There are various forms of visual art and these have undergone various forms of developments in the past. These forms of visual art perform various functions to the society. This paper looks at three articles on the development of various forms of visual art and the various perspectives reflected in the articles.
In Modernist Painting, Greenberg addresses the importance of modernism and culture in art. He states that purpose of modernism is to improve a given discipline and in so doing, it should address all aspects of culture (Para. 1 & 2). He argues that in old days, the people used art “to conceal art” while “modernism used art to call attention to art” (Para. 7).
The artists in modernism openly acknowledged the limitations that constituted the medium of painting and regarded them as positive factors while the old masters considered them as negative factors. He also addresses the issue of flatness of the painting surface. He argues that this was the only attribute that pictorial art did not share with other forms of art.
As a result, modernist painting committed itself to flatness because it was its only unique attribute. Modernist painting is naturalistic and attached to other forms of art, especially sculpture, and culture. This makes it firmly attached to tradition (Para. 11). Greenberg asserts that modernism is just an evolution of tradition and that modernist painting and art at large is “carried out in much the same way as before” (Para. 18). It is a continuation from the past without a break making it connected to the past.
Alloway Lawrence’s article The Arts and the Mass Media addresses the issues of population growth in relation to art. Increase in population led to increased industrialization thus changing the world.
One of the remarkable achievements of the industrial society is the development of mass arts (Para. 5). After World War II, art became highly flexible even though traditional ideas in art persisted (Para. 2). The masses got involved in shaping the state and standards of art as opposed to the small group of elites there before. In this article, Lawrence says, “mass art is urban and democratic” (Para. 2).
He also argues that mass arts are not purely academic, as most critics believe. Instead, they are anti-academic especially in style, technique and iconography (Para. 5). Mass arts reach a large audience and hence affect the culture of this audience. In reality, the mass arts have become part of the culture (Para. 9). Lawrence also argues that the development of mass art is rapid. The rapid change in technology aggravates this rapid growth of mass art.
On the other hand, Leo Steinberg in his article Flatbed Picture plane gives and explanation of the development of Picture painting on surfaces.
He uses the word flatbed picture plane to give a description of “the picture plane of the 1960s – pictorial surface whose angulation with respect to the human posture is the precondition of its changed content” (Para. 1).He explains the transformations the printing surface has undergone from the time of renaissance to the modernist printing. In old times, printings were in upright state. This changed at around 1950.
There was a change away from the head to toe correspondence with the human posture (Para. 4). According to Steinberg, “it is not the physical placement of the image that counts” (Para. 5). He likens the shift of the picture plane from vertical to horizontal as an expression of the shift of the subject matter from nature to culture. He argued that the change in picture plane in post-Modernist printing has made art “non-linear and unpredictable” (Para.19).
The three pierces are addressing the changes that have taken place in various forms of visual arts. Each writer tackles a specific form of visual art. Greenberg tackles Modernist painting; Steinberg deals with picture planes while Lawrence handles arts and mass media. They differ in the way they perceive changes to these forms of art in the modernist era. They also differ in the way they view culture and art.
The three writers agree that there has been change to the way artists present various forms of visual art. They agree that tradition has played a great role and continue to shape these forms of art (Lawrence, Para. 2; Greenberg, Para. 18; Steinberg, Para. 20). They also agree that these visual arts perform both academic and non-academic functions. Even though Lawrence and Greenberg consider these changes to be positive, Steinberg considers the changes to be negative and disturbing the purity of art (Steinberg, Para. 20).
In conclusion, as society changes, the various forms of art also change. The change may be gradual or rapid. Culture has an effect on art and some forms of art, like mass media art, have an influence on culture. Even though art undergoes changes, tradition still plays an important role in the various forms of art. This is because art continues without a break making it always connected to the past.
Works Cited
Greenberg, Clement. Modernist Painting. N.d. Web.
Lawrence, Alloway. The Arts and the Mass Media. N.d. Web.
Steinberg, Leo. The flatbed picture frame. N.d. Web.