what is the difference between modernism anti-modernism, post-modernism, and contemporary art?

Modernism deals with artworks produced roughly from

1860s to the 1970s. It is characterized by

throwing out of the old, embracing the new. There is more experimentation, new ways

of seeing, new ideas about how art functions. Historically it can be tied to the

industrial revolution

where there is a rapid changes in manufacturing transportation technology

which influenced the social economic and cultural conditions of Western Europe

and North America. People are moving out urban spaces traveling and having new world views

and access to new ideas. The invention of photography also sent painting into an identity crisis.

With this new technology that can perfectly replicate scenes

what can painting do that photography can not?

No more frou-frou mythological or religious scenes for wealthy patrons,

Modern art was about the people places and ideas that

artist had direct contact with.

Along with the publication of Sigmund Freud

The Interpretation of Dreams in 1889 artists became more interested in dreams

symbolism and iconography as ways to depict subjective experiences.

Anti-modernism or counter-modernism refers to a number of

parallel movements that spread throughout Europe following the end of World War I

Given the collective name of Le rappel a lordre

meaning return to order, they rejected the extreme

avant-garde art and took notes from traditional art instead.

In particular futurism was brought into focus.

They were a group of anti-traditionalists who celebrated technology to the point of

praising machinery in violence and power and condemned the culture of the past

in defiance of history and tradition. However there is a break when Futurist follwers

broke off from the pack. In particular Severini and Carra

became followers of Giorgio de Chirico.

Picasso and Braque abandoned cubism.

Picasso produced work in a neoclassical style that recalled

the work of Raphael and Ingres. This trend was evident in many

artists working in the nineteen twenties including Deran,

Metzinger, artists of the New Objectivity and the Novecento Italiano movement.

Postmodern art is a body of art movements around 1960s

Dates can be hard to pinpoint

The idea of what is considered

art is expanded to mixed media, installation, conceptual art

and video art. We begin to see Bricolage, collage,

simplification, appropriation, performance art.

The distinction between high and low art and popular culture is blurred

There is a sense of immediacy and the present that you do not see in modern art.

Perhaps it is easiest to see in

Pop art of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

Now is the hardest part of this video which is defining what

contemporary art is. Contemporary art is basically

art since modernism, but then you have the problem of: Well,

when did modernism end? Some may define it as art made within our lifetime, but lifetime

is a variable so that is not very useful

and some will also say that contemporary art is a large umbrella

that postmodernism fits under.

The first use of the term contemporary art can be traced to 1910

by critic Roger Fry for the Contemporary Art Society in London.

As Modern art became more of a historical art movement,

modern ceased to mean contemporary art, and they needed a new

term to talk about art made in the present.

There is not a clear cut from one to another, and many institutions actually use the term

Modern and Contemporary Art to avoid this distinction altogether.

In the end, not everyone is going to agree and people are constantly proposing and refining ideas.

In the meantime I hope you learned something new

thanks again to Peter for asking this question. If you do not know who he is

I will go ahead and his channel down below. He is also doing this fantastic project

called Go Verb and Noun. It is just awesome interviews with all these creators

making educational content on YouTube

so if you are interested in that, definitely check that out. If you have not watched last weeks video

about the creepy and fascinating history of Mummy Brown Paint.

Thanks so much for watching, and I will see you next time!