The historical context of modern art

If modern art were limited to Damien Hirsch's formaldehyde experiments, I wouldn't even bother posting this. It turns out that modern art is much more diverse, politicized, and philosophical than I thought. I used to think modern art meant stripes on a canvas--or, better yet--an all black canvas, as I've seen at the Berkeley Art Museum. I'm still learning the lingo, but I think the correct label for that art is actually "post-modern."

Modern art refers to art from the 1860's-1970s, approximately. The ideology behind it stems from two important intellectual movements: the Enlightenment and the Quarelle of the Ancients and Moderns. Both are associated with the 18th century. The Enlightenment most famously maintains that "man is the measure of all things," the primacy of reason, etc. The Quarelle of the Ancients and Moderns is quarrel between two Enlightenment camps: the Ancients idealized classical civilization and envisioned a return to the politics and arts of the past. The Moderns, in contrast, wanted a radical break with the past...but where to? The unknown destination of modernism is partly responsible for the diversity of styles and subjects within modern art. But what characterizes "modern" art is a belief in reason and the ability of people to make a new, better world. It's very intellectual and optimistic. On the other hand, modern art can be interpreted as being pessimistic because it does value confrontation. Modernist thought favors controversy and ugliness over traditional ideas of harmony and beauty, with the idea being the progress comes through breaking with the ideals of the past and addressing the ugly realities of the present. Two paintings summarize the difference between the "Ancients" and the "Moderns" in this famous quarrel:
Jaque-Louis David's "Oath of the Horatii" 1785 and Delacroix's "Massacre at Chois" 1824. Notice how symmetrical and academic the first one is. The second is more tumultuous, violent, chaotic, dirty--more ugly and "real."

I'll have to finish this posting later, but, basically, Modern art has its roots in the "progressive" and controversial art of the 19th century.