#8: "Feeling Blue"
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
- Christina Rossetti, 1849
The time has come, my friends, to end this rainbow we’ve valiantly climbed together. All the colors, paintings, terms, and artists we have explored… I’m going to miss it dearly. In my last post, I want to focus on the idea of modernity. What we’ve explored together—and what I hope I have taught you—is that there is no such thing as transient art; it is forever encompassing, and its subject matter is forever modernist. Now there’s a difference between Modernism and Modern Art. They can be true at the same time, and are often used interchangeably, but there's a difference in philosophy and understanding.
Modernity is not a particular time but an attitude about that period; not a one-to-one match, but rather a path of certain self-awareness about the things that are changing around one in real time. The viewer and the artist are experiencing modernity as they speak; their experiences, shaped and applied to the modern world, are the ongoing concept of modernity. From the arid deserts to industrialization and technological advancement, each moment in time has been an ever-evolving experience of modernity.
Modern Art, however, refers to the artistic, creative, and philosophical movements from roughly the 1860s to the 1970s that broke with tradition, experimenting with form, color, genre, and concept to reflect this reality. It declares a new artistic standard, characterized by a rejection of traditional artistic forms and techniques, as well as emphasis on experimentation and individual expression. This is how we have terms like avant-garde and movements like Impressionism, Cubism and Realism.
Blue is a colour that sparks confidence. The first thing that comes to mind is the ocean. Picasso’s blue paintings brought the color onto the scene. It's electric, depressing and trusting. Only 10 per cent of people worldwide have blue eyes. Lapis Lazuli is the original It girl shade of blue. Blue is the most calming, the color of relaxation. But it is also a color of sadness—dare I say, hopelessness. I saved this color for last because I believe there are many ways to interpret it. I couldn’t predict how to feel exactly when the final blog post would come, but I could predict that it is a color that makes me contemplate my time on the planet, what it feels like to live in a society already rotting at its core. This post isn’t to be a pessimist, but rather to relax and reflect on what the modern future might hold.
Before I begin, I would like to shout out Esin for suggesting this final artist in my previous post. Yves Klein’s “Blue Monochrome” (1961, MoMA) is a bold declaration of modernity. He famously declared the blue sky to be his first artwork, and from there, continued finding radical new ways to represent the infinite and immaterial in his works. The idea of a blue sky—a universal connection of color between all people on this Earth—is endless. “Blue Monochrome” is strategically abstracted into a singular one-dimensional plane. To spread a singular color across the canvas is to achieve absolute perfection. He saw monochrome painting as an “open window to freedom, as the possibility of being immersed in the immeasurable existence of color.” After its commercial success, the shade International Klein Blue, a shade reliant on ultramarine.
Klein’s art is Modernist and an example of Modern Art. Although he claimed he was different from other Modern painters, he still participated in the Modern art market. Simultaneously, he broke tradition. The idea of a monochrome piece, brushed with uniformity, stands the test of time. It was conceived in the context of Klein’s lifetime, and therefore became a modernist concept, reflecting the attitudes of a time desperate for Modernism.
It is within this lifetime that we will all become part of the Modernist canon. Our understanding of art constantly evolves. During the brief time we’ve shared—reading each other's blogs, critiquing, and commenting on how colors affect our psyche—we have realized that we are responsible for guiding the course of knowledge. I know I initially said we would paint the town red, but now I am feeling blue. Upon reflection, I will remember you all, and I hope you will not grieve, and will remember me too.
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
- Christina Rossetti, 1849
The time has come, my friends, to end this rainbow we’ve valiantly climbed together. All the colors, paintings, terms, and artists we have explored… I’m going to miss it dearly. In my last post, I want to focus on the idea of modernity. What we’ve explored together—and what I hope I have taught you—is that there is no such thing as transient art; it is forever encompassing, and its subject matter is forever modernist. Now there’s a difference between Modernism and Modern Art. They can be true at the same time, and are often used interchangeably, but there's a difference in philosophy and understanding.
Modernity is not a particular time but an attitude about that period; not a one-to-one match, but rather a path of certain self-awareness about the things that are changing around one in real time. The viewer and the artist are experiencing modernity as they speak; their experiences, shaped and applied to the modern world, are the ongoing concept of modernity. From the arid deserts to industrialization and technological advancement, each moment in time has been an ever-evolving experience of modernity.
Modern Art, however, refers to the artistic, creative, and philosophical movements from roughly the 1860s to the 1970s that broke with tradition, experimenting with form, color, genre, and concept to reflect this reality. It declares a new artistic standard, characterized by a rejection of traditional artistic forms and techniques, as well as emphasis on experimentation and individual expression. This is how we have terms like avant-garde and movements like Impressionism, Cubism and Realism.
Blue is a colour that sparks confidence. The first thing that comes to mind is the ocean. Picasso’s blue paintings brought the color onto the scene. It's electric, depressing and trusting. Only 10 per cent of people worldwide have blue eyes. Lapis Lazuli is the original It girl shade of blue. Blue is the most calming, the color of relaxation. But it is also a color of sadness—dare I say, hopelessness. I saved this color for last because I believe there are many ways to interpret it. I couldn’t predict how to feel exactly when the final blog post would come, but I could predict that it is a color that makes me contemplate my time on the planet, what it feels like to live in a society already rotting at its core. This post isn’t to be a pessimist, but rather to relax and reflect on what the modern future might hold.
Before I begin, I would like to shout out Esin for suggesting this final artist in my previous post. Yves Klein’s “Blue Monochrome” (1961, MoMA) is a bold declaration of modernity. He famously declared the blue sky to be his first artwork, and from there, continued finding radical new ways to represent the infinite and immaterial in his works. The idea of a blue sky—a universal connection of color between all people on this Earth—is endless. “Blue Monochrome” is strategically abstracted into a singular one-dimensional plane. To spread a singular color across the canvas is to achieve absolute perfection. He saw monochrome painting as an “open window to freedom, as the possibility of being immersed in the immeasurable existence of color.” After its commercial success, the shade International Klein Blue, a shade reliant on ultramarine.
Klein’s art is Modernist and an example of Modern Art. Although he claimed he was different from other Modern painters, he still participated in the Modern art market. Simultaneously, he broke tradition. The idea of a monochrome piece, brushed with uniformity, stands the test of time. It was conceived in the context of Klein’s lifetime, and therefore became a modernist concept, reflecting the attitudes of a time desperate for Modernism.
It is within this lifetime that we will all become part of the Modernist canon. Our understanding of art constantly evolves. During the brief time we’ve shared—reading each other's blogs, critiquing, and commenting on how colors affect our psyche—we have realized that we are responsible for guiding the course of knowledge. I know I initially said we would paint the town red, but now I am feeling blue. Upon reflection, I will remember you all, and I hope you will not grieve, and will remember me too.
Your posts are always so beautifully written with such specific word choice; this week is no different. I can already say your take on Modernity in art will really stick with me. I also love how you tied poetry in and used it not only to paint a feeling about blue, but to craft a poetic ending for this post and your blog as a whole.
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