From the Age of Symbolism to Expressionism

Symbolism

• Symbolism was both an artistic and a literary movement that suggested ideas through symbols
and emphasized the meaning behind the forms, lines, shapes and colors.
• Symbolism can also be seen as being at the forefront of modernism, in that it developed new
and often abstract means to express psychological truth and the idea that behind the physical
world lay a spiritual reality.
• Symbolism in the visual arts had its sources in early 19 th century Romanticism’s emphasis on the
imagination, rather than reason, and the themes first evident in the writer Charles Baudelaire’s
Les Fleurs du Mal.
• Symbolism was in many ways a reaction against the moralism, rationalism and materialism of
the 1880s. This fin-de-siècle period was a period of malaise – a sickness of dissatisfaction.

Symbolist Theory and Albert Aurier

In 1891 he wrote, in what became essentially a Symbolist manifesto that art should be:
1. Ideiste (Ideative)…. Expressing an idea.
2. Symbolist since it expresses that idea through form
3. Synthetic since it expresses those forms and signs in a way that is generally understandable
4. Subjective since the object… is only an indication of an idea perceived by the subject
5. And as a result it will also be Decorative….. since decorative painting is at once an art that is
synthetic, symbolist and ideative.

Concepts and Styles

The period in which the Symbolists worked as marked by confusion
regarding moral, social, religious, and intellectual attitudes. The world
was expanding beyond European norms; socialism no longer consisted of the
benevolent intentions with which it set out. The most important art of the
symbolist is Death and the Masks by James Ensor.

Art Nouveau (emphasis on natural forms and structure)

• Art Nouveau, ornamental style of art that flourished between about 1890 and 1910
throughout Europe and the United States. Art Nouveau is characterized by its use of a
long, sinuous, organic line and was employed most often in architecture, interior design,
jewelry and glass design, posters and illustration.
• Art Nouveau developed first in England and soon spread to the European continent,
where it was called Jugendstil in Germany, Sezessionstil in Australia, Stile Floreale (Stile
Liberty) in Italy and Modernismo (Modernista) in Spain. The term ‘Art Nouveau’ was
coined by a gallery in Paris that exhibited much of this work.

History of “Art Nouveau”

- stemmed from the name of the Parisian art gallery called “La Maison de I’Art Nouveau”, owned
by the avant-garde art collector Seigfried Bing,
• at the 1900 Exposition Universelle The gallery’s reputation and frame was considerably boosted
by its installations of modern furniture, tapestries and objects d’artafter which the gallery’s name
became almost synonymous with the style.

Characteristics of Art Nouveau

There is no single definition or meaning of Art Nouveau. But the following are the distinguishing
factors:
1. Art Nouveau philosophy was in favor of applying artistic designs to everyday objects, in order to
make beautiful things available to everyone. No object was too utilitarian to be “beautified”.
2. Art Nouveau saw no separation in principle between fine art (painting and sculpture) and applied
or decorative arts (ceramics, furniture and other practical objects).
3. In content, the style was a reaction to a world of art which was dominated by the precise geometry
of Neoclassical forms. It sought a new graphic design language, as far away as possible from the
historical and classical models employed by the arts academies.
 4. Art Nouveau remains something of an umbrella term which embraces a variety of stylistic
interpretations: some artists used new low-cost materials and mass production methods while
others used more expensive materials and valued high craftsmanship.

Famous Art Nouveau Artists

The two greatest graphic artists of the Art Nouveau movement were the:
1. Jules Cheret – French lithographer, whose invention of “3-stone chromolithography” made Art
Nouveau poster art feasible
2. Alphonse Mucha – Czech lithographer and designer, whose celebrated posters epitomized the
Art Nouveau idiom

Fauvism (extremely bright color art works)

o Fauvism is a style of painting that flourished on France around the turn of the 20 th century.
Fauve artists used pure, brilliant color aggressively applied straight from the paint tubes
to create a sense of an explosion on the canvas.
• Fauvist works were invested with a strong expressive reaction to the subjects portrayed.
First formally exhibited in Paris in 1905, Fauvist paintings shocked visitors to the annual
Salon d’Automne; one of these visitors was the critic Louis Vauxcelles,
• The other major Fauvists were Andre Derain, who had attended school with Matisse in
1898-99 and Maurice de Vlaminck, who was Derain’s friend. They shared Matisse’s
interest in the expressive function of color in painting and they first exhibited together in
1905.
• By 1908 a revived interest in Paul Cezanne’s vision of the order and structure of nature
had led many of them to reject the turbulent emotionalism of Fauvism in favor of the logic
of Cubism.
Characteristics of Fauvism
The characteristics of Fauvism include:
1. A radical use of unnatural colors that separated color from its usual representational and realistic
role , giving new, emotional meaning of the colors
2. Creating a strong unified work that appears flat on the canvas
3. Showing individual expressions and emotions of the painter instead of creating paintings based
on theories of what painting should look like with objects represented as they appear in nature
4. Bold brush strokes using paint straight from the tube instead of preparing and mixing it.
Expressionism (spiritual rebirth in a materialistic age)
Expressionism is an artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict not objective reality
but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse within a person.
The artist accomplishes this aim through to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective
emotions and responses that objects and events arouse within a person
• . In the broader sense Expressionism is one of the main currents of art in the later 19 th
century and the 20th centuries, and its qualities of highly objective, personal, spontaneous
self-expression are typical of a wide range of modern artists and art movements
• The term “Expressionism” is thought to have been coined in 1910 by Czech art historian
Antonin Matejcek, who intended it to denote the opposite of Impressionism.

The Advent of Expressionism in Germany

• Expressionism first emerged in 1905, when a group of four German architecture students who
desired to become painters – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fritz Bleyl, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Erich
Heckel – formed thee group Die Brucke (the Bridge) in the city of Dresden.
• in 1911, a like-minded group of young artist formed Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) in Munich,
after the rejection of Wassily Kandinsky’s painting The Last Judgment from a local exhibition.
• Expressionism was a dominant style in Germany in the years immediately following the World
War I, where it suited the postwar atmosphere of cynicism, alienation and disillusionment.

Characteristics of Expressionism
Expressionist art tried to convey emotion and meaning rather than reality. Each artist had
his own unique way of “expressing” his emotions in his art. In order to express emotion, the
subjects are often distorted or exaggerated. At the same time, colors are often vivid and shocking.
Decline of the Movement
The decline of Expressionism was hastened by the vagueness of its longing for a better world, by
its use of highly poetic language, and in general the intensely personal and inaccessible nature of its mode
of presentation. The partial reestablishment of stability in Germany after 1924 and the growth of more
overtly political styles of social realism hastened the movement’s decline in the 1920s. Expressionism was
definitively killed by the advent of the Nazis to power in 1933. They branded the work of almost all
Expressionists as degenerate and forbade them to exhibit or publish and eventually even to work. Many
Expressionists went into exile in the United States and other countries.
Famous Expressionist Artists
1. Max Beckman – A German painter who has against the Expressionist movement. However, many
of his paintings are described as Expressionist.
2. James Ensor – A Dutch painter who had great influence on the expressionist movement in the
Germany.
3. Oskar Kokoschka – An Austrian artist whose artwork was displayed in the German magazine ‘The
Storm’ The Storm’ when expressionism became a true art movement.
4. August Macke – A leading member of the expressionist group “The Blue Rider’ in Germany, he
also painted some abstract art.
5. Franz Marc – A founding member ‘The Blue Rider’ group, Franz Marc was one of the leaders in
the Expressionist movement.
Cubism to Installation Art
Cubism
• Cubism was a truly revolutionary style of modern art developed by Pablo Picasso an
d George Baraque. It was the first style of abstract art which evolved at the beginning
of the 20th century in response to a world that was changing with unprecedented
speed.
• The painting of Picasso the Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in 1907 presaged the new
style; in this work, the forms of five female nudes become fractured, angular shapes.
As in Cezanne’s art, perspective is rendered through color, with the warm reddish-
browns advancing and the cool blues recording.

Futurism
• Futurism was first announced on February 20, 1909, when the Paris newspaper Le Figaro
published a manifesto by the Italian poet and editor Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. Marinetti coined
the word Futurism to reflect his goal of discarding the art of the past and celebrating change,
originality, and innovation in culture and society.
• Futurist principles extended to architecture as well. Antonio Sant’Elia formulated a Futurist
manifesto on architecture in 1914. His visionary drawings of highly mechanized cities and boldly
modern skyscrapers prefigure some of the most imaginative 20 th-century architectural planning.

Surrealism
Surrealism is defined as “Psychic automatism in its pure state by which we propose to express-
verbally, in writing, or in any other manner-the real process of thought. The dictation of thought, in the
absence of any control exercised by reason and outside any aesthetic or moral concerns”. In other words,
the general idea of Surrealism is nonconformity. This nonconformity was not as extreme as that of Dada
since surrealism was still considered to be art. Breton said that “pure psychic automatism” was the most
important principle of Surrealism.
Constructivism
• Constuctivism, a Russian artistic and architectural movement that was first influenced by Cubism
and Futurism, is generally considered to have been initiated in 1913 with the “painting reliefs” -
abstract geometric constructions - of Vladimir Tatlin.
• It is form the manifesto that the name ‘Constructivism’ was derived; one of the directives that it
contained was “to construct” art. Because of their admiration for machines and technology,
functionalism, and modern industrial materials such as plastic, steel, and glass, members of the
movement were also called artist-engineers.

De Stijl Art
• De Stijl, a Dutch word meaning “The Style” is a group of Dutch artists in Amsterdam in 1917,
including the painters Piet Mondrain, Theo van Doesburg and Vilmos Huszar, the architect
Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, and the poet A.
• De Stijl influenced painting, decoratove arts (including furniture design), typography and
architecture, but it was principally architecture that realized both De Stijl’s stylistic aim and
its goal of close collaboration among the arts.
• The harmony and order were established through a reduction of elements to pure geometric
forms and primary colors. Die Stijl was also the name of a publication discussing the groups
theories which was published by van Doesburg. The publication Die Stijl represents the most
significant work of graphic design from the movement, but the ideas of reduction of form and
color are major influences on the development of graphic design as well.

Abstract Expressionism
Abstract expressionism is a broad movement in American painting that began in the late
1940s and became a dominant trend in Western painting during the 1950s.
Approaches and Style
Inspite of the diversity of the Abstract Expressionist movement, three general approaches can
be distinguished. One, Action painting, is characterized by a loose, rapid, dynamic or forceful
handling of paint in sweeping or slashing brushstrokes and in techniques partially dictated by
chance, such as dripping or spilling the paint directly onto the canvas.
Optical Art
Op Art can be defined as a type of abstract or concrete art consisting of non-representational
geometric shapes which create various types of optical illusion. For instance, when viewed, Op Art pictures
may cause the eye to detect a sense of movement (eg. Swelling, warping, flashing, vibration) on the
surface of the painting. And the patterns, shapes and colors used in these pictures are typically selected
for their illusional qualities, rather than for their substantive or emotional content. In addition, Op artists
use both positive and negative spaces to create the desired illusions.

Pop Art
The term ‘Pop-Art’ was invented by British curator Lawrence Alloway in 1955 to describe a new
form of “Popular” art - a movement characterized by the imagery of consumerism and popular culture.
Pop Art emerged in both New York and London during the mid-1950s and became the dominant avant
garde style until the late 1960s.
Characteristics
• Pop Art is characterized by bold, simple, everyday imagery and vibrant block colors,
it was interesting to look at and had a modern “hip” feel. The bright color schemes
also enabled this form of avant garde art to emphasize certain elements in
contemporary culture, and helped to narrow the divide between the commercial arts
and the fine arts.

Photo-Realism
- Photo-realism, also called Super-realism is an American art movement that beganin the 1960s,
taking photography as its inspiration. Photo-realist painters created highly illusionistic images that
referred not to nature but to the reproduced image.
- Photo-realists typically projected a photographed image onto a canvas and then used an airbrush
to reproduce the effect of a photo printed on glossy paper. the idea of the painting was involved
primarily with the photograph and that the painting was just the technique of finishing it up.
 Installation Art
Installation art is the term for works, room-sized or larger, in which the whole space is considered
a single unified artwork. It is different from a gallery room filled with works by multiple artists or an exhibit
space with a selection of works by one artist. The installation is one cohesive work of art.
Installation developed in the 20th century. It grew out of artists working in the 1950s and 1960s
who focused on conceptual art, which is art based on ideas rather than aesthetic qualities of finished
works. Some artists began to create environments, curating gallery spaces, qualities of finished works.
Some artists began to create environments, curating gallery spaces, or organizing events that happened
in the real world in a set period of time. Such work fed into the idea of room-sized works. The term
‘installation art’ began to be used in the 1970s.

Characteristics of Installation Art

• Most installation art has certain elements in common. Artists often create
installations in mixed media. Mixed media means using more than one art medium.
Such works might involve traditional arts like painting, sculpture, and textiles as well
as words, text and utilitarian materials.
• Installation art is about the experience of the person immersed in it. Audiences see
these works by walking into them or through them and being surrounded by them.
Installations can be sensory experiences involving sight, sound, smell, and sometimes
touch.
Installation Art in the Philippines

T’nalak and T’boli Art – famous for their dream-inspired and spirit infused T’nalak weavings, but also for
their embroidery, brass casting and other crafts
• T’nalak weaving is an art form perfected over decades of practice by T’boli women,
and only a handful of master weavers can be considered true ‘dream weavers’, the
works of whom are highly valued
• T’nalak, a deep brown abaca-based cloth tie-dyed with intricate designs, is produced
by women of Mindanao’s T’boli Tribe

Dagmay
• The Mandaya is one of the Mindanao’s surviving minority tribes of the Philippines
• For many generations the Mandaya have woven cloth from fibers of native abaca
tree, a variety of the banana family which is abundant in the region
• The dyes are made from mud, root and other organic materials
• This cloth is known locally as dagmay
• It is distinguished from other tribal weaving by the intricate figures and patterns
depicting the folklores and religion of the tribe
• The Mandaya have carried the human and crocodile motifs to their highest expression
• The crocodile is held sacred as shown by the frequency with which it appears in their
decorative design
• There are no pattern copy
• The designs that included the binaybayan, the otaw (man), the patella, buaya
(crocodile), bilaan and the utaw and the kallungnan (which refers to the poles where
the dagmay cloth is rolled, represented by stripes in the design)
 Pis-syabit
• Is the traditional cloth tapestry made from the cotton silk worn as a head covering by
the Tausug of Sulu
• This is also where the late master weaver Darhata Sawabi, a GAMABA Awardee of
2005 came from
• Intricately woven at the houses of the Tausugs
• Pis-syabit weaving is a difficult art
• Preparing the warp alone already takes 3 days
• It is a very mechanical task, consisting of stringing black and red threads across a
banana and bamboo frame to form the base of the tapestry
• Pis-syabit is characterized with intricate geometric patterns of colors segmented into
the smallest squares, triangles and diamonds
• It is a multi-purpose head wear that may be worn on the shoulder, tied along the hilt
of the kris or wrap around the head used by Tausug men, usually a sign of rank
• Pis-syabit is also used to decorate households such as frames, curtains and giveaways

Seputangan
• The Yakans settled originally in Basilan Island and in the seventies, due to a political
unrest which led the armed conflicts between the militant Muslims and government
soldiers, some of them settled in the region of Zamboanga City
• Traditionally, they have used plants like pineapple and abaca converted into fibers as
basic material for weaving
• Using herbal extracts from leaves, roots and barks, the Yakan dyed the fibers and
produced colourful combinations and intricate designs
• The seputangan is the most intricate design worn by the women around their waist
or as a head cloth
• The warp and primary weft are of cotton and the supplementary weft is silk
• The supplementary weft work is discontinuous, a type of work in which the various
colors are inserted in the proper place by hand
• Yakan people are recognized for their remarkable Technicolor geometric weaves and
the distinctive face decorations used in their traditional ceremonies

Inaul
• The inaul is still very much an everyday item in Maguindanao province
• Inaul is a time-honored weaving tradition of the Maguindanao people usually made
into malong or wraparound skirts commonly and regularly used by both sexes
• The Maranaos of Marawi City also has this weaving tradition
• Inaul has more than 20 designs with riyal the heirloom piece being the rarest since it
is no longer being produced and hard to find
• Other notable designs include umpak which is embroided-laden and hard to do,
binaludto or rainbow, panigabi or taro, and the rare tie-dye binaludan called ikat by
the T’boli and the people of Cordillera
• The three types of threads being used in weaving are tanor which is cottony, the silky
rayon and katiyado which is the shiny type. Rayon and tanor can be mixed together
to form a malong called “mestizo”.
• The colors are also reflective of the Maguindanao culture. Red means bravery, green
for peace, black for dignity, white for sadness and green means peace
• Today, inaul is no longer confined to malong and is now being made into modern
clothing such as gowns, polo, and trousers