Art Through the Ages
This week, we were set the task of researching six art movements, highlighting two key artists within each movement. The movements I’ll be discussing in today’s post are Futurism, Dada, Feminist Art, Minimalism, Conceptual Art, and Land/Earth Art.
Futurism
Futurism was an Italian art movement founded in Milan in 1909 by the Italian poet Fillippo Tommaso Maarinette when he published a Manifesto of futurism on the front page of a Paris newspaper.
Fillippo Tommaso Maarinette "Manifeste du Futurisme" 1909
The futurist movement was most influential between 1909 and 1914. It aimed to capture the energy of the modern world and liberate Italy from the weight of its oppressive past. Futurist painting emphasized speed, youth, violence and the industrial city. It expressed the idea of dynamism as it explored the energy and movement of modern life.
We can see evidence of this theme when we look at some pieces of work by Umberto Boccioni, an influential painter and sculptor who helped shape the futurism movement.
Umberto Boccioni “The City Rises” 1910
Boccioni’s pioneering work, “The City Rises” helped launch futurism when it was exhibited in Milan in 1911 and depicts the construction of Milan’s new electrical power plant. The blurred and vibrant coloured image of man and horse becomes the focal point of the movement surrounding it, combining the blurred brushstrokes of post-impressionism with the fractured illustrations of Cubism.
Left: Vincent van Gough "The Starry Night" 1889, Right: Pablo Picasso "femme assise dans un fauteuil" 1910
In Boccioni’s paintings, he conveys modern labour as a battle with the past to create a new future. His piece “Elasticity” embodies his desire to paint Milan’s transition into modernity as he uses colour and form to deconstruct the space, putting the viewer at the centre of the work, illustrating futurist theories.
Another influential artist from the futurist movement was Carlo Carrà. His piece “Funeral of the Anarchist Galli” commemorates the funeral of Galli (an anarchist killed by police during a strike in 1904) and captures the moment the police mounted horseback and attacked the procession, a group led by anarchists.
Carlo Carrà “Funeral of the Anarchist Galli” 1910-11
Illuminated by light, the coffin is made centre of the piece. Referencing Galli’s role in igniting the violence, directly addressing the political factors of the time.
Carlo Carrà “Woman on the Balcony” 1912
In Carlo Carrà’s “Woman on the Balcony” a blend of cubism and futurism is used to create non-definitive lines between each form, representing the subject’s movement through space. This piece is an example of the complex view futurists had towards the nature of reality.
References:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/futurism
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/futurism/
https://www.apollo-magazine.com/harnessing-the-future-the-art-of-umberto-boccioni/
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79225
Dada
Dada was an art movement beginning in 1915, during the First World War. The art, poetry and performance created by dada artists was often nonsensical in nature, produced as a negative reaction to the war – destroying traditional values and creating a new world to replace the old. Dada artists often used readymades (everyday objects presented as art by the use of artist manipulation), which forced questions about artistic creativity examined the definition of art and its purpose in society.
Hans Arp was a French-German artist and poet known as a founding member of Dadaism. His work was motivated by an interest in harnessing unconscious thought and was informed by his experimental attitude.
Left: Hans Arp “Human Concretion” 1933, Right: Hans Arp “Floral” 1957
Arp is best known for his abstract humanist sculptures, created to reconnect people with their emotions.
References:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/d/dada
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/dada/
http://www.artnet.com/artists/jean-hans-arp/
https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/dada/
Feminist Art
Feminist art emerged in the 1960’s and was motivated by feminist theory and the feminist movement. It sought to bring more visibility to women within the established (and often masculine) art world by exploring the social and economic factors that prevented talented women from achieving in the same way as men.
One of the key figures of the feminist art movement was Judy Chicago. She created one of the most iconic works of this period “The Dinner Party”, an installation of 39 place settings arranged on a table set for various historical women. Chicago’s work presented the stereotype of a woman’s artistic skill (sewing/needlework) and counterbalanced it with a stereotypical male skill (welding/pyrotechnics).
Since the late 1960’s Chicago has been at the forefront of the feminist art movement. In 1982 she launched a project in collaboration with 150 needleworkers to create “the Birth Project” – a series of artworks celebrating the various aspects of giving birth.
Another key artist from the feminist movement, Mary Bet Edelson, produced work that visualized the inner thoughts of the feminist movement. This is evident in her piece “Some Living American Women Artists / Last Supper”. In this piece, Edelson appropriated Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, with the heads of notable women artists collaged over the heads of Christ and his apostles.
Mary Beth Edelson “Some Living American Women Artists / Last Supper” 1972
Mary Beth Edelson “Goddess Head” 1975
“The goddess” emerged in Edelson’s works in the late 1970’s, representing women’s power to take control of their lives – a contrast to woman of patriarchal societies.
References:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/mary-beth-edelson-27158
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/feminist-art/
https://www.moma.org/collection/terms/168
https://www.judychicago.com/gallery/birth-project/bp-artwork/
Minimalism
Minimalism is a form of abstract art that emerged in the late 1950’s and developed through the 60’s and 70’s. It can be seen as an extension of the abstract idea that art should have its own reality and not be an imitation of another thing – the artist wants the viewer to respond only to what is in front of them.
Minimalist art distances itself from Abstract Expressionism by removing metaphors of any kind. It uses industrial materials and simple, geometric forms to emphasize the physical space occupied by the artwork.
We can see the use of geometric forms when we look at the work of Dan Flavin. Flavin rejected studio production by creating site-specific work (art designed for a specific location). The structures he created cast light and shade taking a variety of forms, emphasizing the space it was made in. 
Left: Dan Flavin “Untitled” (in honour of Harold Joachim) 1977, Right: Dan Flavin “Menil Collection” 1996
Another key artist from the minimalist movement is Agnes Martin, known for her evocative paintings of pale washes of colour and soft pencil lines.
Martins style was restrained, using simple geometric firms to create expressive art deep in emotion.
References:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/minimalism
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/minimalism/
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/agnes-martin
Conceptual Art
Conceptual art emerged in the 1960’s and is described as one of the most influential movements of the late 20th century. Conceptual artists recognized that all art is conceptual and expressed the idea that the work itself was more important than the finished object. This movement redefined the traditional relationship between artist and audience, enabling art both inside and outside the gallery.
Other fields of study—such as philosophy and social science—played a major role in the experience of conceptual art, inspiring projects that rejected standard ideas of art. “Pose Work for Plinths” created by Bruce McLean, is an example of performance art – a practice some conceptual artists used to express their ideas.
Bruce McLean “Pose Work for Plinths” 1971
This work was originally viewed as a performance at the Situation Gallery in 1971. McLean used body art (artwork using body as the principle medium and focus) to pose in ironic ways, commenting on what he considered to be the pretentious nature of large plinth-based sculptures. McLean later had himself photographed repeating the poses.
Bruce McLean’s piece “Six Sculptures” explores the use of found objects – using low-value objects such as twigs and cloths – to create conceptual pieces that disrup the values of the contemporary gallery.
Bruce McLean “Six Sculptures” 1967–8
McLean made six sculptures from natural materials, returning them to the environment and photographing them – making these photographs the only record of their existence. The sculptures demonstrate McLean’s interest in time and experience.
Another artist interested in the use of found objects was Jannis Kounellis.
Left: Jannis Kounellis “Untitled” 1968, Right: Jannis Kounellis “Untitled” 1969
Jannis Kounellis used humble materials, taking them out of everyday life context and placing them in a gallery – inviting the viewer to experience the work in a material and sensory way. Again, disrupting the standards of a contemporary gallery.
References:
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/conceptual-art/
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/c/conceptual-art
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/bruce-mclean-1610
https://www.britannica.com/art/conceptual-art
Land/Earth Art
Land art was part of the wider conceptual art movement in the 1960’s and 70’s during a time of political unrest and social protest. It sought to fight against the commercialisation of art and culture – rejecting the museum or gallery and focusing on the materials – closely overlapping the concerns of minimalism.
Land art uses the natural landscape to create structures that are made directly on the landscape – sculpting the land itself or using raw materials such as rocks and twigs. It is documented through photographs and maps which are then exhibited in a gallery.
Left: Richard Long “A Line Made by Walking” 1967, Right: Richard Long “Small White Pebble Circles“ 1987
Key artist from the land art movement, Richard Long typically created his work with nature-based materials (earth, rock, mud). “A Line Made by Walking” was created by repeatedly walking back and forth in a field made of grass. The piece was then photographed at an angle, using light to enhance the look of the line. Similarly, “Small White Pebble Circles” is a sculpture comprising of five concentric rings of white marble pebbles laid on the floor. Richard Long’s work documents the way land art can be broadened to include performance and conceptual art.
We can see another example of land art when looking at some pieces made by Robert Smithson.
Left: Robert Smithson “Spiral Jetty” 1970, Right: Robert Smithson “Broken Circle/Spiral Hill” 1971
Smithson’s work challenged the contemporary notion of sculptural form by removing art from the gallery and moving it to the uncultivated landscape. He became best known for the earthworks “Spiral Jetty” and “Broken Circle/Spiral Hill”.
References:
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/earth-art/
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/l/land-art
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/richard-long-1525
http://www.richardlong.org
https://magazine.artland.com/top-10-land-art-and-earthwork-pioneers/
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