CHAPTER 2

METHODS OF ARTS

STUDENT’S COPY AA 2

MDRS
Realism
Abstraction
Symbolism
Fauvism
Dadaism
Futurism
Surrealism
Expressionism
Attempts to portray the subject as it is
Realists try to be as objective as possible
Main function is to describe as accurately
and honestly as possible what is observed
through the senses
However, in the process of selecting and
presenting his material, he cannot help being
influenced by what he feels or thinks
An artwork is realistic when the presentation
and organization of details in the work seem
so natural
Realism is a common way of presenting the
art subject
Ex. Amorsolo’s paintings
Is used when the artist becomes so
interested in one phase of a scene or a
situation that he does not show the subject
at all as an objective reality, but only his
idea, or his feeling about it
Means “to move away or separate”
Abstract art moves away from showing things
as they really are
The painter or artist paints the picture not as
it really looked
The picture is not just likelife
Not “realistic”
Distortion – manifested when the subject is
in misshapen condition, or the regulars shape
is twisted out
Elongation – refers to that which is being
lengthened, protraction or an extension
Mangling – objects that are cut, lacerated,
mutilated or hacked with repeated blows
Cubism – stresses abstract form through the use
of a cone, cylinder, or sphere at the expense of
other pictorial elements. Ex. Cezanne, George
Braque of France and Pablo Picasso o Spain
Abstract expression – a style of abstract painting
that originated in New York City after WWII and
gained an international vogue.
Strong color, heavy impasto, uneven brush
strokes, and rough textures
Abstract expressionism departs completely from
subject matter, from studied precision and from
any other kind of preconceived design
Ex. Jackson Pallock, New York
Transcends the everyday run-
of-the-mill sign and assumes
a new and fresh meaning,
originating from a highly
personal and even unique
association born in the mid
of the poet or painter
Ex. Juan Luna “Spolarium”
(referred to the spoils of
war, spoils of tyrants and the
king)
First important art movement of the 1900’s
Henry Matisse led the movement
Andre Derain, Raoul dufy, George Rouault
(France)
Artists tried to paint pictures of comfort, joy
and pleasure
Uses extremely bright colors
Fauvism was a brief art movement made up
of several young Parisian painters at the
beginning of the 20th century.
Primarily a transitional movement, Fauvism
came about as the art world shifted from the
Post-Impressionism of Van Gogh, Cezanne,
and Gauguin to the Cubism of Braque and
Picasso.
Led by Henri Matisse, this group of painters
often used vivid colors—without much mixing
or blending—to create flat shapes in their
paintings while still being representational.
Their paintings weren’t meant to closely
mimic nature or re-create the impression of
light as the Impressionists had, but to use
whatever colors necessary to express an
emotion or feeling.
The name, Les Fauves was actually first used
as a derogatory remark about their work by
French art critic Louis Vauxcelles. Les Fauves
actually means “wild beasts”—it referred to
Matisse and the others’ choice of colors,
indicating that their work was savage and
primitive.
Dada (hobby horse) nonsensical
The first major anti-art movement, Dada was a
revolt against the culture and values which - it was
believed - had caused and supported the carnage of
The First World War (1914-18).
It quickly developed into an anarchistic anti-art
movement whose aim was to subvert and undermine
the value system of the ruling establishment which
had allowed the war to happen, including the arts
establishment which they viewed as inextricably
linked to the discredited socio-political status quo.
Erupting simultaneously in 1916, in Europe and
America, its leaders were typically very young, in
their early twenties, and most had "opted out",
avoiding conscription in the shelter of neutral cities
such as New York, Zurich and Barcelona.
As an anti-art pressure-group, it resorted to
outrageous tactics to attack the established
traditions of art, employing a barrage of
demonstrations and manifestos, as well as
exhibitions of absurdist art deliberately designed
to scandalize and shock both the authorities and
the general public.
Centres of public Dada activities were usually
small and intimate: they included the Zurich
Cabaret Voltaire; Alfred Stieglitz's Photo-
Secession Gallery, the Arensberg's apartment and
Marius de Zaya's Modern Gallery, all in New York;
and the Club Dada in Berlin.
 Ironically, despite its nihilistic mission,Dada
led to the emergence and refinement of
several important innovations in fine art,
including collage and photo-montage, and
went on to influence several later modern
art movements, such as Surrealism and Pop-
Art, as well as contemporary art styles like
Neo-Dada and several mid- 20th century art
forms, such as Installation and Performance.
Who Founded Dada?
Although Dadaist ideas were already surfacing on both
sides of the Atlantic, the actual name Dada was coined in
Zurich in 1916. According to the poet Richard
Huelsenbeck (1892-1927), the word was selected at
random by himself and the painter-musician Hugo Ball
(1886-1927) from a German-French dictionary.
Essentially (and probably deliberately) a nonsense word,
Dada means Yes-Yes in Russian, and There-There in German
(universal baby-talk); while in French it means
hobbyhorse. Along with Jean Arp (1887-1966) and the
Romanian poet and demonic activist Tristan Tzara (1896-
1963), the pair also founded the Cabaret Voltaire in
Zurich, an early centre of multi-cultural Dada events and
protest shows.
Other Zurich Dada supporters included the Romanian
Sculptor Marcel Janco (1895-1984), and the German
painter and film-maker Hans Richter (1888-1976).
 Meantime, in New York, a group of artists
were busy developing an American style of
Dada anti-art. They included the celebrated
French contemporary artist Marcel Duchamp
(1887-1968), whose works were already
firmly Dadaist in spirit if not in name, the
French Cubist painter Francis Picabia (1879-
1953), the painter, sculptor and
photographer Man Ray (1890-1977) and the
Precisionist artist Morton Schamberg (1881-
1918).
The Idea is More Important Than the Work of
Art Itself
Art Can Be Made of Anything
Jean Arp (1887-1966): Poet and Sculptor
Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968): Avant-Garde
Artist
Max Ernst (1891-1976): Painter, Sculptor,
Graphic artist, Poet
Raoul Hausmann (1886-1971): Painter,
Photographer

Man Ray (1890–1976): Painter, Photographer

To capture the speed and force of modern
industrial society
Glorified the mechanical energy of modern
life
Automobiles, motorcycles and railroad
trains-express the explosive vitality of
modern city
Founded in Paris in 1924 by the French poet
Andre Breton
Tries to reveal a new and higher reality than
that of daily life.
‘super realism’
Emphasizes the activities of the subconscious
state of the mind
Subjects attempt to show what is inside
man’s mind as well as the appearance of his
outside world
Creates forms and images not primarily by
reason, but by unthinking impulse abd blind
feeling or even by accident
Surrealists declare that a magical world-
more beautiful than the real one-can be
created in art and literature
Much of the beauty sought by surrealism is
violent and cruel
To shock the viewer or reader and show what
they consider the deeper and truer part of
human nature
Ex. Benjamin Mendoza, Bolivian
Surrealism is defined as "a style in which fantastical
visual imagery from the subconscious mind is used
with no intention of making the work logically
comprehensible." For the first time, artists could
“express their imagination as revealed in dreams,
shaped by emerging theories on our perception of
reality, free of the conscious control of reason and
convention.”
It was no wonder many people of this time period
were drawn to this fantasy world, for Europe was in
the midst of a "reconstruction" due to Irish
(civil) wars, a new dictator, and economic
issues. Surrealism’s main purpose was “to resolve the
previously contradictory conditions of dream and
reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality.”
Introduced in Germany during the first
decade of 20th century
Believed in the necessity of a spiritual
rebirth for man in an age that was fast
becoming influenced by materialism
The emotional expressions in expressionistic
paintings could be described as involving
pathos, morbidity, violence or chaos, and
tragedy. It sometimes portray defeat
The movement is originaly German and Austrian.
There was never a group of artists that called
themselves Expressionists.
There were a number of Expressionist groups in
painting, including the Blaue Reiter and Die
Brücke.
Later in the 20th century, the movement
influenced a large number of artists, including
the so-called abstract expressionists, the latter
consisting primarily of American artists such as
Jackson Pollock.
At the end of the 20th century, a group of artists
in the South America developed a style known as
Southern expressionism.
 Expressionist groups
Expressionism painting is a represented
distortion of reality resulting on an
emotional effect. It can often implies
emotional angst.
Emotion is a neural impulse that moves an
organism to action. Emotion is differentiated
from feeling.

El Greco or Matthias Grünewald can be called

expressionist, but in practice, the term is
applied only to 20th century works.