Modernism in Art and Literature
World War I changed the way writers and artists viewed the world. During the Victorian era, many poets and novelists put a lot of their faith in human potential. Some people didn’t know how a society could be ruled by the idea of progress and participate in a war that killed millions of people, left survivors homeless and hungry, and ruined monuments of civilization. Those people sparked a generation of writers who created an artistic movement known as modernism. An Austrian psychologist named Sigmund Freud contributed to both literary and artistic modernism. He believed that human behavior is not influenced by rational thought but by their unconscious desires. Freud believed that people learn how to appropriately subdue their desires which could cause mental and even physical illnesses. His theories made writers and artists explore the subconscious mind (Werner, Levy, Roberts, Taylor, page 236-37).
Not only did modernism clash with fundamentalism, but also with traditionalism. Since the late 1800s, European painters had a certain way of painting. They moved away from that technique and experimented with different abstract styles. Some notable artists of this time were Joseph Stella who was an American, and Edward Hooper whose work often reflects the loneliness of urban life (Werner, Levy, Roberts, Taylor, page 237-28).
American writers of the 1920s are often known as the “Lost Generation”. These writers no longer believed in the cultural guideposts of the Victorian era. F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway were among these writers. Fitzgerald’s most successful piece, The Great Gatsby, showed the American dream ending with a nightmare. Ernest Hemingway explored some of the same themes that Fitzgerald did, but in a new idiom. He worked to develop a writing style that reflected his insights. Many poets and novelists of the 1920s were disillusioned, and fought between the meaning of the war and life itself (Werner, Levy, Roberts, Taylor, page 238-39).
Not only did modernism clash with fundamentalism, but also with traditionalism. Since the late 1800s, European painters had a certain way of painting. They moved away from that technique and experimented with different abstract styles. Some notable artists of this time were Joseph Stella who was an American, and Edward Hooper whose work often reflects the loneliness of urban life (Werner, Levy, Roberts, Taylor, page 237-28).
American writers of the 1920s are often known as the “Lost Generation”. These writers no longer believed in the cultural guideposts of the Victorian era. F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway were among these writers. Fitzgerald’s most successful piece, The Great Gatsby, showed the American dream ending with a nightmare. Ernest Hemingway explored some of the same themes that Fitzgerald did, but in a new idiom. He worked to develop a writing style that reflected his insights. Many poets and novelists of the 1920s were disillusioned, and fought between the meaning of the war and life itself (Werner, Levy, Roberts, Taylor, page 238-39).
This is an Australian psychologist named Sigmund Freud.
He contributed to both literary and artistic modernism.
His theories made writers and artists explore the
subconscious mind.
He contributed to both literary and artistic modernism.
His theories made writers and artists explore the
subconscious mind.
This is a documentary on F. Scott Fitzgerald. In it, he is called one of the 20th century's greatest authors. He published his first novel in 1920. In 1925, he published his greatest work, The Great Gatsby. His career took off during the Roaring Twenties and his work helped to make the era of Modernism what it was.
"It was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of excess and it was an age of satire." -F. Scott Fitzgerald