The Shock of the New is a feature television anthology series penned and conferred under the aegis of Robert Hughes and composed by Lorna Pegram. The series consists of several episodes which try to explain how at the culmination of the 19th and the onset of the 20th century, the evolution of art was prejudiced by the fast-changing landscape and the biosphere knowledge. Having gone through the subsequent two episodes, I am cognizant of how art has evolved in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, and I am amazed at how art has been established within the many distinct art periods.
Furthermore, I can recognize that the episode The Landscape of Pleasure emphasizes the delighted observation of pleasure in nature, touching on the paintings of different impressionists. It postulates about creatives presenting life around and giving an inclination or motivating the brains, often interpreting light (WantedRobot, 2014a). Moreover, The Landscape of Pleasure summarizes how the transformation from practicality to intellectual ensues after the 19th century through the 20th century. I can observe something ironic in the episode whereby the people belonging to the middle-class modern slither about on the grass like tin toys on wheels.
However, the episode TheView from the Edge deliberates art conceived from the exploration of self-thought and the nature of one’s mind, linking art with emotion. The people are more focused on nature even though they are broken or ill. Nature encourages most artists in this episode, and people here like what is made by man’s hands. Most artists do their paintings and drawings based on their emotions and state of mind; for example the image of a reaper, the artist saw a hazy figure grappling like a devil in great heat to find his task, and he saw death in that painting. I have learned that art is a way of understanding ourselves and our surroundings hard even to describe.
I find that The View from the Edge examines art conceived from the exploration of self-expression and the state of one’s mind, linking art with feeling. Artists such as Vincent Von, Ludwig, Beckmann, and Georgia, among others, are discussed. The first artist examined was Vincent Von and his fixation on self-expression and an inclination to scrutinize and reveal itself (WantedRobot, 2014b). He wrote plenty many confessional messages to his sibling telling him about his mental state and the thinking and sentiments of the paintings. I can see that nature was his inspiration all through his artwork.
The German expressionists are also talked about, especially Ludwig, who used jolts of color and shape to shake the observer rather than engage with them. The Fauves probably influenced him, and in this episode, I can see how one artist influenced the other. Forthwith, the distress of war took its toll on existing creatives, adding to their mental state and the responsiveness of the images they painted. An artist was very persuasive in art, particularly concerning his convictions, and is stated as a distinguished developer of theory (WantedRobot, 2014b). He might probably have felt the physical world was inhibiting his inventiveness and that the conscience could set art free.
The two episodes describe how the fast-changing landscape and world influenced the art movements after the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. This is related to the augmentation of technology. In conclusion, the two episodes try to explain better how art began and how it has developed to modern art today.
References
WantedRobot. (2014a). The Shock of the New–Ep-3 The Landscape of pleasure. [Video]. Web.
WantedRobot. (2014b). The Shock of the New–Ep-6-The View from the Edge. [Video]. Web.