Lecture Notes - Burn the Museums!

Notes from the lecture about the Avant-Garde Movement.  There's probably more I could say for an introduction at this point but really what more needs to be said?
Well perhaps the general disclaimer regarding accuracy with facts, dates and spelling. but other than that nothing more needs to be said.

Burn the Museums! - Avant-Garde Modernism.

1. MISC POINTS:
   1. The way that we perceived the world (of art) in the first half of the 20^th century was Doubt. The artworld moved away frrom rigid definitions of exactly what made something art and increasingly asked “Is this art?” and “Why?” This questioning of the status quo as it pertained to pieces of art was very important as it paved the way for artists to produce works of a greater variety than ever before [1]
      
      The other development of note was speed. With people now able to ride to their neighbors rather than walk the distances traveled became greater [2]
      
      It is advances in technology which have advanced all aspects of the world. [3] 
2. TIMELINE:
1. Turn of the century
   1. In Wellington Newtown Park was used to barrack soldiers before they went off to fight in the war, The oldest film in the New Zealand Film Archive is a minute or two of soldiers doing just that.
   2. Suffragettes. Women who were concerned with achieving equal rights with men. Their posters were clever in that they were designed with a specific audience in mind.
2. Great Strike of 1913
   1. The poster designs had moved away from anything resembling an aestheic in favor of text on paper. It was all about getting the message out with no thought to design.
   2. Parnell brought laboring conditions to the fore which effectively led to the formation of the Labour Party and, eventually, the child labor laws [4]
   3. Battle of Featherston Street. A bloody battle in which farmers were brought in and used as cavalry against the strikers. [5]
   4. The ultimate conclusion to the strike was the formation of the first workers collectives or unions. Many of the early unions were tied into the ideals of Bolshevism and/or Communism which I believe is due to the alignment of philosophies ie everyone is equal.
3. 1918
   1. An influenza epidemic ravages the Maori although it is unclear where exactly it originated it would seem that it is another example of a people living in isolation and being unprepared, immunologically speaking, for the disease.
   2. The response for this amongst the Maori people was a galvanization of support for medical centers to assist with the sick. Many of these medical centers survive.
4. The Ratana Movement
   1. Founded by Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana of Ngati Apa and Nga Rauru.
   2. Dr Diedre Brown – A study of Maori Architecture.
5. The Nazi Reigeme
   1. It happened and was not fun for anyone. I probably should have taken more notes at this point but I think anyone reading about this knows about the excesses of those wacky facists.
6. The Great Depression:
   1. After the war the stock market crashed and led to massive levels of unemployment. Due to their communal way of living Maori communities were able to survive on a higher standard than the Pakeha communities.
   2. Employers - mainly the government I do believe - took advantage of this massive pool of cheap labor by undertaking massive workcampaigns.
7. Dawn of the machine
   1. Nobody can deny that technology has led to some amazing innovations but as with everything else this has a dark side [6].
8. The spirit of modern times.
   1. Art, design and applied arts sought an aesthetic which captured the spirit of the time
      1. The machinemade aesthetic
         1. Erasing signs of the hand(made?)
         2. The use of universal principles of geometry as the basis for design.
         3. Designed to be reproduced using modern technology.
      2. Fururists
         1. Manifestos for everyone!
         2. They wanted a new start to the world of art [7]
         3. The message of posters (during wartime) began to be transmitted through the image of the poster as a whole rather than simply a block of text.
      3. Modernism
         1. Characterized by the integration of the machine into everyday life.
      4. Cubism
         1. The evaluation of an object from different angles.
         2. “When you look at something you don't just see the front view. You perceive all the sides” exactly who said this I don't know but it's a good point. Cubism is a process where each side of the subject being depicted is shown at once.
      5. Dada
         1. “The beginnings of Dada were not the beginnings of an art but of a disgust”
         2. Cabart Voltaire
         3. Their manifesto called for the eradication of pretty much everything which seems counterproductive for a group of people who are beginning an art movement.
         4. Marcel Duchamp – Believed that art galleries were like prison walls and he wanted people be able to decide what art was rather than them being dictated to (by the salon and their contemporaries)
      6. The Bauhaus
         1. Established other disciplines and explored the ideas present from an artistic point of view. For further and more detailed reading I have my previous report on the evolution of the Bauhaus.
         2. Wiener Werstatte
         3. Plakastil
         4. DeStiji – The Style
         5. Constructivism – Art should be useful, they looked at the political potention and what art could do to change society.
         6. Rene Magritte, The treachery of images.
9. Pene and Hone Tiapia.
1. Woodcarvers who were held back from going to war by Sir Aprina Ngata. He had the pair declared Tohunga (treasures) as their skills in woodcarving were helping to preserve and revive traditional art forms.  

| NOTES:

1.  I'm thinking mainly about Duchamp and similar but will talk about him later on
2.  This could be loosely said to tie into the spread of ideas. The ultimate expression of this in these modern times are the internet memes
3. However I refuse to cite any specific examples because I'd be here all day.
4.  I am glossing over a great deal of the hows and whys in this timeline.
5.  This tactic ended exactly as could be expected.
6. ...a nicely ominous sentence that sadly has no conclusion because someone was talking and I missed what was being said. 
7.  And everything else it seems.