Modernism in Print 1918-1939: Exhilaration & Confusion in the Interwar Period
Exhibition Information
| Exhibition Name | Modernism in Print 1918-1939: Exhilaration & Confusion in the Interwar Period |
|---|---|
| Duration | Sep. 14(Sat.) - Dec. 1(Sun.) |
| Admission fees | Adults ¥800 (¥600), University and high school students ¥400 (¥300), Junior high school students and younger free of charge. |
Exhibition Outline
An exhibition focusing on prints in Europe during the 1920s-30s. We will showcase a wide range of prints from our collection, including illustrated books by Cubists and Art Déco artists, woodcut prints by German Expressionists, etc. Additionally, the exhibition will introduce artists who experienced World War I (1914-1918) and conveyed their prayers for peace, as well as works by "Artists in Exile" during World War II (1939-1945).
Charpter 1 : Towards the Interwar Period
In Chapter 1, we examine the late 19th and early 20th century as a prelude to the interwar period through the works of artists who depicted the society of the day from diverse viewpoints.
On the eve of World War I, Europe greeted an age of peace and prosperity known as the Belle Époque (Beautiful Era). Paris in particular flourished as a center of art, literature, and fashion as the city overflowed with color lithograph posters and elegant Art Nouveau decorations, a style that reached its peak around 1900. But just below the surface of this brilliant age was a widening gap between rich and poor, and the increasing military might of the great powers, as
portrayed by artists such as Félix Vallotton.
The outbreak of World War I in 1914 spelled the end of the Belle Époque . The war, which violently shook the whole of Europe, had an especially strong impact on the artists in the last section of this exhibition.
Chapter 2 : Exhilaration & Confusion: Tales of Cities in the Interwar
In Chapter 2, we explore at various aspects of France, America, Japan, Germany, and Russia during the interwar period - an era marked by a mixture of anticipation and anxiety regarding the new society - based on printed matter prints that deals with the city, fashion magazines, picture books, etc.
The economic boom that followed World War I in America and France heralded a return to prosperity in an age that came to be known as the Roaring Twenties. With the publication of a succession of magazines, including Gazette du bon ton , in Paris, the epicenter of fashion, the Art Deco style, distinguished by its use of straight lines and geometric shapes, was conveyed across the sea to places as far away as Japan.
Meanwhile, despite the establishment of the Weimar Republic in 1919, Germany, one of the nations that was defeated in the war, entered an age of volatility. Artists such as Max Beckmann, who had experienced the war firsthand, gazed into the tumult of the city from an objective viewpoint. Despite the emergence of the Russian Avant-Garde in Russia (later the Soviet Union), which became a socialist state following the revolution in 1917, the art movement met an
untimely end at the hands of the state-controlled government at the outset of the 1930s.
Chapter 3 : Movements Surrounding Modernism and Prints
During the interwar period, photography and film enjoyed the limelight as new forms of artistic expression. In Chapter 3, we highlight artists who continued to work in the more conventional medium of prints based on three keywords: abstract expression, illustrated book culture, and Surrealism.
In Europe, there was a struggle between two trends: modernism, which was dedicated to abandoning old customs and forging into a new era, and the rappel à l'ordre (return to order) movement, which set out to distance itself from the civilization that was responsible for the war and revert to traditional culture. Abstract art, which broke with conventional realism, was one of the primary currents in modernism, and images of pioneering, avant-garde works were often spread through prints. Meanwhile, the illustrated book culture of Paris, which blossomed during the same period, saw many artists produce prints and display a renewed interest in classical techniques such as engraving. Moreover, the Surrealist movement, which emerged in 1924, rejected rationalism and focused instead on the irrational unconscious mind in a wide range of fields including literature, painting, photography, and prints.
Chapter 4 : World War II and After
In the final chapter, we turn our attention to changes and postwar developments among artists that were brought on by World War II.
Fraught with exhilaration and confusion, the interwar era came to a close with the outbreak of World War II in 1939 after the emergence of fascist governments in Germany and Italy. For many of the artists in this exhibition the tragic events they had experienced in World War I were still fresh in their minds. While some continued to resist while living in Europe as the region was engulfed in the flames of war, others set out for other countries. During this period, it is estimated that as many as 700 artists sought exile in the U.S.
The last artist we introduce is Fernand Léger, who fought in the trenches in World War I, but moved to America during the second conflict. His monumental work, Circus , one of his most significant late pieces, is imbued with the memory of war and the hope that humanity and nature will be restored.
