Modernism meets the farm: Precisionist paintings and photographs of vernacular architecture, 1915--1940 (Charles Sheeler, Georgia O'Keeffe).
详细信息
- 作者：Richardson ; R. Sarah.
- 学历：Doctor
- 年：2005
- 导师：Webster, Sally
- 毕业院校：City University of New York
- 专业：Art History.;American Studies.
- ISBN：0542061155
- CBH：3169974
- Country：USA
- 语种：English
- FileSize：11838707
- Pages：251
文摘
In the period between the two world wars, the everyday elements and artifacts of American life were rediscovered and celebrated for their utilitarian qualities. The group of modernist artists identified as Precisionists---in particular Charles Sheeler and Georgia O'Keeffe---contributed to this widespread cultural reevaluation through their images of rural vernacular architecture.;The term "Precisionist" refers to artists who worked in a similar hard-edged style; critics identified objectivity, simplification, and architectonic structure in this art and used the term "precision" as a common denominator. Precisionist artists were never an official group or school. They did, however, exhibit with many of the same dealers, including Alfred Stieglitz, Charles Daniel, and Edith Halpert. Intriguingly, these artists, who were not formally aligned, all gravitated toward modernist treatment of the same types of buildings, including barns and historic homes.;While O'Keeffe and Sheeler are the focus of this study, others artists are also included: George Ault, Peter Blume, Ralston Crawford, Stefan Hirsch, Edmund Lewandowski, Niles Spencer, Paul Strand, and Edward Weston. The first chapter identifies the buildings that the artists drew, painted, and photographed and describes the agricultural needs the buildings themselves served. The second chapter considers these images in the context of European and American modernism, as well as how the mythology of the American land as a site of renewal and redemption was part of modernist thought. The third and fourth chapters discuss the era's fascination with American history, especially its quotidian elements, including folk art and historic buildings, on both national and local levels. These trends provided the context in which O'Keeffe and Sheeler worked. Chapter Five looks at work by other artists who also considered agricultural themes in the period, including the Regionalists, Edward Hopper, and Walker Evans.;The examination of the past through a modern lens is at the heart of this project. The ways that O'Keeffe, Sheeler, and the other Precisionist artists portrayed historic buildings as icons for the modern age reveals many of the complexities of the interwar period.