Modernity comes in as many variations as there are thinkers or journalists, yet all its definitions point, in one way or another, to the passage of time. (Bruno Latour, We Have Never Been Modern, 1994).
For this project, I will be examining how modernism responds to modernity - specifically concerning visual material such as Picasso's Avant-garde art. In this essay I will argue that modernity is a necessary shift, and discuss the interlinking evolution of societal values, beginning with the impact of secularism - referencing Max Weber, Modernism and Modernity and Butler's reading The Modernist Work, which touches on capitalism being the by-product of secularisation and the advocation for a society that utilizes past experiences to create new and unfamiliar concepts.
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The term modern refers to the present as opposed to the past, (Nicholas, 2018) and is constantly progressing - what used to be modern, is deemed today as obsolete. The socially constructed concept of modernity is a subjective interpretation of our personal and societal values. Currently, we are extremely dissimilar to any other modern age, due to the modern-day luxuries that we have accumulated over time.
However, we would be without these contemporary luxuries, (Freedom of speech, technology, the rise of gender equality, and so on) had we not broken from traditionalism. Traditionalism installed values and set orders, which was popular within feudalism and the monarchy. In comparison, modernity is flexible, liberating, and continuously evolving. This transition from traditionalism to modernity can be traced through politics, fashion, art, technology, and religion (Collett, 2020) - all of which contribute to a change in societal norms.
The gradual increase in secularisation has led to a focus on empirical truth, using only reason and rational thought. Some may argue that modernity has overthrown religion, reinforcing how modernity is a product of the time and how it developed from the rejection of traditional values.
Rejecting the positive outlook on modernity, 19th-century German sociologist Max Weber, analysed modernity and based his work upon rationalism, bureaucrac,y and social stratification. In Weber's work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905), he claimed that the transition from traditionalism to modernity began with the protestant reformation. (crash-course,2017). However, Weber claims the protestant reformation transformed a traditional society into an individualistic capitalist society that placed value on economic success over morality. This conflicts with Butler's notion of modernity being a good thing.
Individualism encourages reinterpretation; The rejection of social norms allows us to create our own identities. This could suggest that modernism is a merge of old and new.
According to Butler, this is only something we can achieve through experience creativity and change.
Linking this to visual culture, I was interested in Picasso's artistic flexibility in his earlier work. He reflected the modern age with his revolutionary and unconventional Cubist style. In Les Demoiselles D'Avignon during the Avant-Garde movement, Picasso exhibits five sex workers flaunting their nudity in a fragmented and unfeminine manner. Picasso and other key members of the Avant-Garde such as Georges Braque confronted traditionalism with their work and embraced modernity. This art was hugely controversial for the time.
It contradicted previous modern ways of thinking and broadened the very concept of art when stepping away from conventional forms. Avant-Garde became modernism and grew with societal change.
This upcycled way of thinking was experimental and rejected traditional forms of painting and perspective, for example, 1850 Realism and Bauhaus, Weimar 1919.
Linking back to Butler, Modernity is described as unfamiliar, It is the process of comparing and contrasting. It could be argued that despite personal views, radical visual culture is necessary and creates an opportunity for change.
To conclude, modernity and modernism are two entirely different concepts. Modernity is molded by change and is subjective. It allows thoughts and beliefs to develop. Whereas, modernism is objective, systematically ingrained into society, and is the response to rapid societal growth. Visual culture lays the foundations for modernism, and controversial artists, such as Picasso, contributed significantly to broadening society's perspectives. Modernity gives us the tools we need to advance towards our vision of an unblemished future and modernism is the consequence.
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