Tastes of Culture

To anyone new to art the general terms used may seem like double dutch. I will try and explain a few to help you along the way and to help you comprehend the different styles of Modern Art. As an example, the form is lines, textures, forms, colours and how they produce the shaping of the work. The subject will always be the object, person, persons, which the artist is trying to show.

Content is what the meaning of the work is and how we are actually given to understand it. This really is how we respond to the painting, the form, the medium and of course the subject.

When you look at a painting, all the materials and ways used to make up the work, are called the medium.

In this day and age there is so much modern art on the market for us all to appreciate. Amazingly enough it first came into being in the late 1800’s.

Modernism is similar to abstractionism, but you could say quite a lot of modern art would not be abstract.

Modern artists, for instance, might just do mainly work that is figurative, but to me, many works are abstract. After all, we use all shapes, forms and colours to create our work.

Cubism often depicts the essence of the subject, not necessarily how it actually looks. Thus giving different viewpoints of the given subject, but dissecting it really. Take Pablo Picasso as an example.

In the time around the late 1950’s-1960’s Pop Art came on the scene. This brightened up our lives with bold, really brash colourful posters, advertising, even comic strips and the famous Andy Warhol made his mark.

Op Art, also from the late 1950/1960’s. Abstract art in a geometric form which often creates an illusion, so that the art looks as if it is actually moving.

Minimalism from 1960 / 1970. This embraced working with very little and repeating the actual elements chosen.

Expressionism started in the 1900’s. This usually has a sort of emotional impact, as very strong brush strokes and colours were used. Often very exaggerated colours used with distorted shapes.

You can also have Abstract Impressionism, which around 1940, started in New York. Expressing great freedom of emotions, but also colour field painting and action paintings.

The Italians in 1909 invented futurism paintings, encapsulating speed and motion.

Surrealism – Often showing automatic type of drawings, I would say, to the workings of the mind. Sometimes realistic and yet, not always seeming to make a lot of sense. One brilliant artist has to be Salvador Dali, whom most people will have heard of. Or, if you have been to Barcelona, you are surrounded by his great works of art there.

Impressionism – Many of these paintings consist of short dashes of colour near to each other, to make a picture. When viewed from a distance they look as if they actually merge together. These were often used for landscapes. Claude Monet was a prime example of a leading painter in this field.