4-Critical Analysis
The view that modern art has become a new religion has been long-held by
respected artists, such as Kandinsky, whose book ‘concerning the spiritual in art’
examines such issues. In the introduction to the book, Sadler states concisely that
artists have awakened to their role as spiritual leaders. (Sadler in Kandinsky, 2004)
This is in harmony with De Botton’s thoughts as to the spiritual leadership role of an
artist, as discussed in the previous section. But this might contradict with one of
modernism’s characterising traits: abstraction, which seems to confuse art. But one
must understand that abstraction was born out of a desire not to confuse but to strip
away irrelevancies and see the whole truth, from all angles, in the case of cubism.
However the issue of clarity remains, as many do not understand modern art and
Are disinclined to try to. Most who ignore the spiritual in art do so because it cannot
readily be seen. (Elkin, 2004) Sadler’s introduction further states that for the spiritual
leaders’ message ‘to have weight it must be comprehensible.’ (Sadler in Kandinsky,
2004, p.2) That is where visual communicators come in, uncomplicating the
introspective notions of artist and thinkers into readable images for the public. In this
sense, it is in particular illustration that has the greatest role of marrying art to the
public, as illustration is the first art any of us ever. (Heller, 2008) Modernism has
faded, swallowed by the mainstream to produce post-modernism, mainly because of
the commercial aspect, which was at one time heavily praised by modernists. New
printing technologies such as lithography and the camera made speedy reproduction
easier. (Appendix 1, p.1) This in turn killed experience and made originality
something to be revered. (Berger, 2008) This translates into an obsession with
possessing what is thought to be beautiful but not understood, such as the Mona Lisa,
who attracts millions of pilgrims eager not to see her but to get a frantic picture with
her, to show off back home. Such reproduction has utterly changed the meaning of
art. (Berger, 2008) However, it has lent weight to the theory that art is becoming a
new religion; art objects are becoming the new holy relics.
But where does the surrealist work of Ernst fit in to all this? Surrealists adhered to
the modern notions that god was irrelevant. (Davies in Read, 1937) Instead, their
work is introspective and illustrates ‘Know thyself’ rather than know god. (Plato,
Penguin, 2005) Ernst’s work is also an example of this as it is surrealistically removed
from reality and speaks to the subconscious.
However, it can be argued that whilst surrealism treats god as a concept as
irrelevant, it does however follow god’s creative and imaginative footprints through
self-duplication and self-elaboration’. (Davies in Read, 1937, p.146) Therefore,
surrealism fits into this essay by showing people as individuals how to become their
own god in their own lives, an idea that was welcomed in the distrusting atmosphere
of the 20th century.
In conclusion, it is clear that modernism is a very vast subject, and cannot be
summarised concisely, but it can definitely be said that its core principles are based on
a search for meaning and truth, and this pursuit it has also appropriated the role of a
religion.
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