1913 Armory Show Research Project

In February of 1913, George Bellows and other members of the Association of American painters and sculptors organized the International Exhibition of Modern Art. The show, commonly called the Armory show, took place in Downtown New York City in the 69th Armory building. The show featured modern art from American sculptures and painters, as well as European artists. The year, as well as the location were perfect for the show. New York City was a hub for immigration. Millions of people of all ethnicities flocked to the City in search for a new life. This was able to happen because of the rapid urbanization of the city and the jobs created by industrialization. An influx of different cultures produced new ideas. Every person that immigrated to the US brought with them pieces of their culture to share with the new world. The Armory Show embodied this idea.

Badge from Armory Show

The focus of the Armory Show was modern art, and a new form of modern art, Cubism. Cubism was created by Pablo Picasso while he lived in Paris. It is a geometric art presented as abstract cubes.

Cubist style painting by Pablo Picasso

Subjects of the art are often ambiguous, however the dissection between the subject and the background is often clear. It started in the 1890's but didn't become popular amongst artist until around 1910. It was often disliked due to the lack of understanding. The idea of not being able to distinctly see the subject in a natural depiction led most people to believe that it was a lack of expression. Cubism, however, is the artist expressing a feeling through the medium of cubes. This unpopular art style became one of the most famous, and most recognizable styles to exist; this was due to the focus of it at the Armory Show.

The Armory Show took many months of planning. Every detail was chosen with reason. If the show were to display modern art, especially cubism, than the art had to be existent in the design. George Bellows and other artists designed the layout of the show.

Armory Show Layout

The design specifically made viewers have to walk through many exhibitions of American artists before entering the European sections. The designers of the show were tired of American art being left behind under the shadow of it's European counterparts. The show was broken up into eighteen sections. The eighteen sections were labeled letters A-R.

Gallery A featured American Sculpture and decorative art. Many artist focused on Native Americans as subjects, for the Navajo Indians used cubism in creating their carpets and other arts. The Gallery featured famous artists like Robers Chandler and Andrew Dasburg. Gallery B featured Contemporary American Sculpture having artists like Robert Aitken and Chester Beach. Gallery C focused on American Painters. George Bellows was the focal point of gallery c. He organized the show. His paintings depict leisure life that Industrialization birthed. Things like boxing, circuses, and polo matches were often the subject of his paintings. He captured movement and his paintings focus on leisure life. Galley D also consisted of American Painters. The gallery featured a large nu,ben of Marcela Hartley's work. He adapted George Kandinsky's style and incorporated Native American Symbols. Galleries E and F had American Impressionists. It featured works of, "The Ten"(10 famous Impressionist) They broke The Ten up into two galleries which was a jab at the outdated styles depicted. Galleries G-L featured European painters and sculptors. In Gallery H, the french painter Henry Matisse was highly criticized. His art was seen as childish, and his representative style was seen as lazy. Matisse paved the way for Modern artists of the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Many critiques considered his works to be the worst in the show.

The main focus, cubism, was popularly disliked by the public until the show. One painting changed that.

Nude Descending A Staircase By Marcel Duchamp

Nude Descending a Staircase was a painting done by Marcel Duchamp.

Marcel Duchamp

He used the new technology of high speed, stop motion photography. He layered the photographs then painted. The ambiguous painting confused many. There were rewards to those who could find the nude. The painting sold at the show for the highest price paid for a painting of that time. After the painting sold for a ridiculous amount, the public began to appreciate the new form of art.

Some critiques still disliked the art form. The most famous was Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

his harsh critique of cubism was caused by a lack of understanding. He presented his view in a humorous fashion. He believed that Cubism was better when it was done only by Indians. He believed the art of the Navajo Rug was superior. He showed appreciation towards traditional European artists, believing that Americans were trying to differentiate themselves too much from Europe. This critique was spread through newspaper, and appealed to those who also didn't understand the art form.

The Armory Show enraptured ideas of the new, 20th century. Urbanization and Industrialization brought new ideas to art. America was growing independent from Europe, and forming its own ideas. The Armory Show was the perfect storm, that helped to grow American Art to become mainstream, and even to surpass other countries.

Sources:

1.

University of Virginia, XRoads: Armory Show Gallery Map  

I used this source to get an understanding of each gallery. The site broke down each section of the show by painting, and the public’s reaction. It gave in-depth reviews from scholars of the time of the show, as well as modern day critics.
(Notecards A-H)

2.

Art Institute of Chicago, Armory Show: Audience 
I used this source to get an idea of who attended the show, and why. I was fascinated to learn that the public viewed the art with a harsh eye. Quick to critique, and slow to accept.

(Notecard R)

3.

George Mason University, History Matters: Roosevelt On The Armory Show 
I used this source to see the public’s opinion on the show, and to get a good primary source that is reliable and purposefully biased against the show to view negative opinions.

(notecard Q)

4.
Wikipedia: Armory Show 
I used this source to get a general overview on the armory show. It helped to provide general knowledge on the subject as well as to pin-point potential subjects to research.(Notecard I)

5.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Heilbronn Timeline of Art History: Cubism

I used this source to learn about cubism to assist the understanding of the art that was presented in the show.

(Notecard J)

6.

Cork Visual Arts: Cubist Painters and Sculpters

I used this source to ;learn about cubist painters in the armory show to learn about their art and that of those who influenced them.

(notecard K&L)

The Visualization of Humans

Humans experienced dramatic change over the last 10000 years. The culture went from a hunter-gatherer based society, to a more advanced agricultural society. I learned that DNA can be examined to directly see the change that the people of that time were going through with the introduction of agriculture. People were mobile, they would travel thousands of miles over a few years, and with this movement of people, ideas followed. People taught each other new techniques, and learned from those, in which they encountered. As time progressed, and technology advanced, people began to travel more to foreign lands. Large population movements began, and in the early 20th century, America became a home to millions of emigrants. San Francisco and Ellis Island were major ports that brought emigrants from Asia, and Europe. With large groups settling, people began to explore. Antartica was a target for a lot of explores, and took some with it. All of this exploration and transportation to new countries brought society to where it is now.

Philanthropy

The idea of philanthropy has been around since ancient Greece, but the rise of popularity happened in the late 19th to the early 20th century. Men like Carnegie and Rockefeller set the example that modern philanthropy is based upon. They were interested in fixing society. Carnegie was focused on the enhancement of education through the creation of public libraries, and Rockefeller was primarily focused on the development of medicine and heath benefits. It was the perfect storm. Two of the richest men alive endowing their money to learning and health at a modern renaissance. With this, change was fast, and the men were able to impact society strongly. Todays major philanthropist like Warren Buffet, and Bill and Melinda Gates primary focus their efforts on building society to an equal playing field of smart and healthy nations. Their main focus lies in Africa, where disease and lack of technology and education has led to some nations to lie dormant in the field of development. With over 100 billion dollars combined, they could solve any problem by signing a check, however they do a hands-on approach, and research partnered with the best scientist of today. In a theoretical situation where I was given 100 billion dollars. Most likely I would use the money to benefit my life, and that of those close to me. This would get old. The challenge of working towards a goal, and receiving a prize would be nonexistent due to the ability to afford most things. I would likely get old of buying goods for myself and would turn to philanthropy. I think that a foundation that helps to mediate the government funding of military programs would be beneficial to society, and to peace. Companies can be defunded due to a lack of interest, but the technology behind those companies can help benefit the whole society as whole. So the mediation and evaluation of these companies would be a great benefit to society.

Today we researched a ball in New York, here is what i found,

1 That the ball was massive. The costumes were extravagant, and there were many attendees. The newspaper’s view on the party should be described as a state of awe. 2 It seems as if the attendees were unhappy with the ball, and that is why they left early. 3 He saw the displays of wealth as unjust, and that the people floundering their money as not right. The newspaper published this article to provided a countering opinion on the ball. 4 That there were many blue collar jobs in New York, evident from the number of carriages, and the number of helpers at hand just for the ball.

"Fast Fashion"

During my research on Fast Fashion, I learned that clothing brands like H&M and Zara have swept the world of fashion. They produce a multitude of designs that are implemented and sold each week. This concept started in the 80's with the fashion clothing brand Zara, it has grown to become a part of the largest clothing retailer in the world. This concept of not guessing what the next fashion is, and instead blindly throwing darts has proven itself to work, but at what cost. With any company, there is product that doesn't sell. This product can often end up in landfills. This becomes a problem when the materials enter the soil and ground water. The products are produced with cotton, but most cotton today is genetically modified to produce a better crop. Pesticides and chemicals are able to find their way into ground water leading to a discomfort with the acronym "GM." Textiles are also dyed to become vibrant colors. Companies dye the clothing with metal infused dyes. They dyes are often mistreated when being deposed of leading to carcinogens being released into the ocean. With all of the problems listed above, and those not listed, fast fashion is still an innovative, and creative approach to targeting fashion and trends.