Cubism was a twentieth century art movement that was revolutionary in its influence over music and literature as well as visual arts, particularly painting and sculpture. The process of Cubism is quite complex as the artists change the viewer’s perception of the subject by flattening and distorting space. Cubist artists fully explored the possibilities of this altering reality by mentally cutting apart images and then reforming them on the canvas in an abstract manner with very little sense of depth. Not only did Cubist artists images which appeared to be patterns rather than realistic portrayals of the subjects, but they usually chose mechanical subjects rather than natural, classical, or human images for their artwork.
Cubism was an art form that allowed for great amounts of experimentation and many Cubist artists used alternative materials rather than conforming to traditional methods of painting on canvas. Newsprint, paper and fabric were all common materials found in Cubist artwork. Cubism also opened the process of creating art to a greater number of people since they were open about their methods, unlike the highly-specialized and advanced techniques needed to create the traditional art of the academies in the past. Cubist artists placed a great amount of trust in technology and felt that it should be applied to art as well.
Most Cubist works avoided portraying the human figure, but one of the most famous artists of Cubism, Pablo Picasso, did experiment with deconstructing and abstracting the human figure. Picasso felt that the composition of the work was more important that the visual appearance of the subject and this theory greatly influenced the manner in which he portrayed human form in his paintings and drawings. Additionally, Picasso overcame socially unacceptable portrayals in his art by incorporating ideas about erotic sexuality into his works. The abstraction of planes and coherent, realistic portrayal of the subjects made works like Picasso’s truly unique in the previous history of art creation.
Cubism may be difficult to appreciate for many novice art audiences. In fact, like Expressionism, it may even be disturbing to many viewers or provoke a response that fails to recognize the value of artwork from the art movement of Cubism. However, as many art lovers will attest, the Cubist artist’s unique approach to the creation of art is refreshing due to their ability to break tradition and create new possibilities for art and what it can do and portray.
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