“Modernism” and “The Contemporary Spirit”.
Read in the textbook Adventures in the Human Spirit, pp. 381-443 and answer the following questions about the reading: 1. What was the “Great War” and how did it affect society in Russia, Germany, and America? 2. What are some of the specific features of “modern art,” and how did Pablo Picasso contribute to this developing form of visual expression? 3. Look at figures 12.12 (p. 332), 13.23 (p. 368), and 14.9 (p. 390), and explain how the artistic impressions of Romanticism, Impressionism, and Modernism differed from each other. 4. Who was Sigmund Freud and what were some of his theories? Describe in 7–10 sentences. 5. Read the “Key Concept” on p. 397. What is your opinion of the “subconscious” (or “unconscious”)? Do you think it is as influential as Freud believed it was? Write a 300 word response and give specific examples. 6. Read pp. 399–400 and listen to Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire. You don’t have to listen to the entire piece but listen to at least the following selections: (1) Moondrunk [00.06–01:30]; (5) Walz of Chopin [06.06–07.04]; (16) Mean Trick [26.05–26.51]. Describe in five sentences or more how this music makes you feel. What sort of emotions does it illicit? What does it make you think of? Do you like this kind of music? Etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQVkbKULKpI 7. What is “straight photography” and who were the main influences in this type of photography? 8. Who were Charles Ives, Louis Amrstrong, and Duke Ellington? What contributions did they make to American Western society? 9. Listen to the following two selections by Louis Amrstrong. What are the first few thoughts that cross your mind when you hear each of these? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAlrpx40UnE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3yCcXgbKrE 10. How did art and philosophy express the anxieties of the atomic age? 11. Define Abstract Expressionism in your own words (read the entire section under “The New York School”). Look at the paintings in figures 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, and 15.6. What is your impression of this style of painting? Can you identify more with this style of painting or with other styles we’ve studied? Explain. 12. Read pp. 422–424 and look at the sculpture images on those pages. Do you think these sculptures reflect the same level of skill as those produced in the Renaissance Period (e.g., pp. 204, 205, 206, 215)? Is this a fair question to ask given the differ goals of the sculptors from these two periods? 13. Postmodernism is summarized on pp. 428–429. Do you see any elements of postmodernism is today’s society? Write an extended answer: respond in 300 words or more and give specific examples. (20 pts)