Section One

The Core Principles of Modernism

1-Overview

Modernism was the religion of the twentieth century. It emerged in a time

where social changes were being born, old ideas challenged and replaced, and

where entirely new ways of thinking abounded. The themes of modernism

shaped everything, until, like most avant-garde concepts, it was swallowed by the

mainstream. As a movement, it encompassed many other sub-movements in its

progressive search for meaning in a meaningless, material world. Modernism

was essentially about what was new, and original, and most importantly, true. As

a result, lots of modernists were heavily influenced by technological, scientific

and psychological advancements of the time. Examples of such advancements

were the telephone, x-ray machine and aeroplane, which all made the world

seem smaller, and new printing techniques, which increased the production of images

and changed their value and meaning significantly.

     This search for new meaning, and truth in a world rid of god characterised not just

modernism but also society  in general. Various concepts paved the way. Popular

psychology focused on the  unconscious, and in particular dreams as a way to explore

what is truly real and important, which led to a very introspective view of the world,

with the individual as the most important factor; their dreams being manifestations of

truth and clarity unhampered by logic and reality. This influenced modern movements

like Surrealism heavily, which was directly approved by Freud himself. New ways of

thinking mirrored these ideas, as for the first time, artists drew what they saw, not just

what they knew, for example Expressionists drew everything in a scene, not just a

perfect representation of a meaningless object.

       This meant an exciting time for illustrators, as art became quite cross-

disciplinary in the attempt to express ideas and communicate using content and

materials.