Modernist Trends toward Abstraction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modernist Trends toward Abstraction - Essay Example The main feature that characterizes the modern thought is an escapable tendency towards abstraction. The artists’ thoughts today are mainly focused on the modern trends towards abstraction that analyses the resultant universal idea and acts as a key facet to human thoughts. Therefore, the modern view and thoughts are mainly dominated by abstraction. The need of creating a new kind of art by artists was mainly to encompass the fundamental transformations that were taking place in technology, philosophy and science. At that period, most individual artists drew their theoretical arguments from more diverse sources that reflected the intellectual and social preoccupations in all aspects of the western culture. Some artists including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Paul Cezanne practiced most of the modernized art trends such as Fauvism, western painting, Cubism and Post Impressionism that had a very great impact on the art in the twentieth century that led to the advent of the c entury’s abstraction. The heritage of these artists was essential to develop the modern art, the trend towards abstraction. The main reason why artists develop new trends in art is to ensure that the viewers have deep site and hope to reveal the truth concerning the abstract, artist’s approaches to reality that may be valid in the other areas as well. Artists mainly develop the work of art in order to present an article that reveals or portrays some message to the viewer. Paul Cezanne’s early works on art were mainly pictures, of violent and melodramatic subjects mainly made with thick but dark paints. He is exposed to the work of impressionist, lacked a good structure in the impressionist’s paintings, and therefore developed some ways of using color in order to render his image as a composition of planes. The efforts he made established a basis of the modernist trend towards abstraction making him to be regarded as the father of modern art. The example o f an article that Paul Cezanne decorated was a self-portrait in a Beret. This article was made between the year 1898 and 1900. It was made of oil on canvas in the Museum of fine arts in Boston. The movements or styles used in the article were impressionism and post expressionism. Paul Cezanne used thick paintings and shapes and presented the article with a course texture. The work can be classified as expressionism or post expressionist. The work can be seen as good and cool. Therefore, due to its good nature, it impresses various viewers and acts as a source of inspiration. In addition, the work emphasizes on the natural colors that look out to the natural world and reveals a profound feeling to the viewers. Paul Cezanne’s main goal or aim in his work was to produce something solid that can last for several years out of impressionism. He was aiming at producing a better work that reveals the natural world as it really is. The paintings are aimed at revealing the message or s ign that the artist was trying to disclose to the viewers. At first, the viewers of the first work of art under expressionism rejected the impressionist art due to its apparent relationship with the world. The abstract due to its scale and nonrepresentational imagery enables the viewers to have an easy interpretation and its social and intellectual origin had some important insight on the viewers. Â  Another artist that showed great efforts toward abstraction was

Common Ground Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Common Ground - Essay Example The authors nevertheless place greatest stress on the effects of sprawl on the environment while they separately discuss the matter of wildlife preservation. Effects to the environment include air and water pollution, the destruction of scenic and historical vistas, the economic costs and higher level of maintenance required, traffic congestion, absence of sidewalks, and proliferation of obesity due to abandonment of walking and bicycling as means of transportation. Chen and Duany also mention the effects on animal life and habitat, the topic exclusively dwelt on by the other two articles. As to value of animal life and their habitat, the articles agree that sprawl has intruded into the natural habitats of wildlife. They disagree, however, as to how this intrusion affects both animal habits and human lifestyles. For Chen and Duany (2000), they see sprawl as a form of broad ecosystem degradation implying a destruction of the ecological territories where the animals thrive. Terris (199 9), on the other hand, bewails the increasing land area occupied by urban sprawl as impacting negatively on the wildlife whose habitats are encroached upon. What Chen and Duany merely imply as the negative effects of sprawl on the ecosystem, Terris implicitly describes as posing an actual and tangible risk to the survival of American wildlife. According to Terris, the rapidly growing settlements endanger a great number of species of American wildlife, destroying their feeding and breeding grounds, causing their populations to shrink, fragment, and disappear altogether. For Shaw (2004), she sees sprawl more of an enhancement of the areas where wild animals thrive and adapt. She cites an upsurge in incidents of human encounters with wildlife, such as bears raiding trash cans and mountain lions prowling the subdivisions. More than implying that people are moving into the territories and habitats of the wildlife in the area, it means that more and more, suburban life tends to attract wi ld animals. Aiding the proliferation of wild animals is the natural reforestation taking place as well as the expansion of low-density residential developments outside cities that animals find attractive. Developers create ponds, establish gardens and plant trees which creates a setting conducive to animals, while in their natural habitats nearby, wetlands may be drained, hayfields may disappear or trees cut down. The result is increasing hazards of automobile collisions with deer, and human injuries or deaths due to animal attacks. Causes of sprawl According to Chen and Duany, Increasingly complex requirements for urban planning have caused subdivision developers to resort to sprawl. Some requirements for instance require wide streets to accommodate vehicles travelling at 65 mph, setbacks of buildings far from streets, parking lots of a certain minimum size, etc. Wide streets and curved corners encourage use of cars and speeding, thereby also endangering pedestrians/bicyclists. Oth er causes cited by this article include population growth, technological change, and the misguided government policies on development and its inability to plan for future growth (Chen & Duany, 2000). Shaw agrees with Chen and Duany that