Twentieth Century Art Selections 10th Anniversary 30 Postcards First Edition

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Twentieth Century Art Selections for the Tenth Anniversary of the East Building 30 Postcards
First Edition
© 1989 National Gallery … Read more Twentieth Century Art Selections for the Tenth Anniversary of the East Building 30 Postcards
First Edition
© 1989 National Gallery of Art, Washington
Twentieth-Century Art
At no time have artists created a more spectacular profusion of styles, subjects, and media than in the twentieth century. Change, in fact, may seem to be the only constant characteristic of the art of our time. Artists have repeatedly challenged tradition, exploring new avenues of expression and seeking new forms to contain new ideas. But although the art of this century may at times appear to be a confusing whirl of movements and masters, it is undergirded by common impulses. At the root of the artists' anxious quest has been a profound reconsideration of the nature and purpose of art, and of the role of the artist in a society marked by rapid change and frequent upheaval.
Throughout the twentieth century artists have questioned or rejected the conventions of perspective and illusionism, focusing instead upon the literal means and materials of their art. Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in their cubist paintings questioned the notion that painting provided a "window" into a deep fictional space. Instead they divided forms and space into shifting planes and shards.
Deployed upon a flat surface, signs and even words hinted at subject matter that was left to the viewer to decode.
Other artists abandoned illusionist representation entirely. Piet Mondrian regarded his rigorous compositions of straight lines and primary colors as expressions of an ideal and universal order of which his paintings formed an actual part. American abstract expressionists like Jackson Pollock and Barnett Newman saw the canvas as a kind of arena in which to act and respond; paint no longer delineated recognizable forms but recorded the artist's ideas and gestures………
4 3/4” H x 6 3/4” W x 1/2” D See less