Just as Joyce uses experimental linguistic styles in Ulysses to subvert the authority of the patriarchal order and reconceptualize feminine identity with infinite possibilities, Stein engages with unusual uses of language and semantic arrangement in her forty-page poem “Patriarchal Poetry”. Though deemed uninterpretable by many for its densely repetitive use of language, Stein’s own account in “Portraits and Repetition” reveals the necessity of “the talking being listening and the listening being talking,” in order to avoid “repetition and confusion” (Neel 88). This indicates the explicit necessity for vocal participation to truly ‘hear’ Stein’s poem and begin to understand what she is doing in it. Yet, this demand to read aloud and interact with “Patriarchal Poetry” results in countless variations of rhythm, intonation, etc., expressing “the variability of meaning and subjectivity” which divorces the work from patriarchal poetry (91). That is, the poem’s fluidity of reading leads to a reciprocal fluidity of meaning, which is significant because it defies the patriarchal configuration of fixed interpretation and its unusual combinations of words evade linear logic. Just as Joyce did in depicting a multiplicity of feminine identity, Stein succeeds in subverting the patriarchal order by representing the manifestation of infinite subjectivity and possibility. Notably, the fact that this intention itself cannot be understood through the lens of patriarchal logic would suggest the inevitable existence of an alternative, more dynamic, order. By demanding phonic participation with the poem, Stein forces us to confront this conception of alterity that is embodied by her unfamiliar use of familiar language. Yet, “Patriarchal Poetry” is self-defeating in this way. While Joyce’s conception of a multiplicity of feminine identity was opposed to patriarchal ideas of gender, he communicated it within a framework of logic that could be understood by the patriarchal order. Stein’s poem, however, alienates readers because they are so attached to their patriarchal logic of interpretation that the poem’s defiance of such logic estranges them. They remain, instead, ignorant to an offering of an alternative to the very patriarchal order that continues to blind them.
Neel, Eric S. "The Talking Being Listening: Gertrude Stein's 'Patriarchal Poetry' and the Sound of Reading." Style 33.1 (1999): 88-106. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. |
The rotting Donkey, 1928
Salvador Dali was a Spanish Surrealist painter who exemplified an artist whose art was a manifestation of who he was an individual. The elements that inspired most of his artwork were innate characteristics of his disposition. His particular painting “The Rotting Donkey” was created after Dali experienced, what he refers to as a “paranoiac process”(Rabate 66). Through his paranoid state, his internal struggles were revealed through the image of a woman who also resembled a horse. Being his own piece of artwork, Dali represented an individual satisfied with being disconnected from society. His art was a manifestation of who he truly was and what he believed in, no matter the judgments of society. Dali placed himself within his art; not only did the art represent his ideas but also Dali as an individual. Throughout the many forms and theories concerning art, Dali was one artist who literally became his art. It was often said that Dali was a manifestation of his art; in other words, he was a walking piece of artwork. Dali used his strangeness and paranoia as a driving force, which greatly influenced his art.
The Destruction of Tenotchtitlan, 1923
A Room Of One's Own, 1929
Virginia Woolf’s lecture, later published and titled "A Room Of One’s Own," was her way of presenting feminist views to a woman’s college in England. She advocated for women to rebel against the misogynistic system and she advocated that "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction" (Woolf, 4). The overarching problem was that women could not possess money, could not get time or a space for themselves, and were not formally educated. The main problem was that women in literature were present but hidden. Female authors that thrived were the ones that used male pseudonyms or signed "anonymous" at the end of their poetry or short fictions. Androgyny is important because it’s the combination of masculinity and femininity where the melding of both genders cancels it out leaving a sexless form. She believed that a mind that is androgynous is more powerful than a single sexed mind because it is not inhibited by masculine or feminine traits. Woolf’s goal with her essay was to encourage women to be independent and to get them out of the house and explore the world of creative thinking. Women were not educated, therefor they had do find other ways to express their creativeness.
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The Sound and The fury, 1929
In William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, the Compson family falls apart due to a divide in the perception of identity. The men of the Compson family, rigidly patriarchal and full of Southern pride, cannot reconcile their sister Caddy’s feminine identity and her “masculine” identity, which ultimately results in the downfall of the family. Just as Chopin’s characters find it difficult to bridge the socially constructed divide between women’s “natural” sexuality and the expectation for women to remain “pure,” Faulkner’s characters cannot let go of their male pride to understand that the stifling feminine identity they constructed for Caddy does not fully reflect who she is. While the Compson brothers expect Caddy to be virginal, proper and subservient, Caddy has her own wants and needs and fulfills them despite the expectations of her brothers. She takes on a pseudo-masculine role in the minds of the brothers, because she alone produces a heir to the dying family. This conflicts with the brother’s concept of female identity and causes a sense of distress and displeasure and contributes to the fall of the once regal family. This then goes back to the idea seen in Chopin’s work that asserts that one cannot be truly content until they reconcile two identities: in the case of the Compson family, those identities are Caddy’s. The Compons attempted to force a multifaceted person into a rigid and structured identity, which ultimately contributed to Caddy’s rejection of the family and her predetermined feminine role to instead live and expand upon her modern womanhood, outside of the confines of the Compson brothers. Just as Chopin used identity within oneself to point out issues in societal expectations, Faulkner uses identity to show how preconceptions and expectations can harm the relationship between people.
Knights, Pamela. William Faulkner: Seeing through the South. The Review of English Studies, Volume 60, Number 247. October 2009.
Knights, Pamela. William Faulkner: Seeing through the South. The Review of English Studies, Volume 60, Number 247. October 2009.
Composition II With Blue and Composition in White and Blue, 1932
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Piet Mondrian's “Composition II With Blue and Composition in White and Blue”, painted in 1930, captured the tension between primitivity and complexity that many modernist attempted to connect. The painting’s gives off an appearance of simplicity at first glance but Mondrian's lines draw the eye closer and show the true complexity of the paining. Mondrian was a minimalist abstracting a bigger picture by what looks like zooming in on one spot. The rectangles Mondrain formulates are actually very precisely done, the lines on the rectangles find the perfect in between of grey and black where the viewer must look deeper to see the real color. The minimalist technique in the context of the modernist movement can be viewed as primitive, however Mondrian puts together a work of art that is completed methodical and constructed scientifically in terms of the measurements of the rectangles. The juxtaposition between the primitivity of the painting and the tedious scientific methods Mondrian uses allows for both extremes to work against each other in the end making them more apparent to the eye.
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Girl before a mirror, 1932
Gaudi is said to have been an Art Nouveau or Gothic architect, however neither description is accurate. Through the framework of Picasso, Gaudi is revealed to be a modernist architect. While it is true that there are both Gothic and Art Nouveau styles present in Gaudi's architecture, they only serve as the foundation for which Modernism is built. Both aspects can be seen in Picasso's Girl Before a Mirror. The natural curves suggest Art Nouveau while the distorted, daunting reflection of the girl in the mirror resonate Gothicism. If both these characteristics are found in a widely accepted modernist piece, as well as in many of Gaudi's structures, then the parallels between modernism and Gaudi's style are obvious. Consequently, Gaudi himself must be categorized amongst the great modernists of his time.
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Opus 64: Romeo and Juliet, 1935
Prokofiev’s appeal to the emotions is not a concept that is individual to him. In truth, all notable composers have drawn their audiences through their ability to reflect themselves in their music, appealing through parallels between composer, musician, and listener. However, Prokofiev’s composition, and his way of comparing the simple to the complex, and lyrical to the pugnacious, separates him from many other composers that preceded him. There is no warning in Prokofiev’s music; he writes as humans feel, both unpredictably and yet understandably. His composition that captures this spirit of human emotion most effectively is his Opus 64: Romeo and Juliet. Prokofiev uses aural imagery to paint the passion between Romeo and Juliet through melodic string runs, while using the very same strings to create a battlefield in the scene where Tybalt and Mercutio battle. Within this ballet, the movement that resonates the most within me is The Death of Tybalt, as it portrays imagery of a heart pulsing quickly, filled with adrenaline, and yet has the romanticism of a person’s final thoughts before he dies. This desire to reflect emotion, to reflect humanity, to reflect the inner dialogue within a person is what makes Prokofiev distinctly his own composer.
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Memory or The heart, 1937
Best known for her self-portraits, Frida Kahlo was an expert in using artistic techniques in order to manipulate the way in which the viewer viewed her identity. Most commonly, Kahlo utilized symbols to depict her current state of mind as well as to take control of her identity in the paintings. In Memory or The Heart, Kahlo paints a gaping hole in her chest where her heart should be, penetrated by a large pole with two cupids as bookends. In conjunction with the frozen tears on her face, the viewer instantly gets an impression of heartbreak and sadness, indicative of her depression after learning of her husband Diego Rivera's affair with her sister. Frida is depicted as helpless, with no hands and one injured foot in the ocean. Just as Heilicher argues that Wilde used rhetoric and emotion in an attempt to take control over his identity, Kahlo uses emotions and symbols to show the different sides of her persona. The juxtaposition between a schoolgirl dress, contemporary European garments, and traditional Mexican ensemble display the inner turmoil that was taking place with Kahlo. In contrast to Cézanne, who did not extensively depict the background in his self portraits until late into his life, Kahlo takes care to show the ominous sky and ocean, again symbolic of her inner turmoil.
Evelyn, Beck T. "Kahlo's World Split Open." Feminist Studies 32.1 (2006): 54-81. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 3 May 2015.
Evelyn, Beck T. "Kahlo's World Split Open." Feminist Studies 32.1 (2006): 54-81. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 3 May 2015.
The SnowS OF KIlimanjaro, 1936
The Snows of Kilimanjaro is a short story by Ernest Hemingway that was written over twenty years before The Sun Also Rises. Despite being written before, I see The Snows as a potential ending to the open ending of The Sun. I came to this conclusion because of the many similarities between the main character of both stories and how their timelines add up. The end of The Sun isn’t a happy one: the war-veteran Jake Barnes and his sort of lover, Brett Ashley, both don’t know where they’re going with their lives and if they’ll even stay together. This allows the reader to make up a conclusion themselves: I used The Snows as my imaginary conclusion. The main character of The Snows, Harry, is also a war-veterans that has a very cynical view of love. The difference is Jake is young and his future is unknown whereas Harry is older and slowly dying of gangrene. As Harry dies he reflects on his romances and how he used women for money and sex. Harry regrets his choices which, in my mind, represent a possible life path that Jake could take; traveling the world and hopping from woman to woman until arriving in Africa like Harry. When Harry finally dies, his death concludes the story of the disillusioned war-veteran and their abuse of love.
The Great Dictator, 1940
Chaplin revolutionized comedy in a way that makes it so that now politics and comedy can work side by side to achieve a common purpose. In The Great Dictator, (the Jewish barber) Hykel’s political discourse is reduced to comical nonsense, which in turn opens up a space for Jewish suffering where the tramp / the Jewish Barber has a chance to speak. Similarly to Jon Stewart’s and Steven Colbert’s “Rally to Restore Sanity and/ or Fear,” by slowly dismantling partisanship through various comedic skits, the rally moves toward the idea of sanity and a shared civil discourse. Just as Chaplin used comedy to ease into a politically charged call for the end of unjust dictatorship and anti-Semitism, Stewart used comedy to ease into issues like racism and importance of bipartisanship.
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Perspective II. Manet's Balcony, 1950
Krolopp argues that modernists sought to defamiliarize the familiar, challenging the viewers and causing them to rethink their conceptions of art and reality. Magritte in paintings such as Perspective II. Manet's Balcony reinterpreted the painting done by Manet by replacing the humans in the picture with blocks. In doing so he sought to destabilize the typical boundaries of what art could be as well as what was real. I argue that Kafka devised a similar method by incorporating the comedic elements that created his laughter into his seemingly cruel and tragic stories in order to call into the question the familiar. In Kafka’s case he calls into question the infallibility of ideals such as Justice. By emphasizing the faults in such ideals he shows the inaccessibility or impossibility of them. The uncertainty caused by this defamiliarization can also be seen in the use of laughter during the Harlem Renaissance by writers such as Langston Hughes and Sterling Brown. African American writers during this period used laughter to aggressively assert their equality by juxtaposing their writing and ideas to the image they were construed as by the minstrel black face performances. By claiming their equality through laughter they showed that the metaphysical meaning imbued into the color of their skin by society was false and that their bodies were physically equal. Something as familiar as laughter was made unfamiliar to viewers by the new contexts it was placed in. Through the questioning nature of laughter, Modernists like Kafka and Hughes challenged the norms of society by showing that the metaphysical meanings given to concepts such as ideals and skin color that were perceived as reality were simply false.
Krolopp argues that Modernists represented familiar objects in unfamiliar ways in order to challenge the viewer to question their own ideas about perception. She explains Magritte’s process of unfamiliar representation in his painting Perspective II. Manet’s Balcony. His choice to replace the people in Manet’s painting with “blocks” creates an unexpected juxtaposition of images which, according to Krolopp, reflects Magritte’s view of the work and encourages its viewers to question their own perceptions of reality. I argue that Tristan Tzara also utilizes a method of unfamiliar representation in his play The Gas Heart, and does so for a purpose similar to Magritte’s. Tzara wrote the play as a response to the physical disfigurement of soldiers in World War I and the resulting social crisis of human identity and its relationship to the human body. In a time when returning soldiers often had reconstructive facial surgery in order to repair a “normal” looking appearance for the purpose of reintegrating into society, Tzara writes a play in which the human body is purposely represented as disfigured. Each character in the play is a different facial feature, and the characters are free to wander the stage creating different arrangements of features, yet still retaining the identity of a human face. Through this purposeful disfiguration of the human face, Tzara challenges commonly held notions of identity and its dependence upon a physical form by presenting a wider range of aesthetic possibilities for the human body, similar to those brought to light by the wounded soldiers of World War I. This brings into question the audience’s perception of identity in terms of appearance. Reflective of Tzara’s opinion that identity in art is transcendent and not dependent upon a work’s physical form, his representation of the human body suggests that human identity exists in a realm beyond the physical and what we can perceive. If identity is the truest part of something, we can assume that identity is equal to reality. Therefore, true reality also exists beyond our perception. Modernists recognized this and attempted to acknowledge this fact in their work, as exemplified by Tzara’s The Gas Heart and Magritte’s transforming of well-known paintings.
Krolopp argues that Modernists represented familiar objects in unfamiliar ways in order to challenge the viewer to question their own ideas about perception. She explains Magritte’s process of unfamiliar representation in his painting Perspective II. Manet’s Balcony. His choice to replace the people in Manet’s painting with “blocks” creates an unexpected juxtaposition of images which, according to Krolopp, reflects Magritte’s view of the work and encourages its viewers to question their own perceptions of reality. I argue that Tristan Tzara also utilizes a method of unfamiliar representation in his play The Gas Heart, and does so for a purpose similar to Magritte’s. Tzara wrote the play as a response to the physical disfigurement of soldiers in World War I and the resulting social crisis of human identity and its relationship to the human body. In a time when returning soldiers often had reconstructive facial surgery in order to repair a “normal” looking appearance for the purpose of reintegrating into society, Tzara writes a play in which the human body is purposely represented as disfigured. Each character in the play is a different facial feature, and the characters are free to wander the stage creating different arrangements of features, yet still retaining the identity of a human face. Through this purposeful disfiguration of the human face, Tzara challenges commonly held notions of identity and its dependence upon a physical form by presenting a wider range of aesthetic possibilities for the human body, similar to those brought to light by the wounded soldiers of World War I. This brings into question the audience’s perception of identity in terms of appearance. Reflective of Tzara’s opinion that identity in art is transcendent and not dependent upon a work’s physical form, his representation of the human body suggests that human identity exists in a realm beyond the physical and what we can perceive. If identity is the truest part of something, we can assume that identity is equal to reality. Therefore, true reality also exists beyond our perception. Modernists recognized this and attempted to acknowledge this fact in their work, as exemplified by Tzara’s The Gas Heart and Magritte’s transforming of well-known paintings.