The Tate Museum defines modernism as…

a global movement in society and culture that from the early decades of the twentieth century sought a new alignment with the experience and values of modern industrial life. Building on late nineteenth-century precedents, artists around the world used new imagery, materials and techniques to create artworks that they felt better reflected the realities and hopes of modern societies

 

 

The key was rejection…

The modernist movement was defined during the first two decades of the twentieth century. During this time, there was change everywhere, monarchies were being replaced with democracy, socialism and Communism, and technological advancements as well as scientific ones, transformed industries. The devastation of the two world wars shook the traditions and institutions of Western civilisation. It is no surprising that art and design experienced a series of creative revolutions which began to question the values and approaches that came before.

Modernism can be defined by a wide range of features and aspects which have broken the previous characteristics within art and design. Modernist art looks to find a solution which is simple and direct and rejects any traditional forms or decorative elements. Visual hierarchy became prominent using geometric shapes, primary colours and symbols/icons. There was a move away from drawings and illustrations towards photography and photomontage. This growth was halted in Europe however whenever the Nazis came into power and Hitler called it ‘degenerate art’.

 

 

The Nazis held art exhibitions which showcased designs that Hitler approved which typically included idealised soldiers and landscapes. However there was still another side to German art – modern, abstract, non-representational – or as the Nazis saw it, “degenerate”. There was separate exhibitions organised which featured work by some of the world’s most famous artists, including Paul Klee, Oskar Kokoschka, and Wassily Kandinsky. The Nazis claimed that degenerate art was the product of Jews and Bolsheviks, which they would later burn. As the persecution of artists forced them to flee to America and safety, where the growing creative community welcomed them. This movement of artists, architects and designers from Europe to America, lead to a cultural shift and the introduction of modernism in America.

 

 

 

And in America…

Alexey Brodovitch (1898-1971) was an American magazine art director, graphic designer, and photographer. After fighting in the Russian army in the First World War , he worked as a graphic designer in Paris, until he moved to New York. Brodovitch was then hired to invigorate the Harper’s Bazaar magazine with a modern spirit. As he worked at the magazine his “white space” technique, where the word takes on an aesthetic quality similar to that of the photograph, transformed the field of typographic design and tonal composition. Brodovitch compared the fluidity of a musical composition to the “duel-page-spread” of a magazine so he experimented with techniques where photographic and typographic designs would become one, breaking away from the previous design systems. Brodovitch is credited with liberating fashion photography from the limits of the studio. He championed the so-called “action shot,” which employed genuine places and positioned modern American women within their living environments, drawing inspiration from reportage.

 

 

 

MEGGS’ History of Graphic Design by Meggs & Purvis

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/modernism

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/brodovitch-alexey/