OUGD401 - Context of Practice Lecture 13

Modernity and Modernism 

Modernity is wrapped up in industrialisation, urbanisation and the city.
To modernise something it implies it will make something better. 
Modern initially meant to be of your time .
Paris was the centre of modernity in the 1900's, in the 1950's it moved to New York.
Many people were moving away from the country into cities

Things changed :

- people did not know each other
- dressed the same
- the pace of life increased
- city life was based around schedules 
- there was a need to be productive
- time became standardised 
- transport increased
- world times were agreed upon
- the light bulb was invented meaning more usable hours of the day 

Between 1750 and the mid 19th Century is when modernity occurred.
Secularisation occurred which was a move away from God and religion to Science and philosophy or the age of enlightenment.
During this time modern was imposed onto existing things e.g. cities and buildings.

Haussmanisation 

In the 1850's a new Paris was being built. Parts of the city were flattened to make way for modern living e.g. cars, this also allowed more control by the authorities e.g. the police. 

The city centres become gentrified with mainly rich people living there and the outskirts were marginalised.

The Flaneurs were people who didn't work as much but were rich so were able to walk around absorbing life.

Pointillism was created as a response to industrialisation. It was anti expressionist and the process was industrial in a sense because of its structure, allowing anyone to recreate the style.

Photography was a modern technique that changed painting, as there was the ability to crop with a camera rather than just having full frame images. 

New technologies were intrinsic to the time which was alienating for some as they had to adapt to the new and fast way of life.

People were experiencing the world through new technologies, creating a disengagement with the subject as they weren't physically engaging with it.

Max Nordau wrote Degeneration 1892 which discussed his worries about the modern world.

Modernism is the responses of artists / designers to modernity and changing life. It describes an experience of the modern world. It is usually more abstract and sensual because it is trying to capture an experience.There was a new sensory overload which people were trying to make sense of. 

Modernity brings new techniques and ways of working for artists and designers. 

Modernist design was not an attempt to dehumanise the situation but perhaps an attempt to order the world in a rationale way.  When we look at modernist works they look rational an structured but there are slight disruptions and confusion eve in minimalist works.