It is expected for things to upgrade, develop and change through time, it is the way of moving forward. People argue that this is for better or worse, for example transport evolving has made it so we are better connected, we can go to new places and experience different cultures. Technology updating has meant that daily tasks are easier and quicker but some may argue that all types of modernisation causes struggle.
Initially the world began to change in the 16th to 18th centuries with steam engines, factories, industrialisation, mass communication and more which over the years that has caused wars continuing today as the people revolt against these changes. Marx recognised that there were many bad points about modernisation such as the increasing sense of want and have,’ I must have the newest phones, I want this summer trends’ and machinery replacing human labour means people are starving and in poverty. Nietzsche believed that Christian ideals are being destroyed as we develop, that God is dead. Futurists on the other hand argue that we should dismiss the past and embrace today and tomorrow. So what is the solution and what has this done to the art world?
Much like these views, art has separated itself out. The post modernists mix everything together using past and present for inspiration. They integrate everything together to create something new whereas the modernist photographer would work almost rigidly looking at form, angles and technology. This has happened with music; Jimi Hendrix was ahead of his time and created music using feedback and wah-wah pedals which hadn’t been done before. Rock music also developed from the blues so taking something from the past and creating something new. Architecture has also undergone radical transformations where buildings now look less at function but more at colour and design.
Post modernism is more playful, light hearted and follows popular culture. Compare Ed Westons work with William Eggleston, both of their works can be perceived to beautiful but are completely different. Weston looks at form and composition whereas Eggleston uses colour and strange objects and ideas to create his work. The work of Ed Ruscha in his collection 34 parking lots looks at society and how cars change our landscapes for better or worse. Ruscha looks at how the oil leaks are like traces of us, ghostly memories left to show where we once parked our cars. I think there are many problems with moving forward so quickly but things can work together I write as I listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan on my iPod, contradictory to the futurists I think the past does influence us every day, we just need to ensure we use it positively and learn from it.
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