Modernism HELP!!!

[mummytait]

I have writen and essay on modernism and could do with an interesting slant, quotes or references to make my submission more interesting than the other 80.

The basis of the question is regarding the narrative thrust of modernism and whether it is simply a mirror of events of 20th century?

I don't consider this cheating as I have already writen the essay and see you guys as a genuine source of information and reference.

[mycats]

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/modernism.html

Anything here any help? Good luck

[jake-the-peg]

A hundred times have I thought New York is a catastrophe and 50 times: It is a beautiful catastrophe.
Le Corbusier

[jno]

I suppose it partly depends what field you're dealing with. I would have thought the whole notion of 'modern', of seeing things differently from your forefathers, was Victorian. In architecture it was a response to technological change - the development of steel frame buildings allowed skyscrapers to be built (they needed the invention of the lift, to get people to the top, and that required the invention of the revolving door, otherwise the resulting gales of air would have blown them into the street). In writing I think experimentation was a response to the disasters of the first world war and a perceived need to see things differently. You could say the same of painting, though I think experimentation there began earlier in the 20th century. In cinema it was mostly a matter of sets - the 'big white sets' of Astaire/Rogers films, for instance; actual movies remain very little different from stage melodramas of a century earlier and technological innovation, such as sound and Cinemascope, actually restricted what directors could do and the audience they could be shown to.

That doesn't provide you with many quotes, though.

[lia*]

http://www.tricity.wsu.edu/sonn/ecomod_intro.h tm

hope this helps, any chance of reading the essay

cheers!

[gary baldy]

You cant really talk about Modernity without talking about architecture.
This is quite a nice little site:
http://www.open2.net/modernity/

[ajcross]

I don't know where you are based in the country, but the V&A Museum in London is currently staging a major exhibition called 'Modernism: Designing a New World'. You can find some inspiration at their web site:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/modernism

For a literary perspective on modernism, I'm sure you've come across Modernism: A Guide to European Literature, edited by Malcolm Bradbury and James McFarlane. This is an essential read for literature students. There is also the very valuable Modernism by Peter Childs, which provides context as well as specific analyses of different generic concerns.

Bradbury and McFarlane discuss the extent to which modernism broke new ground and may well provide you with some inspiration about how 'modernism' was constructed after the event, as a label put upon a disparate series of innovations across different genres. There are plenty of juicy quotations in this volume.

Have you considered the question of what extent the authors, designers and artists were aware of their own experimentation, their breaking away from age-old norms? Certain artists and writers were willfully individualistic and couldn't give a damn about innovations in other fields. Others, such as those collected under the Bloomsbury Group, were very conscious of wanting to change the world systematically across all the arts and sciences.

It might be helpful to bear in mind that modernism relied on the past as well as keeping faith in the future. The industrial revolution of the 19th century was crucial particularly to the themes of city life (and the resultant ennui) in art and literature and the innovations in architecture and engineering. Of course, the First World War (1914-1918) provided a crucial startpoint for the second phase of modernism, by breaking down social barriers and encouraging people to turn away from

[mummytait]

Thanks everyone. Some really great things there. Not sure you would want to read the essay Lia but I will consider publishing it if the marks are good enough!!! Of course in this case you'll all be quoted as valuable academic sources.