The Neo-Avant-Garde Graham Witham

Video lecture March 2013

Graham Whitham
Book Teach Yourself Art History:
http://www.hachette.com.au/books/9781444104974/

1960's and beyond.

Avant-Garde - from early 19th century, 1825.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avant-garde
Previously a military term.
Spread new ideas without art - socialism.

Courbet painting - Stonebreakers 1849. Not a usual subject for art them - making social point.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Courbet

Cezanne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_C%C3%A9zanne
Now Avant-Garde means modern, radical challenges in techniques and art conventions.
Between 20th century wars there was a resurgence of political Avant-Garde.
George Grosse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Grosz

Hugo Ball
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Ball
Cabaret Voltaire - crosses boundaries, challenges conventions of art.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabaret_Voltaire_(Zurich)

Plus surrealism - Meret Oppenheim
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9ret_Oppenheim
Object. breakfast in fur
Unconventional forms - systems.
Salvador Dali -Rainy Taxi Installation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD

Recent art devises.
Henri Matisse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse
Harmony in Red - 1908.
A painting about painting.
Art - an aesthetic end, a comfortable armchair- modernism.
Bell - art, its significant form as opposed to its subject.
Art for arts sake, independent of the world.
19th century aesthetic movement.
After war - Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rothko

Robert Rauschenberg - Avant-Garde
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rauschenberg
Willem de Kooning - erased drawing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_de_Kooning

Works are not to do with aesthetic pleasure, but are about the idea.
Modernism / Avant-Garde divide.

Clement Greenberg - art critic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_Greenberg

Neo dadaist - Neo Avant-Garde

Anthony Caro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Caro
Sculpture about scuplture - modernist.
Not sculpto-paintings - contrast.

Ed Kienoltz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Kienholz
Hospital - Neo Avant-Garde.

Kenneth Noland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Noland
Medium specific.


Summary

This video lecture looked at the growth and development of Modernism and the Avant-Garde, how they differ, and how they coincide at different times as each movement is moved on or has a resurgence through different artists throughout time.

To summarise even more, Modernism is art which concerns itself with artistic form - paintings about painting, sculptures about sculpture. The Avant-Garde is not concerned with aesthetic qualities, but emerges from idea, is about ideas, and seeks to disseminate ideas. The Neo-Avant-Garde, or postmodern Avant-Garde deals with postwar issues. Sort of. Clear now?

Reflection

My notes for this lecture were quite poor. I still find the format of video lectures the least effective for me to access. I'll blame it on the dyslexia.
I thought I'd make up for my disjointed scribbles by inserting many Wikipedia links. It's the same principle as checking a dictionary for definitions. Can't go wrong with facts.

30th April 2013