Image via Complex Original
There are so many movements, groups, genres, and areas of discipline within the history of art. From Cubism to Postmodernism, movements have shaped the way art is created and remembered. Ultimately, these names and categories are an essential part of understanding art and culture. Whether you have a casual art interest or second-guess everything you've ever learned in school, don't fret. We broke it down and provided you with all you need to peruse galleries and museums like a pro. Here's a list of 10 Modern Art Terms Everyone Should Know.
RELATED: 25 Artists to Watch in 2013
RELATED: 15 Must-See Art Exhibitions in 2013
The following terms were chosen from ...Isms: Understanding Modern Art by Sam Phillips, published by Universe Publishing on March 19, 2013. Buy it on Amazon here.
Postmodernism
Postmodernism
Type: Movement
Postmodernism is a movement grounded in the doubt of art having a fundamental truth. Postmodern art is often open to interpretation, with the idea that one single ideology cannot define an experience or condition.
(p. 125 in ...Isms: Understanding Modern Art)
Bauhaus
Bauhaus
Type: Movement
Bauhaus was the first great Modernist school of art established in Weimar, Germany in 1919. The school embraced Constructivism, and artists were encouraged to become designers and engineers, aligning with 1920s Soviet principles; much of the work produced influenced architecture and American art institutions.
(p. 54 in ...Isms: Understanding Modern Art)
Performance Art
Performance Art
Type: Genre
Performance art is a type of artistic expression where the artist or other living being become the subject, usually performing a series of actions meaning to call attention to social issues, make political statements, and shock. Performance art originated from Neo-Dadism and matured in the 1960s to the art form we know it as today.
(p. 111 in ...Isms: Understanding Modern Art)
Minimalism
Minimalism
Type: Genre
Minimalism applies to any art form that is extremely simplified and does not reference other art movements, standing alone in final form. Minimalism as a movement had no manifesto or centralized organization and continues to be a term used to describe neutral or independent art.
(p. 48 in ...Isms: Understanding Modern Art)
Surrealism
Surrealism
Type: Movement
Surrealism is a French movement with roots in Dadaism founded in 1924, intended to liberate the culture from reason and rationalism. Surrealists, such as Dalí and Ernst, embraced the ideas of pure functioning of thought and automatism, without the considerations of aesthetics.
(p. 92 in ...Isms: Understanding Modern Art)
Dadaism
Dadaism
Type: Movement
Dadaism or Dada was a 19th-century movement started to contrast the rationalism and order of Western society. Dada revels in the unordered, ironic, absurd, and chaotic, and it eventually shifted into other movements like Surrealism and Neo-Dadaism.
(p. 52 in ...Isms: Understanding Modern Art)
Constructivism
Constructivism
Type: Movement
Constructivism is the creation of works or constructions that resemble futuristic machinery or buildings, with the belief that art should resemble the real world and represent social purpose. This movement resonated with the Soviet state in the 1920s and encouraged artists to work alongside scientists, engineers, and architects.
(p. 51 in ...Isms: Understanding Modern Art)
Futurism
Futurism
Type: Movement
Futurism is an early 20th-century movement created by Italian poet, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, that emphasizes progress, military aggression, speed, and technology. Futurist paintings focus on scenes such as moving crowds, speeding cars, and crowds, relaying the rhythm and movements of the subject matter.
(p. 41 in ...Isms: Understanding Modern Art)
Cubism
Cubism
Type: Movement/Genre
Cubism was developed by Picasso and Georges Braque between 1909 and 1914 as an artistic exploration of geometry and perspective. Cubist art is less realistic and focuses more on incorporating multiple concepts and angles of the subject or idea.
(p. 39 in ...Isms: Understanding Modern Art)
Modernism
Modernism
Type: Movement
Modernism is the departure from classical art traditions of the Renaissance, rejecting the obligation to portray realistic depictions of nature and beauty, often within the confines of religious, moral, or historical themes. The beginnings of Modernism can be traced back to the late 19th-century, and continued into the 20th-century with notable artists such as Picasso and Matisse.
(p. 20 in ...Isms: Understanding Modern Art)