20th and 21st Century Art

        I have learned so much about the different artistic styles that evolved throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. I really enjoyed learning about each one of the artistic periods, but some artworks stood out to me more than others. The avant-garde art is one of the most interesting art styles which I have learned about. It was fascinating to learn about the artworks of great Impressionist artists such as Claude Monet and Avant-Garde artists such as Gustave Caillebotte, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso.

        Impressionist paintings were probably my favorite of all the other styles which we have learned about. A great example of an impressionist painting that I loved the most is "Sunrise", which was done by Claude Monet in 1872. I was mainly intrigued by the visual detail of this painting. "Sunrise" is one of those paintings that looks very monochromatic at first, with mainly blue and a dot of orange for its colors. But as you come closer to it and study it for a while, you will start to notice the different shades and tints of blue that are in the painting. There are at least ten different "blues" ranging from almost black to almost white. The colors and the strange lines in the background, which represent the ghostly outlines of ships, are the two things that made me really like this painting. It is very calming, and yet, it gives you an eerie feel of war or a storm that just passed through that area. I also like that Monet created this painting by painting colors and shapes on the canvas to create a whole picture, rather than by trying to paint the actual forms of the objects before him.


        Another great artistic style which I have enjoyed a lot is the Abstract Expressionist style. I have always admired abstracted paintings whenever I saw them, but after learning about the history of how abstract art was first introduced to the artistic world, I started to enjoy it even more. World War II has caused a lot of trauma on people who were touched by it. During that time, a group of artists who moved to New York during the war, started to create art to "express their social alienation after WWII and to make new art that was both moral and universal." (Stockstad, p. 1073) However, these artworks had no relation to the outside world, but each one had its own internal story behind it.

        The artists that created abstract art did it so expressively, that the art making process, such as the action of painting on canvas, was also considered as part of the artwork. They expressed themselves in different ways with different gestures, and the paint that landed on the canvas, was rarely saved and recorded as art. Once photography was invented, people were able to record this art making process and then the photograph would be displayed as the artwork. I really enjoyed learning about the art making process of Jackson Pollock and Shozo Shimamoto. To them, it was the performance of painting that counted more than the artwork itself.

        As an artist myself, I love experimenting with different painting styles. Of all my paintings which I created, I think my favorite one was a collage of different scenes that occur during winter, which I named the "Winter Song". As much as I enjoy learning about different artistic styles from hundreds of years ago, I think the art that inspires me most is from the 20th and 21st centuries. I would love to try making more paintings that are in the Impressionist or Expressionist style.