How Modernism Informs Understanding of Freedom of Expression - Essay Example

Introduction Modernism describes the ideology and style of art that came to be in the 1860-70s. This was necessitated by the fact that other forms of art such as traditional art had been overtaken by events and thus it had become outdated as a result of industrialization (Martin and Howard, 2005). The roots of modernism can be traced in Western Europe. Modernism emerged due to the need to embrace the economic, social and political changes that had been fuelled by the industrial age. Hence, there was need to reject tradition art in order to cope with the numerous changes that were witnessed during the industrialization era. Modernist were critical of religious and political institutions and thus they stood firm in opposition to their predecessors, the traditionists. The modernists regarded institutions as instruments that restricted the liberty of individuals and thus modernists used and applied art to reject and challenge the authority as well as conservatives values that were manifested through the injustices practiced in the modern society (Hal, 2006). The modernists aimed at standing for the plight of smugness and poorer ranks of the middle class. In so doing, modernists painted pictures that showed the ways evils such as exploitation in the society were castigated in the past. Hence, the modernists aimed at enlightening the society about the ideals of equality and freedom. The focus of this paper is to examine how modernism informs the understanding of freedom of expression. This will be done by considering abstraction and figuration, interpretation and semiotics, consumerism and popular culture. How modernism informs understanding of freedom of expression Progressive modernism was an art movement that consciously rejected any forms of traditional arts. Progressive modernists perceived themselves as future leaders because the application of science and technology had been proven wrong by the failure of World War 1 (Craig, 2001). Modernists lost faith in technological and scientific advancements as the path to a better world. Failure of World War 1 made the modernists to become liberal with a sharp focus on demands for equality as well as freedom of expression. Although, it was later pronounced that modernism art should not be practiced for public sake, it was argued that the art should be used to preserve the sensibilities and values of humankind. Modernism informs my understanding of freedom of expression because modernist sought to oppose certain expectations in order to make the audience more informed and question certain things as they happened amongst them (Ihab and Lawrence, 2003). For example, modernism sought to provide consumers with freedom of expression as a way of achieving greater levels of consumer activism and consumer protection. The objective of consumer activism and consumer protection was to inform and protect consumers by enhancing the participation of consumers in matters such as product advertisements, honest packaging, improved safety and quality standards and product guarantees. Hence, modernism sought to change consumerism attitudes and brought in new perceptions and policies that guided and regulated services, products, manufacturing standards, methods, advertisers, sellers, in the buyers’ interest (Nicholls, 2001). The other objective of modernism was to change the conventional thinking that had blinded consumers into thinking that they had no say in the way services and products were advertised, packaged and manufactured. From this review, it is evident that the main objective of modernism was to enhance a more democratic space that liberated consumers from exploitation from manufacturers by providing them with freedom for expressing their concerns (Nicholls, 2001). Hence, modernism informs my understanding of freedom of expression through the extent to which it helped in changing the consumer culture that had manifested itself in North America and Europe in the 19th century. Furthermore, modernism informs my understanding of freedom of expression in that some modernists sought to use art to bring about political revolution. Modernists rejected traditional politics that sought to make some people better than others. Modernist believed that political consciousness was of greater value than structural changes (Nicholls, 2001). The idea of popular culture was therefore rejected because it was associated with the lower classes of people and therefore it was perceived as a different form of culture from the true education. In other words, popular culture was a way of bringing separation between the lower and the upper classes. Modernism was an important way of using art to express the fine things that affected people in the modern life. Through a form of expression that was purely visual, modernists were able to achieve autonomy to a greater extent thus rejecting the conventional thinking about commercial culture. Modernism art was therefore attributed to better results evident in social betterment. The true meaning of images used in commercial advertisements, radio, television, movies, toys, cyberspace, and commodities purchased by consumers were put into close scrutiny by modernist art in order to find the essence of using such images. Modernist art movement required that elements that proved distracting in popular culture be removed and introduction of basic elements that could be understood easily introduced in all the images (Nicholls, 2001). It is evident that modernism aimed at depicting truth of popular culture elements by stripping away the abstract images. By seeking to enhance a greater understanding of different things by depicting the truth hidden in images, modernist art movement therefore informs my understanding of freedom for expression in that it brought out and made it possible for the audience to choose between what they would consume and what they would not consume. Additionally, modernism informs my understanding of freedom for expression in the manner in which simplicity was emphasized as the principle that guided design of different things such as furniture, cars and buildings. Modernist designers and architects believed that old styles of constructing or building houses could be rendered obsolete through the application of new technology (Nicholls, 2001). Modernists argued that houses or buildings should be designed as appropriate places for living in and cars should be designed appropriately for people to travel in. Hence, modernists sought to do away with old structures and styles of building which had been inherited from middle Ages and Ancient Greece. Decorative motifs were therefore rejected by modernists who preferred to put more emphasis on the materials used for constructing and building in order to give a building an aesthetic form that encouraged living in the house (Whitaker, 2006). Clarity and simplicity were emphasized by modernists by providing open-plan interiors and clutter absence in furniture and buildings. Modernism was therefore a great departure from abstraction which emphasized on content rather than form. Instead of relying on expressive color and abstract form to communicate to viewer, modernists rather thought that form was more important than function (De Zegher and Teicher, 2005). Hence, modernism sought to remove the abstract nature of art and substitute it with figurative art. The purpose was to achieve higher levels of expression through realistic presentation of phenomenon. Modernists through that social reality could only be achieved not through real presentation than abstract presentation. In this perspective, the modernism informs my understanding of freedom of expression in that it depicts a departure from abstract form of thinking to new forms of thinking guided by clarity and simplicity. Modernism helps in simplifying the way people used to do things such as building complex houses to new methods that could be used to build habitable structures through simple and clear methods. It is true that the modernist way of thinking freed people from other forms of art movements they never had power or understanding about. For example, the revision of the relationship between private and public buildings in the 19th century performed by modernists reviewed the way public and private buildings were constructed (Baker, 2003). It is true to say that freedom of expression aimed freeing the public from misconceptions and certain perceptions was the main objective of modernism. Modernism art movement also sought to achieve greater level of understanding about signs and symbols used in the work of arts. In this regard, it can be said that modernism has a great relationship with interpretation and semiotic because modernism seeks to find the interpretation of the real meanings hidden in abstract images. Semiotic seeks to study symbols and signs used in art work in order to derive meaning from the images (Baker, 2003). From this review, it is evident that modernists took the path of seeking for meaning and simplifying intricate issues that affected social development and thus it informs my understanding of freedom of expression because modernists used art to express the problems that prevail in the society and provides solutions required to deal with such problems. In conclusion, it is clear from the discussion above that the sole purpose of modernism is to liberate people from conventional thinking. Conventional thinking such as the application of science and technology to better life is not the actual objective of modernism. The modernist art movement was built and developed with the hope that simplicity and clarity of images could help people particularly the consumers take leadership in determining the standards and safety measures that manufacturers could employ when producing products and services. Hence, modernism has informed my understanding of freedom of expression achieved through artistic expressions of various phenomenons in the pat life. References Baker, H. (2003). Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance, Chicago: University of Chicago Press) Craig O. (2001). Beyond Recognition: Representation, Power, and Culture, London and Berkeley: University of California Press, pp74-75. De Zegher, C., & Teicher, H. (2005). 3 X Abstraction. (New Haven, Yale University Press). Hal, F. (2006). The Return of the Real: The Avant-garde at the End of the Century, MIT Press, pp.44-53. Ihab, H. & Lawrence E. (2003). From Modernism to Postmodernism: An Anthology, Blackwell Publishing, p13. Martin, A., & Howard, J. (2005). The New Art: It's Way, Way Out, pp.3,55–63. Nicholls, P. 2001. Modernisms: A Literary Guide (Hampshire and London: Macmillan) Whitaker, J. (2006). Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class, (New York, St. Martin's Press). Read More

 

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