Modernism
Modernism is a response to social change and advancements in technology on both an individual and a mass psyche level. I am struck by the poignancy of writing a piece on Modernism at this time, where emerging technology is redefining every facet of human life in an unprecedented way; with no honest answer as to the consequence. The human desire to bridge gaps in knowledge and connection is fundamental, and this is as manifest now in 2024 for the billionaires who fire phallic rockets into space as it was for futurists who extolled the virtue of mechanisation in the 1920s. I reference Icarus too as I quote Jurassic Park now. Humans were and still are, ‘So preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.’
The Italian fascist and misogynist Marinetti spoke of mechanised speed in almost religious terms, urging that people ignored and destroyed the past, and instead looked to the new, to the revolutionary. The industrial revolution had offered the novelty of the engine and this appealed greatly to him, sitting in stark contrast with his pastoral rural background. He had yet to observe mechanised war and the unthinkable horrors of WWI, made possible by the same technology that he spoke of in his Futurist Manifesto: ‘The worlds magnificence has been enriched by a new beauty, the beauty of speed.’ In the early 1900’s, several European artists gravitated towards the dominant art movement of Futurism, expanding on its enthusiasm for fascist revolution, anarchy, the machine and the dynamism of modern life. Many of them were also Italian, including Giacomo Balla, who finished painting ‘Velocità astratta + rumore’, or ‘Abstract sight + sound’, just before war reached his home country.
‘Velocità astratta + rumore’, Giacomo Balla, 1913 - 1914
It depicts the motion and sound of a racing automobile, a machine that became synonymous with Futurism. In trying to overcome the problems inherent in painting movement, Balla included crisscross motifs throughout the piece, suggestive of the infinite multiplication of noise, speed and power generated by an engine at full throttle. The abstracted red form of the car cuts through the green background and blue sky, transforming the landscape in a swirl of energy. The painting extends beyond the canvas and onto the frame, pushing the image into the viewer’s reality. It is a painting fully in thrall of the novelty of the machine; and so it perfectly captured the aggressive ideals of Futurism. The advent of WWI meant that these word’s from The Futurist Manifesto rang with sombre irony just some 5 years after they were written: “We will glorify war—the world's only hygiene—militarism, patriotism, the destructive gesture of freedom-bringers, beautiful ideas worth dying for, and scorn for woman."
Six years after Balla's hymn to the engine, Otto Dix created his haunting and surreal painting ‘The Skat Players’ , which depicts three grotesque and mutilated figures sat around a table, playing cards. Half man and half machine, survivors of the gamble of war, gambling.
‘Die Skatspieler’, Otto Dix, 1920
Dix made a strong statement about the destruction and crippling aftereffects of the war he had survived in this piece. The figures are cripples themselves, with their automaton limbs blending into the furniture; like the veterans of war at the time, who sat neglected, invisible and broken in the society of contemporary Germany. Dix joined the Dada movement when he returned home from the trenches, his earlier excitement about the war shattered by the senseless slaughter he had witnessed on the battlefield. Dadaism critiqued the ineffectiveness of its predecessor, Expressionism, in achieving true political impact. So too did the New Objectivity, or New Realism, movement. Having lived through WWI and WWII, Dix had much to say about the dark political and social climate in Europe during that era and was therefore a pivotal contributor to both movements, employing art as a tool for moral and cultural protest and agitation.
Throughout this painting dark oil paint sits next to collage, just as the officers prosthetics sit next to their flesh. It is a strong and shocking image that represents the cultural, social, psychological and spiritual trauma of its time. The humour and sympathy visible in the piece speaks of Dix’s own trauma, and helps his message land in an accessible way. This subtle gentleness is disarming and makes a sincere connection between artist and audience more possible.
These pieces tell of a very different relationship with technology. Such is the power of art, that it can convey dramatic shifts in the human experience so potently. It is sobering to reflect on this as we step into a future where AI will be universal and humans are made the commodity of the future. As I humbly reflect on the role of the artist to comment on and inform spiritual, psychological cultural and social human experience made visible throughout Modernism, I feel more compelled than ever to encourage dialogue about emergent technology in my work.
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