The Importance Of Modern Art

Art changed completely in the 20 th century. With birth of Modernism, a rapid succession

of “ism” fallowed, movements were artists rejected naturalism representing the physical

world realistically. Modern artists turned their back away from an academic art that had

classical traditions. Instead, they experimented with technique and form, questioning the

very nature of art and humanity. Modern art is a question more than an answer.

In January 1937, the Spanish Republican government commissioned Picasso to

create a large mural for the Spanish display at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris. “Life cut up

with art” when Picasso reacted to news of Spanish Nationalist Government bombing the

Basque Country Village in Spain by German and Italian

However, Duchamp understood that the joke must stay fresh and

that is why he decided to keep a limit on his readymade so that they do not lose the shock

value.

Art does not happen in the vacuum; whatever artist thought and felt was

represented in their art. Modern world needed modern art to fully represent

industrialization, urban and consumer culture, secularism, capitalism, innovation,

progress and science using anti-Modernist approach was under the umbrella of creating

modern art. Duchamp using his readymade is asking the viewer what do we want/expect

from the work of art in culture of mass production. Almost everything in our society is

mass-produced in a factory environment. How art could reflect our modern moment in

this industrial modern consumer society? People used to think that art is not utilitarian

object and Duchamp made a point that art is everywhere. By exhibiting urinal, as a

readymade in the gallery the object becomes something else, it has a title and the viewer

ads the narrative to it. That is the power of imagination that wise artist know how to

trigger and stimulate. Artists always try to comment on their times by questioning status

quo. When Marcel Duchamp was creating or rather inventing his readymades the