This is a book about wacky artists
and their fascinating crusades. The modernist movement was brought about the
Industrial Revolution's alienation of community, which enhanced individualist
expression due to the prevailing misery of a world succumbing to mechanical
efficiency and city life. Impressionism, fauvism, and art's evolution into
abstract expressionism is thoroughly covered. Biographies are brief and the
paintings minimal; I would have liked to see more illustrations (in color too)
so that I knew which paintings were being written about, instead of having to
search online. He also covers musicians like Stravinsky; architectural
movements like the Bauhaus; the development of film; and writers like Woolf,
Proust, and Joyce. My favorite part of this book was reading about Virginia
Woolf's amazement with Marcel Proust's talent and her befuddlement by Joyce (I
have the same sentiments). Now I see the kind of influence Proust had on
Virginia Woolf. I didn't see it before,
and it's beautiful.
Modernism was a movement that
transcended the arts and still does to this day. You might not think so after
reading the book. The author Peter Gay seems to be certain that the movement
died in the 60's with the development of Pop Art. But just because the mass
interest in painting dissipated doesn't mean that people stopped pushing the
envelope in other mediums. I'm not sure why Peter never mentioned
postmodernism, modernism's successor after the 60's; surely, he must be aware
of it. In literature it didn't end with Gabriel Garcia Marquez; there was
Pynchon, Rushdie, D.F..W, David Mitchell, Danielewski. In music we've had all
kinds of genre transformations; classical music shouldn't be the only genre to
consider. Free jazz, prog. rock, electronic music, and even rap have all had
noteworthy artists who push the envelope and experiment with different styles
(John Coltrane, Pink Floyd, Delerium, Radiohead, Tool, and The Mars Volta all come
to mind). Then in film Orson Welles was certainly not the only avant-garde
influence; Antonioni, David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, and Aronofski have all
directed postmodern masterpieces. Perhaps this book deserves a successor, one
that moves away from classic forms and ironically embraces the modern world
that really solidified after the 60's. Also, I can't understand why he never
mentioned Gaudi, the famous modernist architect who so clearly influenced Frank
Gehry, whom he devoted a whole chapter to. Nonetheless I learned a lot from his
book and I thank the author for introducing me to several interesting artists
I'd never heard of before.
