what is the scope of this class
Whenever we teach a class in "Modern Art" we are confronted with a couple of interesting issues.One is:what is the relationship between the tendency toward abstraction in the 20th century and the realism of the 20th century.Some have equated this disjuncture to a deep psycological disturbance in the mind of Picasso.Picasso -as we recall-is both a realist and a force for abstraction.Some recent theorists have argued that the interpretation of primitivism by Expressionists of the realist persuasion is wholly different from the interpretation of primitivism by other schools.Obviously, other artists like Duchamp and Scwitters come to mind when we consider this issue.Duchamp had his own Janus complex.At the risk of sounding too Hegelian,I think it is the dialectic of these two tendencies that propels much of the development of 20th century art.We do need to try to understand how the various "isms" of the 20th century respond to the issue.I would argue that some of the more famous isms-like futurism-seek a kind a reciprocity between the two tendencies.We must also pay attention to the way these tensions play out in some of the lesser discussed movements of the time.Does the Nabi group-especially Bonnard-have anything to offer as a mechanism for conflict resolution? In any case, this will be a one theme that we will return to again and again.