Throughout the 20th century, great social and cultural development took place, resulting in a global movement, especially in the arts, to adjust modern industrial life, which is called modernism. In this movement, artists around the world, including British artists, tended to use materials in new techniques and new ways to reflect the goals of modernism.
Like any other art movement, modernism has certain principles that define it, such as: experimenting with shapes, materials, colors, and lines, focusing on abstraction, using different techniques and processes, and British modernism wasn’t excluded, since it has a lot of outstanding arts that clarify more the characteristics of it.
An outstanding example to start with is, the outstanding artwork by Vanessa Bell, Studland Beach. Verso: Group of Male Nudes by Duncan Grant, which was done in 1912, shows exactly the principles of modernism. During 1912, leisure activities were developing, and the idea of enjoying the time in the beach was definitely included. Studland Beach -the figure above- is a famous quiet bay in dorest where Vanessa and her friends enjoyed their time there. She captured the moment by her simple design and emphasizing bold colors, shape, and line, trying to show evidence of modernity.
William Roberts, The Cinema, 1920
The cinema, by William Roberts, which was done in 1920, is another great example to modernism. During 1920s, the popularity of cinema and film industry has been increasing during the rise of Hollywood and very famous actors and actresses like Charlie Chaplin. Before 1927, movies were aligned with live music because they were silent, hence, many music halls and theaters were used. Roberts illustrated that era using bold colors as well, beside emphasizing on abstractions and shapes.
Graham Sutherland OM, Green Tree Form: Interior of Wood, 1940
Another masterpiece that shows modernism arts is Green Tree Form: Interior of Wood which was created in 1940 by Graham Sutherland. Due to the second world war, graham was trying in his piece to reflect the anxiety, human cruelty, and violence that war escorted it out. Through using abstracts, this piece was exposing a fallen tree roots on a grassy bank, which symbolize a distorted monster or human figure specifically. Thus, modernism era wasn’t only about showing entertainment and developments but also reflecting on political and social crises.
Jeremy Moon, No. 9/68, 1968
Lastly, No. 9/68 by Jeremy moon which was accomplished in 1968. Hard edged and rigid geometry was taking a huge part during the 1960s. Therefore, Moon’s was emphasizing on using abstracts in most of his work. No. 9/68 is a great example that shows how abstracts was taking a huge role, Moon’s intended to use two different yellow grid orientations to show geometry alongside keeping the background white, and using homogeneous colors which are pink, blue, and purple in various shades in the upper right color to achieve the abstract look. The idea behind the yellow grids was to show processes and experimentations, aiming to produce a distinctive complex shape.
To conclude, Modernism definitely was the era in which art reached its deepest potential and evolution, from society and culture to politics and geometry. An era where freedom was taking place through arts.