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Essay / Cubist artistic movement and its analytical and synthetic forms
Developed in the early 20th century, Cubism introduced a reconstruction of space and the idea that space is composed of geometric and mathematical shapes. As artists no longer reflected real subjects and observations, it was common for people to reject changes in art because a new reality was being introduced into the world and it was not easy to understand. On the other hand, it could be said that rather than introducing new interiors, Cubism examined the notion of space as being multi-dimensional and multi-duration. Qualities of interiority were also challenged by Cubism, as people's sensory experiences changed visually. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Breaking away from the traditional pictorial technique of one-point perspective, the Cubist movement offered a new reality of space; one that focused on the human experience. As was the principle of drawing, spatial perceptions were demonstrated through geometric figures, leading to an abstraction of what viewers had previously learned to see. Rather than a literal representation of a subject, this abstraction involved emphasizing the qualities of space, mass, and volume; the concept of which was considered a “revolutionary approach to representation”. The French poet Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) claimed that this was due to the artist's intention "...to find a pleasure other than that which the spectacle of natural things could just as well procure" as the literal representation n had more importance. Ultimately, Cubism was distinguished "not as an art of painting, but as an art of design", referring to the concept of reality, or one that was made to express three dimensions. The movement emphasizes the idea that the three dimensions cannot be shown by rendering reality as it is, but rather require the qualities of the forms to be disfigured and rearranged. In terms of revolutionary approaches, Cubism also offered a new perspective from above. In the new machine age, the Eiffel Tower was a structure that became a kind of monument for people, giving them a different view of the world, because before everything was one-dimensional and on one level. The new machine age also meant that there was significant interest in alternative ways of seeing, which is reflected in Robert Delaunay's "Windows" (1912). Inspired by the light refractions of the Eiffel Tower, the painting does not capture a "real subject", but rather the atmospheric changes of light over time. The idea that space is composed of multiple moments and views in time emphasizes the interactive, ongoing quality of time that can reveal beyond what the eyes already see. In turn, the dissection of space introduced by the Cubists revealed surfaces and facets that combined to create either a fragmented image or a composition that became more recognizable to the viewer. This faceting meant that space could be separated to reveal other material qualities and views, as opposed to a singular volume of space. Through this method of arrangement, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque were able to further analyze the form, leaving the final image open to interpretation for the viewer. It is up to the spectator that they left the responsibility of “concerning themselves with possible new measurements of space”. Consequently, one could say that Delaunay's painting reflectsthe analytical phase of Cubism (1908-1912), which saw a superposition of views and angles of the Eiffel Tower, in order to capture all its faces. The variations in transparency, as well as the intersecting lines, suggest that space is infinite and encourage alternative readings of the painting. Alternatively, the ambiguity left by the Cubists also results in a lack of understanding of the end point and what the viewer is enjoying. As critic Pierre Reverdy expressed in 1917, "this confusion has gone on long enough now...not only among the public, but among the artists themselves", emphasizing that the movement was never coherent. This new perception introduced by the Cubists poses the problem that the viewer is able to see art through the perspective of an artist, but he cannot have any other perception of the world and humanity than through through this new art. Conflicting emotions expressed by the artists, Mr. de Saint-Marceaux and Mr. Denys Peuch, who described the movement respectively as "an invasion of systematic ugliness in art" and that "wanting to express life with geometric forms, it defies common sense.” , highlights the fact that people of the time could not reach the same conclusion if they did not share the same mentality as the new painters. However, Cubism encouraged this freedom to represent reality as artists wanted, which intrigued others as well. Additionally, Cubism's multidimensional depiction of interiors changed the way people perceived space. Apollinaire declared that these new “painters offered us works that were more cerebral than sensual,”8 implying that Cubist art required the viewer to make sense of what they saw. Compared to traditional art, it allows the viewer to feel a certain way. As the complex shapes of the Eiffel Tower in Figure 1 show, this challenges the initial idea that art simply evokes emotions. However, once this notion is discarded, the viewer is better able to experience another type of sensory experience that influences thought and reason, rather than aesthetics, a notion that the Cubists also prioritized. Likewise, an interior is a condition that triggers a response from the viewer, rather than a condition that is affected by external factors. It could be said that Cubism sought to challenge the viewer's intangible responses so that they see something differently. Rather than simply feeling a certain way, "...the Cubist image acts both as a source of intense visual stimulation and, like any developing language, stretches the mind in response to its new and fruitful idioms." Referencing Braque's "Mandora" (1910), the muddy brown aesthetic encourages the viewer to see things as the eyes see them, but not as the mind processes them. What is initially perceived as a musical instrument can also be interpreted as a fragmented series of reverberations created by the mandora and felt by the viewer. Cubism therefore introduced an embodied experience through the visualization of art. Rather than creating a physical interior, the movement encouraged sensory experiences which play an important role in creating interiority, as intimacy is the physiological factor that allows people to feel. Upon closer examination, Cubism had less to do with the introduction of new interior designs. Rather, it implemented the idea of flattening space. However, this has given rise to many viewpoints. The next phase of “synthetic” cubism (1912-1914) is characterized by a decomposition of elements.