It was half a guess, half a doubt at the back of your mind. You wouldn’t say, denying it and defending it- Why do they look ugly?
You asked secretly, but then again you hypnotized yourself — I can, and I will learn to appreciate them, because everything is art.
After all, there was no objection to the freedom of expression, as they should all be respected.
Were notes on the piano all equal? It is arrogant to classify them and to make rules, is it not?
A New York Times editorial once threw a “the emperor’s new clothes” insult at Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase when it showed in 1913, but then the work was soon widely regarded as a Modernist classic.
It must be wrong to call them the emperor’s new clothes. You convinced yourself.
If the good old days were beautiful still, why didn’t you grab your brush and paint in the Rococo fashion? The next day you walked into MoMA and felt you would really want to see something other than disfigured human statues.
The answer is simple.
Modern art is a recognized art period lasting from 1860–1970.
It is outdated.
It was no different from how you have finally defeated Arthas in World of Warcraft, the last sentence echoed —
“At long last… no king rules forever.”
Be it a just king or a tyrant.
1.
RIGHT WING PROPAGANDA?
The writing of this article started from watching a controversial video on YouTube — Why is modern art so bad?
The video is regarded as a right wing propaganda on Reddit because of its affiliation with a ring wing channel. However, the controversy pointed out by the video did existed.
In fact, we don’t have to be too serious… Consider watching this sarcastic video instead-
Before our discussion, I must state that Ratafire is not affiliated with any right wing or left wing organization. If there is anything Ratafire is linked to, it is the world young artists faces.
In this article I will explain why the Modern art period is gone, and what has the potential to become a new recognized period in art.
What is the usage of Modern Art?
2.
UTILITARIANISM?
Some believe it is the first taboo to ask the usage of art. After all, we only talk about the usage of engineering. For most, making art useful seems to be mechanic and void of emotions — making art less humane.
Suppose we don’t know if we can talk about the usage of art, and we know for sure we can talk about the usage of wealth.
A considerable portion of wealth was converted into the making of art. Even if humans are not perfectly economical, there must be a need, or more needs behind it (leaving out the investment value of artwork for now).
What is the usage of art itself?
There are several simple usages, as I would go over their names (appreciation for beauty, display of power, desire for self expression), but I want to dig deeper with a peculiar one — the desire for immortality.
Before the current technology in medicine and in computer, the desire for immortality was a pure vain effort. There were only beliefs of immortality. Then one imagined oneself to be able to live forever, through one’s reproduction, one’s religious belief and one’s fame.
Art was among the paths to the imaginary immortality.
It is easy to see how both the fame gain in art and the creative process can stir one’s thoughts on immortality. Yet it is an even harder question to ask — why do humans crave this one thing that doesn’t seem to be good for them?
For me, before our technology abolishes death one day, the desire for eternity comes from our thoughts on death. The dreaming of the unlimited comes from limitations. Imaginations spring out of the confinement of time.
Here is one of my favorite quotes-
“As death, when we come to consider it closely, is the true goal of our existence, I have formed during the last few years such close relationships with this best and truest friend of mankind that death’s image is not only no longer terrifying to me, but is indeed very soothing and consoling, and I thank my God for graciously granting me the opportunity…of learning that death is the key which unlocks the door to our true happiness.” — Mozart.
From this paragraph, one can see clearly the connections among art and immortality and death. It is the thought that travels between these two extremes that created art itself.
You may say, “We are not creating religious art here. Why should we care about something as lofty as immortality? Many non-Modern art didn’t want to last forever, either.”
Now let’s come back to the question of the usage of Modern art. The Persistence of Memory presented time itself:
It was not this painting that made you feel there was something wrong with Modern art. In fact, the painting was brilliant.
What made you feel wrong were the academic standard and some galleries’ standard for Modern art, as they aimed for short term competition against the raising industry, which became the usage of some Modern art.
Time is one of the fundamental experiences of human life, and I believe a little bit of long term thinking separates great artworks from mediocre ones.
3.
STANDARDS AND TRADITIONS
Apart from the usage of art, there is another similar, but easier question to ask — what should be the standards of art?
Many who haven’t looked into the creation of standards believe standards are unchangeable universal laws. This view is as far from reality as it can be.
Traditions come from standards, and standards come from the active practice of an art.
Let’s break it down -
The active practice of an art has to be active. For example, in the 19th century, new romantic music was being written every other week, and most of the pieces were not to be recited. When something is being actively created, the next question is naturally, how to distribute it.
Some standards are made so that an art form is recognizable when it is distributed. With its distribution and growing popularity, more wish to join the creation of this art form. Standards of making this art would then be created so that the new comers can get started easier.
Years come to pass and standards become traditions. However, after traditions are established, they soon grow old and rigid, and no longer help the new comers. Instead, they are now the stumbling blocks for the next generation of art.
Naturally, there would be pioneers to break the code.
From this process, you can see that standards are only made when an art is actively practiced, and all the standards are quite practical when they first emerge.
Both lawless and overly corrupted traditions can give birth to chaos.
When you see something as chaotic, it is either before its spreading period, or after its active life. In Modern art’s case, it is at its dying breath.
The Computational Era and its Taste
4.
VIDEO GAMES
The next recognized period after Modernity, is the Computational Era, starting from personal computer, ending in true A.I. or strong anti-aging medicine (or mature trans-human technology). Year 2015 is about 8–15 years before the high period of the computational era.
The above are merely my wild guesses.
There are many culture influencers in the computational era, here we are going to talk about the most important one — video games.
An entire generation growing up playing video games happened. This generation doesn’t even know the world before the invention of video games, and now they are at their 20s-30s. When they are at their 40s, they will own this world.
They listened to these music-
Travelled through these places-
Talked to these people-
They are a strange lot.
In Blade Runner, Roy the replicant said:
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I’ve watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those … moments will be lost in time, like tears…in rain.”
The natives of the computational era will see things the previous generation wouldn’t believe, and the moments will be carved in time.
This is where art is heading.
Recommend the story if you like it — that will allow more to see it.
Thank you for reading
