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Some historians debate the exact beginning of this event but here is a general consensus that it occurred in mid-eighteenth century England. This period in time was marked by a population shift to urban areas as a result of industrialization. This not only changed how people lived but created a new ideology and economic order. Capitalism and consumerism created a growing middle class as a result of economic expansion brought about by the industrialization of western societies. Modern art of this time period was no longer bound to the traditional sources Of financial support.
New artists were free to experiment with the content of their art. Multiple art movements formed over time; three movements have been chosen in this paper. The selected artistic movements are Futurism, Dadaism, and Situations and they were selected because of the acceptance or rejection of the changes caused by the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution created changes in western society and these changes eventually spread throughout the world.
This industrialization in Western Europe and North America brought about modernity, a period of time that marks the modern period (Ransom, 2013). The modern period can e characterized as unprecedented changes to technology, communication, and society as a whole. To explain all of the changes it is best to identify the origins of this change. Prior to 1 760, economies were largely agrarian. Most people farmed or lived in rural settings and families would work together for their livelihood. Economies began to change from agrarian based to industry and machine based.
Arnold Toynbee(egg-1 975), an English historian, described this change as first taking place in England around 1760. It later spread to the rest Of Europe and then globally. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica during this period of time, six technological advances occurred in the from of new materials used, new energy sources harnessed, invention of new machines, new organization of work known as the factory system, improvements of transportation and communication, and application of science to industry (Uncharacteristically. Com, Modern Art).
New machines and scientific knowledge were used to increase agricultural output, therefore fewer people needed to work on farms. Factories required labor to produce goods and this coupled with fewer agricultural jobs caused a migration of people to urban centers. This population increase in the cities created businesses that catered to these workers; restaurants, bars, theaters, music halls, boarding houses and inns (Ransom, 2013). As the economies expanded and new social habits brought about by the factory lifestyle were created and the expansion of business that catered to leisure activities.
The society changed to one in-which consumerism, entertainment, and the pursuit of necessities dominated daily activities (Ransom, 2013). Social Changes and the Effect on Art Art prior to the Industrial Revolution had limited audiences that consisted of he aristocracy, churches, and the state. The art of this time did not deviate from accepted traditions and usually glorified the institutions or individuals that commissioned them (Codington, 2013). As more people had disposable income brought about by an industrial society, this changed.
The rapid growth of city dwellers, the increase of factory production, increased commercialese popular culture, and the increase of capitalism brought about consumerism (Codington, 2013). This wealth created a new class of consumers that wanted beautiful things and sought to emulate the rich. A arrest force was introduced into the art world, leading to a proliferation in the nineteenth century of smaller works with themes suited to this new middle class consumer and their smaller homes (Ransom, 2013).
These new demands for art influenced how it was produced, exhibited, and sold. Research by Ransom and Mansfield (2013) states that fine art for example, included smaller paintings for apartment walls, less expensive works, greater variety and styles for the less formal tastes. The Salon, a place that would display art, became packed with thousands of viewers and finally this system as overloaded. The art supply could not keep up with the demand and this lead to the creation of art galleries, art dealers, and artists’ associations. Art was brought into the mainstream.
Artists were free to determine the appearance and content of their works. This freedom also created pressure to innovate and try to distinguish themselves from one another. This pressure to innovate along with a rapidly changing world influenced artists and their works. Art evolved and headed into new directions and movements. Atkins (1990) states that; “This new modern art attempted to mom to terms with the urban, industrial, and secular society that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century. ” Futurism Futurism was an art movement that can trace its origins back to Italy.
In the early 190(Yes a group of Italian artists were disappointed with Italy’s declining status; they believed that the “machine age” could create a new world order and that the old ways needed to be abandoned. Fillips Topmast Martinet (1876-1944) in 1908 wrote a manifesto; in it he demanded the destruction of libraries, museums, academies, and the cities of the past (Ransom, 2013). The manifesto rejected the traditional and according to Artistry. Org; “it extolled the beauties Of revolution, of war, and the speed and dynamism of machine technology. The movement spread from Italy to Western Europe, Russia, and the Americas between 1920-1930. The Futurist concepts were applied to painting, music, sculpture, theatre, poetry, architecture, cooking, clothing, and furniture. They embraced popular media and the machine and later several of its members embraced Fascism. This love of modernity and machines led them to celebrate the arrival of the World War I(Artistry. Org, n. D. ). Artwork of this movement included paintings and sculpture. This artwork attempted to show movement and it was presented in abstract form.
The Futurists were interested new visual technologies, including chromo- photography, which preceded animation and cinema. Dadaism Dada was an important art movement that occurred in New York and Western Europe from 1915 to 1923. One important artist of this movement was Marcel Decamp (1887-1968) from France. The name Dada has different meanings depending on the language used to define it. In French is means “hobby horse” but in the Slavic languages it is translated as “yes, yes”. This movement was a result of World War One; a war that claimed the lives of more than 10 million people.
New technologies were used during this war and the effect was devastating. Airplanes, tanks, chemical weapons were all used in this new machine age of warfare. The result caused people rethink the benefits of a modern world and that the progress achieved was not worth the destruction that could be caused. Artists that were part of the Dada movement blamed the new scientific and technological advances for almost destroying Europe. The art produced by the Dada movement rejected the new society. It was said to be irrational, absurd, and a rejection of the middle class.
The works by artists of this movement provoked and outraged audiences because the purpose of the art was to offend. Some important art concepts that were influenced or created from this movement were the readmes and performance art. Readmes art used pre-manufactured items and arranged them or combined them with other unrelated items. Performance art Was a combination of poetry and visual arts presented in a live format to an audience. It is said that the Dadaists were not really a distinct style but a number of styles, ideas, attitudes, and rollovers (Atkins, 1990).
Situations Situations was an art movement that occurred in Western Europe from 1957 to 1972. This movement was characterized as an analysis of Western society and found that capitalism had damaged society. According to Atkins (1990), the situations believed that citizens had been changed into mindless consumers by a duplicities media spectacle and this prevented them from active participation in public life. They believed that as modern technology advanced and work became more efficient, that there would be an end point of perfection.
This never came and the worker was forced to continue to work in order to survive and this was all a spectacle. They questioned the use of technical progress because the worker never benefited from it instead they were given escapes in the form of leisure time. Situations believed that work needed to be abolished. The artwork of this movement sought to use urban subjects as locations. These locations or “Situations” promoted connections between spectacle and mode of production in the present society. A common form of Situation art was graffiti and its intent was to undermine the capitalist society.
There was not a single style put multiple approaches and later this art movement transformed into theoretical writing and political organizing. Conclusion In order to understand how art was influenced by the Industrial Revolution it is necessary to understand the origin of this “revolution”. This revolution was the result of the move from and agrarian society to a mechanized industrial society. The Industrial Revolution had a profound impact on the world and how it has evolved into the world that we live today. The changes to society and industry created a new economic class.