Hi everyone.  I’ve decided to start writing more on my blog.  Writing more, not just posting more.  I let my blog die a quiet death.  I’ve been distracted with moving to my new home in the Gold Country region of California and also not painting.  So, I’m going to give it a try and write about modern art and artists – what it is and who they were – while trying not to put you to sleep.

My Master’s degree is in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism.  Even after all my previous formal art history education, I still didn’t understand what it was, when it was, and how it is different from contemporary art.  I can feel the eye rolls out there.  But if art people were sincere, they would admit it is not evident when it began or ended, who started it or what the characteristics are of what we identify as Modern Art. 

The “era” considered Modern Art covers a long timeline from 1860 through the 1970s.  So, in 1968, we would be living in the Modern Art era, and the art produced during that time would also be considered Contemporary Art.  (Art created during the current time is considered Contemporary Art.) I won’t get into what is considered Post Modernism.  That is just too obtuse to get into right now.

Modern Art is made up of many different styles with the base principle that it has rejected the historical, conservative rules of art regarding realistic form and color.  Modern Art was about experimentation with form using techniques that drew attention to the processes and materials that created the art. You might ask why art produced now following these same principles is not considered Modern Art. For historical purposes the Modern Art era is identified as the time period when these principles were established and considered authentic, valued, and to be acknowledged… not rejected.

Who were the Modern Artists? Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissaro, Claude Monet, Salvador Dalí, and a little later, Pablo Picasso and Frida Kahlo are a few of the most popularized Modern Artists. They all had a typically terrible experience with the conservative art world, which made them assert themselves to paint what and how they wanted.  And thank God they did. 

Paul Cézanne is considered the Father of Modern Art.  I’ll start there next time.