Alexarae Vega Cubism, Futurism, and the Readymade

May 12, 2009Michael Rodriguez HUA289.Art&Design Seminar

In the following paper, I will discuss cubism, futurism, and the readymade. I will

also discuss artwork that I viewed at the Museum of Modern Art.

Cubism was developed around 1906 in France by Pablo Picasso and Georges

Braque. Cubism to me means an image drawn, painted, photographed, a sculpture etc.

demonstrating cube like images. When I first heard the word “cubism,” I visualized a

piece of artwork solely done in multiple forms of squares and nothing more. According to

the dictionary, cubism is “a style of painting and sculpture developed in the early 20th

century, characterized chiefly by an emphasis on formal structure, the reduction of

natural forms to their geometrical equivalents, and the organization of the planes of a

represented object independently of representational requirements.”1 My initial reaction

to this definition of cubism seemed to be very complicated; once I saw art pieces of

cubism it confirmed my assumption, cubism is complicated.

Marcel Duchamp developed Readymade; he wanted to establish visual

indifference. When the style of “readymade” art was introduced to me, I had no clue or

knowledge of its meaning. I thought readymade art would be complicated like cubism.

Ready-made means an “everyday object selected and designated as art…,2” When I

realized what readymade art was it seemed self-explanatory just with more meaning.

1 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cubism

2 http://www.britannica.com/Ebchecked/topic/492875/ready-made

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Now knowing more about readymade art, it isn’t easy at all; it takes a lot of thought and

insight.

Futurism was created in 1910 by a group of artist: such as Marinetti, “Carlo Carrà,

Gino Severini, and Giacomo Balla were the leading painters and Umberto Boccioni the

chief sculptor of the group.3” When I first read about futurism I did not know much about

it, futurism seemed like any other art style. Futurism to me was unique interesting

images, vibrant colors and space influenced. Futurism art is defined as “…forms derived

chiefly from cubism were used to represent rapid movement and dynamic motion.”4

When I discovered the true meaning of futurism, I was interested in the cubism

similarities and how futurism was associated with movement.

Looking at Paul Cezanne’s “The Bather,” I had no initial reaction. The painting

appears very real and clear. I like how Cezanne combined the landscape colors and the

figure colors; it allows the figure to be present. I find it interesting how the figure

displays stiffness and tension.

When I first looked at the painting “Les Demoiselles d’ Avignon,” by Pablo

Picasso it appeared shocking, puzzling and unusually done, I am not fond of this painting

but I do like the style it was painted in, and Picasso’s outlook. What makes the painting

interesting is how Picasso came about the painting, and how Picasso thought. One of the

women in the painting was originally a sailor. I also like the African tribal influence he

portrays. Looking at other works such as: “Ma Jolie,” by Picasso, “The Passage from

Virgin to Bride,” by Marcel DuChamp, and Diego Rivera’s painting and Jacques

3 http://www.reference.com/browse/futurism

4 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/futurism

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Lipchitz, “Portrait of a young Man,” all add to my interest and knowledge. I like how all

these paintings display the different ways you can exhibit cubism.

Walking around Umberto Boccioni’s “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space,” it

was interesting to view how the sculptor had movement and flow. I liked the many

different forms each side the sculptor displayed. The futurism aspect explodes through

this sculptor; the color of the piece expresses rage. It compelling to see such an amazing

sculptor produced during this time.

When first seeing Marcel DuChamp’s “Bicycle Wheel,” my first thoughts were

this guy can’t be serious, this isn’t art. After listening to his viewpoints and ideas and

what DuChamp was trying to exhibit, it was amazing how he displayed this piece, and

how he choose to put the wheel upside down, and in the middle of the chair rather then

another way. I’ve come to really enjoy this piece because it is more then what it appears.

Another piece done by Marcel DuChamp, “3 Standard Stoppages,” is presented very

differently; it’s distinctive how laid each piece out in the order it would be placed.

Looking at Kazmir Malevich’s “Suprematist Composition: White on White,” the

first thing I noticed there is a significant color difference. The square wasn’t exactly

white as the ground, and the paint looked thick with multiple layers of paint. Viewing the

painting made me realize that it could be in rotation, the placing of the square signifies

possible movement. I liked how Malevich exhibited this piece; it demonstrated a different

outlook on how white could be displayed.

Seeing Mondraian’s “Broadway Boogie Woogie,” painting was compelling

because it was simple with a lot of thought. I liked how the artist restricted himself to

only three primary colors, the lines where striking when he applied black squares. I also

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liked how the title and the painting made you think, “he saw the syncopated beat,

irreverent approach to melody, and improvisational aesthetic of boogie–woogie as akin to

his own…5” I liked how Mondraian’s love for jazz was incorporated. It was intriguing to

see how he portrayed his music through the canvas.

The last painting I looked at was Willem De Kooning’s “Woman 1,” this painting

is full of action. “…Woman 1 reflects the age-old cultural ambivalence between

reverence for and fear of the power of the feminine.6” It’s almost threatening to me, the

eyes are bulging, the teeth are sharp, and the figure is very large and monstrous. I like the

patterns and the forms that are shown. I like how Kooning uses color for his background;

it allows the figure to stand out.

Overall, I think it’s very important to know and understand all these types of

painting’s and more. It’s essential to learn the many different styles the artist used and

how the artist came about their artwork, and then experiment with their ideas and make it

your own. All the paintings I saw will definitely have an influence on my own views.

After getting further information it was interesting to realize the true meaning of the

painting. The art exhibited displayed cubism, futurism, and or the readymade. In the end,

seeing all the artwork fully confirmed that art is what you make it.

After visiting the Museum of Modern Art, I was assigned to develop an art piece

showing cubism, futurism and the readymade. I wanted to demonstrate these different

styles through fashion design. I displayed cubism with the figure specifically the garment

and the hair, every area that I would originally curve or show some type of movement or

flow I squared and tried to used geometric shapes. Showing the readymade element I 5 http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=78682

6 http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=79810

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purchased metal-leaf, which is very light like tissue paper that I applied on certain areas

that I felt needed more definition. I tried to illustrate futurism through the dress and in the

background. I also applied angular lines to exhibit a form of movement. I initially did not

believe I displayed the movements properly. However, after discussing my piece with

fellow artist I realized I correctly displayed the movements. I also tried to demonstrate

futurism in the background. I instead of a solid color for a background, I wanted to show

mystical movement. I should the mystical movement by using a sponge rather then a

paintbrush.

When creating this piece, I was influenced by everything that I viewed. I took

everything I saw and tried to create an image that was unique, and one that I could call

my own. I was very influenced by Willem Kooning’s piece entitled “Woman 1,” I was

inspired mainly through the background, the colors, and the brush stokes. I was also

influenced with Diego Rivera’s painting and Jacques Lipchitz, “Portrait of a young man.”

The distortion of the face assisted me in the way cubism was demonstrated, it added to

my understanding what I needed to display. Overall, I wanted to display the development

of a design, I showed the beginning stages by drawing a croqui on one corner then the

final stage of a fashion figure with an actual design.

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