The 1937 Guernica Artifact and Artist Frank Lloyd Wright in the course of “The Modernist Assault.”
Introduction
The modernist assault on arts included cubism which was a revolutionary contemporary approach to “represent reality.” This approach brought distinct perspectives of subjects jointly in the same picture. This resulted in splinted and abstracted paintings, one of which was the famous Guernica painting an artifact designed in the early 20th century by Pablo Picasso. On the other hand, Frank Lloyd Wright was a renowned artist from the discipline of architecture. He was responsible for the construction of over a thousand structures with his philosophy of “organic architecture.” The philosophy involved scheming structures that were in balance with humankind and its environs. His creative working designs lasted for over seventy years. On this basis, the Guernica artifact and artist Frank Lloyd Wright represented “The Modernist Assault” movement through revolutionizing the arts.
During the early 20th century on the “modernist assault” movement, arts symbolized the eruptive break from traditional expression forms. Occurrences in the same century, including World wars and racial inequality, were also reflected in the movement. It was during this period that artists struggled to come up with something new that would revolutionize arts in the “ever-expanding universe. “The artists were, therefore, able to become part of the art created. The Guernica painting was a revolutionary work of art. The famous artifact was painted through the usage of the “matte house paint” which contained very minimal gloss amounts. It was painted to express revulsion by the artist towards the bombing of Guernica town by the lethal Nazi’s at the time of the Spanish Civil War. The painting was deepened with the discernible equivalent of ‘allusion’ and ‘metaphor.’ This was revolutionary, and it helped bring out the hidden meanings of the painting. A large portion of the painting’s power lay on its enigma (Rhodes). In the article, Guernica- tension between arts and politics, (“Guernica – The Tension Between Art and Politics”) the artifact was seen as a bridge between “antithetical poles.” This was a revolutionary piece of art that made an efficacious artistic and political declaration at the same time. This was therefore seen as modern practice in painting that helped the “modernist assault” movement since it made an immensely important and expressive modernist assertion both at the same time. Later on, when questioned, Picasso, the painter, claimed that the artifact was not made for decoration purposes in houses and art galleries but rather for a more comprehensive social significance (“Guernica – The Tension Between Art and Politics”).
More in-depth analysis of the design of the painting, reveals that the artifact was painted in a monochromous flat surface of white black and grey colours. This showed the “objective factuality” of an observer’s report. The painting is further revolutionized by the ‘textured design’ that exists in the masterpieces’ centre. This effect produces the mirage of newsprint; therefore, emphasizing what is considered as a “documentary quality” to the painting. The “modernist assault” is represented through the sharp variation of the white and black contrasts covering the entire surface of the art. This is because it creates a dramatic vigour which is as it is directly said “a visual, kinetic energy of jagged movement.” (“Guernica By Pablo Picasso | Khan Academy”). Guernica is a revolutionary art masterpiece in the aspect of ‘visual complexity.’ On the paintings first glimpse, there is the presence of variabilities. Guernica’s make up is very confusing and disorderly. It contains lugging perspectives and numerous points of view due to the painter’s use of cubism. Everything in the painting appears to be disarranged together with the presence of piercing angular lines that shatter the disjointed bodies. However, there exists an uppermost visual order that revolutionizes the art masterpiece. The painting’s composition is balanced through the organization of the figures in vertical groups of three from the left to the right side. The characters in the centre of the painting are fixed inside a massive triangle of light. (“Guernica By Pablo Picasso | Khan Academy”). The symbolism in the Guernica art piece represented the “modernist assault” in that it was a plea to the world about the murder of living organisms’ people and animals included and how it needed to stop. The use of art to pass a message of such magnitude was considered very revolutionary at the time. After thoroughly analyzing it, it is evident that the painting has ambiguity since it is without historical specificity. Therefore it remains perpetual and can be related worldwide today as it did in the year it was painted proving further its revolutionary nature (“Guernica By Pablo Picasso| Khan Academy”).
Moving on, the renowned artist Frank Lloyd Wright, played a massive role in the representation of the “Modernist Assault” through revolutionizing arts via the field of architecture. He participated in the reconciliation of the principles of fundamental architectural blueprints with swift advancements on the technological aspect and modernization of the society. He is considered a supporter of the ‘idealistic modernism.’ In the year 1925 and the year after that, Wright was involved with two important projects that were involved with the modern technology of today. This included the “Gordon Strong Planetarium and Automobile” and the “Steel Interfaith Cathedral.” (Kaufmann). In his design of “organic architecture” as earlier mentioned, he was able to design the famous Fallingwater structure in the year 1935 architecturally. This work of art was regarded as “the best all-time work of American architecture” since it revolutionized the entire field of architecture. He is also credited for the development of the “Usonian home” which was visionary urban planning in America. He was involved with the designing of various churches, skyscrapers, museums, hotels and schools. This artist was revolutionary as he did not only focus on designing the exterior of the buildings but also the interior parts, including stained glass and various furniture types. To prove his prowess in revolutionizing the architectural field, he was recognized in the year 1991 as “the greatest American architect of all time” by the American Institute of Architects. This was no small fete (Kaufmann).
Wright’s revolutionary nature made him be ahead of time. He was once quoted saying that “The architect must be a prophet, a prophet in the true sense of the term if he can not see at least ten years ahead don’t call him an architect.” His designs represented the “modern assault” in that they were many years ahead of time, and thus individuals frequently had trouble realizing and appreciating his vision. However, most of today’s modern construction used his ideals in architectural designs as they considered it revolutionary (Mihai). Wright further states that “Every great architect is necessarily a great poet. He must be a great original interpreter of his time, his day, his age.” The artist first started with the ‘Prairie’ architectural design which included open floor plans and overhanging gutters. He had the feeling that this was the remedy to the squeezed closed in the design of the Victorian era. He did not stop at this point as he continued to revolutionize the field of architecture by using a straightforward approach in the designing of the textile style. He continued to progress ushering in the organic and finally, the Ustonian style as earlier mentioned. The artist, therefore, preferred simplicity in his approaches. He had the notion that a perfectly constructed building accompanied its surrounding environment. This are the facts that motivated him in in revolutionary quest of architecture as he loathed the intricate detail and daintiness of the architectural styles that came before him (Mihai). Finally, Frank Lloyd Wright claimed that “The mother of art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own, we have no soul of our own civilization.” Here, he was pointing out the importance of the field of architecture towards art and that in revolutionizing architecture, arts were being transformed too. The Guggenheim Museum, located in the city of New York, is considered as one of Wright’s most significant contributions to the field of architecture along with the arts and also society. This is because it was tremendously revolutionized and modern, therefore in the long run representing the “Modernist assault.”
In conclusion, the revolutionary aspect of arts which started in the early 20th century was of significant impact on the world since they contributed a great deal to modernization as we know it today. The modernist assault represented by Guernica and architect Wright was also crucial to modernism since orthodox structures of communication were done away with. It is in this case that I call for the world to embrace the arts and continue revolutionizing it to enhance modernism.
References
“Guernica – The Tension Between Art and Politics”. Pbs.Org, 2020, https://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/guernica/glevel_1/3a_tension.html.
“Guernica By Pablo Picasso | Khan Academy”. Khan Academy, 2020, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/cubism-early-abstraction/cubism/a/picasso-guernica.
Kaufmann, Edgar. “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Years of Modernism, 1925-1935”. Journal of The Society of Architectural Historians, vol 24, no. 1, 1965, pp. 31-33. University of California Press, doi:10.2307/988277. Accessed 1 June 2020.
Mihai, I. “10 Great Architectural Lessons from Frank Lloyd Wright | Freshome.Com”. Freshome.Com, 2020, https://freshome.com/inspiration/10-great-architectural-lessons-from-frank-lloyd-wright/.
Rhodes, Richard. “Guernica: Horror and Inspiration – Richard Rhodes, 2013”. SAGE Journals, 2013, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0096340213508672.