Clover Lawn: Modern

5th Oct 2011

The subject of this lecture and seminar was Modernity & Modernism

During the years that I studied architecture I understood the importance of modernism as a complete change in any artistic/design conception.

The radical transformation that cities brought to society in ways that altered their way of living, way of thinking, way of expressing and more importantly, their way of feeling.
Society suddenly felt immerse in a routinary life, where consumerism starts attacking from every direction due to the easement that technology is bringing with the mass production (cheaper and faster-made products), along with numerous inventions such as electricity, trains, telephone and photography.

Here's where the movement of the Bauhaus starts making an impact not only on architecture, but on other disciplines such as graphic design and industrial design. After some key strong influences, everything that was considered art becomes obsolete by the new idea of ‘less is more’ (Mies van der Rohe) in where the ornament becomes a crime (Adolf Loos). Starting with architecture, buildings became simple, exposing their material (new materials), creation of skyscrapers started after the invention of new constructive methods and the invention of the elevator. Then, as everything is linked, fashion and on-stage performances seem to be influenced; literature and painting are focusing deeply in the artist feelings which at the same time produce a big impact in psychology. This marked the beginning of the urban society as we know.

In general, the modernism became a subjective experience, the experience of the individual in the modern world; a response of the artists and their new modern life.

Frida Kahlo (Mexican painter)
is a perfect example of an artist reacting to her environment, which then became into a film.

Now, if we talk about contextualizing it with the present it is more or less the beginning of any form of animation and film, as the technology for it was just invented. Also it was the beginning of revolutionary thoughts with a futuristic vision (being the of sci-fi subjects) such as Metropolis or Things to come, which even now a days keep having some impact in many plots related to the future, robots and the way technology and massive amount of people affect the personal wrought, but at the same time the way the protagonist/artist is trying to survive/stand out.