20th-Visual+Art+and+Music

=**20th Century Visual Art and Music**= Katie Reinlib

The real unifying principles of the visual art movement of the twentieth century were mainly depressing subjects (mostly but not solely due to the war) and abstract art. Another big thing was that the artists were certainly, as can be seen with the increasing amount of abstract art, trying to set themselves apart from generations before them. In previous centuries, artists were often attempting to keep the same style of art - whether it be preference or law. Often art in the twentieth century was seen as rebellious, and the artists were trying to voice their opinions through their art. These unifying principles can easily be connected to the examples below. Picasso is a prime example of all of the unifying principles. Much of his work was depressing (as can be seen in "Tragedy"), and he is quite well-known for his many abstract pieces. Georgia O'Keeffe's art was also both saddening and abstract. Her art often featured desolate, desert scenes with skeletons and skulls of dead animals. Henri Matisse represents the principle that the artists were attempting to be very different from that of the generations before them. Matisse used striking, bold colors, along with abstract human forms in order to express the music of the time. Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol were both leaders of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Jackson Pollock was extremely abstract with his paint splatters, while Andy Warhol insulted the advertisement industry and made statements with subjects as simple as soup cans and Mickey Mouse.

__Early 20th Century Art__
(To see more examples, go to: [|Art History Resources on the Web - Early 20th Century])
 * **Pablo Picasso**: (1881-1973) [|Picasso]'s work is often put into a few categories: his early work (including realism and caricature), the Blue Period, and the Rose Period. The most well-known of his works fall into the Blue and Rose periods. Picasso's [|Blue Period] lasts from around 1901 to 1904, and is characterized mainly by the art involving predominantly blue colors and its focused subjects being outcasts, beggars, prostitutes, and other undesirables. The [|Rose Period] began around 1904 and started Picasso's less-depressing period in which his art involved pink, light blues, and roses. A large amount of Picasso's work was abstract. Pablo Picasso's life was a difficult one. He was at times impoverished and even had to burn some of his paintings for warmth. His art was therefore sometimes influenced by such things.




 * **Georgia O'Keeffe**: (1887-1986) [|Georgia O'Keeffe]'s paintings were largely abstract. She is best known for her large paintings of flowers and desert scenery. O'Keeffe's work was abstract in that it often featured things close-up that would not otherwise usually be painted in such a manner. A few more of her well-known paintings feature the skulls of animals lying in the desert. Born in Wisconsin, she moved to New Mexico around halfway through her life, hence the desert inspirations. The [|Georgia O'Keeffe Museum] was erected in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1997.


 * **Henri Matisse**: (1869-1954) [|Matisse] was a French man in the practice of law before becoming an artist (while recovering from appendicitis). Matisse was very much interested in using bold colors as much as possible to emphasize certain things. He was, for this, considered very much a radical in the artistic world. He was often commissioned by the high-ranked and rich for depictions of songs and music. These subjects suited Matisse very well, and his art often displays the form and expression of a subject before anatomy.

__Later 20th Century Art To the Present__
(To see more examples, go to: [|Art History Resources on the Web - Later 20th Century] )




 * **Jackson Pollock**: (1912-1956) [|Jackson Pollock] was extremely well-known for his abstract art made up completely of simple [|paint-splatters]. He was an important figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement, and obviously tried to make his own work very unique from other forms of art. In his personal life, Jackson Pollock was an alcoholic and died early in life due to a car accident. This only made him more well-known.


 * **Andy Warhol**: (1928-1987) [|Andy Warhol] is certainly one of the most famous artists of his generation. Another abstract artist, some of his most famous work revolves simply around a [|Campbell's] soup can. Warhol became extremely popular and worked on a number of advertisement campaigns alongside his own work. Shot and nearly killed by [|Valerie Solanas], his art was extremely influenced by this incident - some of his work began to feature guns. Warhol's aim with his art was to somewhat attack his culture - " [|32 Campbell's Soup Cans]," for example, makes a statement about the monotonous condition of mass advertising at the time.

One unifying principle of the musical movement of the twentieth century was that there were a collection of very young musicians that were taking the wheel. Another is that music, as with the art, reflected some musicians' and composers' opinions of the war. This was also a time in which music was spreading rapidly from England to the rest of the world - mainly with the British Invasion of music. Yet another unifying principle is the definition of new genres of music, including electronic music and rock and roll. Again, these unifying principles can easily be connected to the examples below. The young, talented musicians can be represented with Claude Debussy, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Pink Floyd. Debussy attended the Paris Conservatory at the mere age of eleven, and Rachmaninoff entered the College of Music in St. Petersburg at the age of nine. Pink Floyd originated from a group of architectural college students. One of Benjamin Britten's most famous pieces is //War Requiem//, a piece that expresses his want for peace during the war. The Beatles, of course, with all the Beatlemania, took America by storm after spreading from their original home in England. Elvis Presley is known for truly establishing the genre of rock and roll, and Madonna is an icon in popular electronic music.

__**Composers**__
(To see more examples, go to: [|Internet Public Library: Music History 102]



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 * **Claude Debussy**: (1862-1918) [|Debussy] began piano at a very young age, and progressed so rapidly that he was able to enter the [|Paris Conservatory]at the age of eleven. Debussy was very much influenced by his surroundings and the environment - [|La Mer], for example, is a piece that is meant to mimick and replicate the sounds and appearance of the ocean. Debussy's probably most well-known piece is [|Claire De Lune], a piece written for the piano.

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 * **Benjamin Britten**: (1913-1976) [|Britten] was involved with music at an early age, and although his early works were instrumental, he is probably most known for his choral and vocal pieces (much of which were composed for his life-long partner, [|Peter Pears]). His first opera, [|Peter Grimes], is one of his most famous, as well as [|The Four Sea Interludes]. A peace-maker, Britten composed the [|War Requiem] in an attempt express the way he would wish to put down the war in a peaceful manner.


 * **Sergei Rachmaninoff**: (1873-1943) [|Rachmaninoff] was born in Novgorod, Russia, to a family with a strong military background. He was described as a problem child, but was extremely talented when it came to the piano - even entering the [|College of Music in St. Petersburg] at the age of nine. Rachmaninoff made his first tour of the United States in 1909 and left Russia for America in 1917 following the [|Russian Revolution]. It is said that his [|Piano Concerto No. 2] truly secured his name as a composer. In 1943 he passed away in Beverly Hills, California, with the completion of three symphonies, four piano concertos, two piano sonatas, and the choral symphony [|The Bells].

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__**Bands and Singers**__
> [|Please Please Me]**,** [|With The Beatles]**,** [|A Hard Day's Night], [|Beatles for Sale], [|Help!], [|Rubber Soul]**,** [|Revolver]**,** [|Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]**,** [|The Beatles]**,** [|Yellow Submarine]**,** [|Abbey Road], and [|Let It Be]. They went on a world tour in the mid-sixties and starred in several movies. John Lennon was shot and killed on December 8, 1980, and memorials are still held for him in [|Strawberry Fields, Central Park]. George Harrison died of lung cancer on November 29, 2001. The other two members, however, are still alive and making music. Paul McCartney has even been knighted.
 * **The Beatles**: [|The Beatles] (active from 1960-1970) were made up of [|John Lennon] (vocals, guitar), [|Paul McCartney] (vocals, bass guitar), [|Ringo Starr] (vocals, drums), and [|George Harrison] (vocals, lead guitar). Just around 1963, the Beatles were a massive success, even acquiring the term "Beatlemania." They were a huge part of the [|British Invasion], a time when a lot of music came from England and became hugely popular in the United States. Their studio albums include:

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 * **Pink Floyd**: [|Pink Floyd] (active from 1965-1996) was made up of [|Nick Mason], [|Syd Barrett], [|David Gilmour], [|Roger Waters], and [|Richard Wright]. They began as a few college students just playing together, most of them being from the study of architecture. They changed their band name multiple times - the most well-known of them being the Architectural Abdabs, the Megadeaths, and the Tea Set. Waters and Wright eventually left the band in 1979 and 1985, but the band kept touring as Pink Floyd. Their discography includes: //The Piper at the Gates of Dawn// (1967), //A Saucerful of Secrets// (1968), //Soundtrack from the Film More// (1969), //Ummagumma// (1969), //Atom Heart Mother// (1970), //Meddle// (1971), //The Dark Side of the Moon// (1972), //Wish You Were Here// (1975), //Animals// (1977), //The Wall// (1979), //The Final Cut// (1983), //A Momentary Lapse of Reason// (1987), and //The Division Bell// (1994). Syd Barrett died on July 7, 2006, at the age of sixty. None of the band members attended his funeral, although they were said to have been upset. On September 15, 2008, Richard Wright died of cancer.

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 * **Elvis Presley**: (1935-1977) Born in Mississippi on January 8, 1935, [|Elvis Presley] grew up as an only child because his twin brother was a stillborn. Elvis Presley was influenced mainly by the R&B, gospel, and popular music of his time. He was signed with [|Sun Records] in Memphis, Tennessee, and so his singing career began in about 1954. Combining all of his influences, Elvis really defined the controversial music genre of rock and roll and was known globally by 1956 - selling over one billion records. An extremely humble man, Elvis also starred in 33 films and earned the [|Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award] at the age of 36 among his many other awards. He joined the [|U.S. Army] despite his celebrity status and died of heart failure on August 16, 1977.


 * **Madonna**: (1958-present) [|Madonna] was born on August 16, 1958, as Madonna Louise Ciccone. Madonna's mother died when she was five years old, and it had a big impact on her life - she fought extremely hard against her stepmother, Joan Gustafson. However, she was an extremely studious person and attended the [|University of Michigan] - but she dropped out after two years to go to New York and pursue a dancing career. After spending some time in France as a showgirl, Madonna wanted to sing and dance for a living. She became the drummer for [|The Breakfast Club], the band of her boyfriend, upon returning to America. In 1981, Madonna went solo and "Everybody" hit number one in 1982. From then on, Madonna was an international phenomenon. She is an icon in defining 'pop' music - and is one of the better-known artists who used electronics in their music.

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