With changes in culture, come changes in art.

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M4W3        Art Essay        Camilla Brown 5W1

“Art Imitates Culture”

With changes in culture, come changes in art. Throughout history, artworks have been produced as an imitation of the culture and society in which they were created. The cultural frame examines the meaning of artworks in relation to the social perspective of the community from which it grows. A reflection can be seen in Manet’s realist artwork of Olympia, and similarly, Umberto Boccioni’s Unique forms of Continuity and Space reflects different beliefs and conventions merely as a result of societal changes. Pop Art works such a Andy Warhol’s Marilyn x 100 and Post – modern works, such as Yasumasa Morimura’s Monna Lisa in its Origin, are also strong reflections of the society in which they were created.

Edouard Manet’s Olympia, an extremely controversial painting of its time, reflects greatly its cultural context. Created during the time of Realism (from c.1850 to c.1880) and in the city of Paris, it demonstrated the new and exciting Parisian way of life and the determination of the Realist artists to depict life as it was seen rather than the traditional fantasy and romantic exaggeration. The redesign of Paris in the 1860s saw a great change in the social practices and activities and a rise particularly in the Middle Class due to the prosperous Industrial Revolution. The redesigning of Paris resulted in the demolition of hundreds of buildings and neighbourhoods, some home to many pre-existing brothels. Therefore, there was a big move into the city by many people, including a large number of prostitutes. The stimulating and new atmosphere and activity began to inspire and attract artists known as the Realists from the art movement of Realism. These particular artists chose to focus their interests on worldly, real, raw and pure subjects. They wished to create simple art, painting exactly what they saw and how they saw it. Among these artists was Edouard Manet. Manet was known as a rebel for his time most likely because of his rebellion against Classic and Romantic traditions and his confronting and stirring painting of Olympia. Manet takes Titian’s Venus of Urbino as his model, yet instead of following accepted French art practices of depicting historical, biblical or mythical themes, he paints a woman of his time. The subject is a real female courtesan lying nude on a bed in a provocative position, with one hand covering her genitalia. He paints in his own manner of quick, rough, visible brushstrokes and replaces deep perspective with two flat frames. Olympia was a very confronting artwork to society as although many middle and upper class gentlemen of the time were frequent customers of courtesans and prostitutes, but being confronted by one on a canvas in a gallery was something different. Manet has broken away from traditional practices of art in the 1860s, and created a unique realist artwork depicting a common scene.

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Dramatic events such as the Industrial Revolution, World Wars, and changes in the social world, influenced new ideas and technology which revolutionized the way artworks appeared and were constructed. Futurism was an aggressive Italian movement active from 1909 to the 1940’s that glorified the speed, motion, violence and machinery of the twentieth century. Artists sought to destroy traditional artistic and social values and replaced them with entirely new forms they felt were more appropriate to life in the modern world. One main influence on the way Futurism artists saw the world was the Industrial Revolution. People embraced machines, and ...

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