Term Papers on For Art’s Sake

Term Paper Title	For Art’s Sake
# of Words	1327
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	5.31

For Art’s Sake

     For an artist, whether he is a painter or a sculptor, art is an effective medium for him to express his
innermost sentiments, very similar to how one’s handwriting is often used to interpret the character of an
individual.  Art allows the artist to unleash his creativity, which is fueled by his passions and his
environment.
     Often, an artist’s work is a personal interpretation of the pulse or character of his period.
Sometimes, his works are so great that it captures the spirit of the age to the point that the public is drawn
towards it, and it becomes a fad.  This basically summarizes how the various art movements came into
play.
     This paper will try to prove the statement of Gonzalo Redondo:
Art is an efficacious means to know the pulse/character of a historical period.  The artist perceives how his
times are and speaks of them through created work.  A work in which the public — possibly with some
delay — feels represented; in the long run, this representation becomes an effective direction for the
manner of behaving.  The public imitate the art offered to it.

However, due to the specifications and requirements of this paper, the scope is limited to modern art,
specifically to the periods ranging from expressionism up until futurism.  A bit of Philippine Art will also
be discussed.
     Modern art is said to have begun as a product of various social factors, heavily influenced by
science and technology.  Rapid development followed the Industrial Revolution, which gave rise to new
relations of production, that of labor and capital.  The artisan, who was once protected by the guilds,
watched helplessly as automation and computerization bulldozed their way right into his stronghold.  The
artist, on the other hand, found himself released from the patronage of Church and State, thus forcing him
to turn towards the erratic and dubious middle class for assistance.
     In order to get the attention of the bourgeoisie, the artists had to appeal to their tastes.
Unfortunately, there was no place for nymphs, heroes, gods, and goddess to thrive in a new environment,
which adheres to the philosophy of Henri Bergson (which saw time as a continuum of moments in the
process of being and becoming), Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity (which broke down the classical
values of permanence and changelessness, as well as the concept of absolutes), and the philosophy of
Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis (which defied social conventions and exposed the secret motivations of
man, such as sex, the death wish, and the power drive).  In short, the old formula had to go, for it had
become stale and academic, losing its vigor and meaning.  They had to acquire something new to remain
"employed."  Thus they went back to basics, and redirected their focus from mythological figures back to
real people.  Also, painting had now redefined itself as an art, distingui!
shing itself from mere reproduction.
     From this flow of thought came the Expressionist movement, which is based on the primacy of
feelings.  The artists during those times felt that they had to express their personal views on the prevailing
socio-political conflicts.  Thus their works centered on nature and everyday objects which were often very
strong, violent, and intensely personal.  Examples would include Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night and
Edvard Munch’s The Scream, which used bright and screaming colors.  Images where often distorted to
indicate the prevailing confusion and anarchy during those times, which had war as a way of life.  They
also disregarded the natural colors of the objects in order to express emotions more powerfully.  To put it
quite frankly: "Reason had given way to emotion and to the irrational."
     When peace momentarily held center stage, the intellect was once again in high gear.  With it
came the surrealist movement, which drew its artistic impulses from the psychoanalytic methods of
Sigmund Freud, specifically on the free association and interpretation of dreams.  According to them,
"man’s...

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