Transcript Modern and Contemporary 1900-Present

Modern and Contemporary
1900-Present
Dance - Modern and Contemporary
Dance
 Michel Fokine
 Russian choreographer
 Goal: to unite choreography, music and the dancing in
ballets.
 Successful works: Prince Igor, Carnaval and Firebird
 Developed a five-point philosophy for ballet.
Martha Graham
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American choreographer
Created modern dance
Choreographed over 100 dances
Included American Indian, ancient dance ritual,
American pioneers and Greek mythology.
 Expressed raw emotion and symbolic meanings
 Graham Technique -new method of movement
 Contraction and release of the mid-section of the body.
George Balanchine
 Russian choreographer
 Strong influence on American ballet in the 20th
Century.
 Created the New York City Ballet Company
 Choreographic style called neo-classic
 very clean and simple
 Dancers were often dressed in a simple leotard and
tights
Alvin Ailey
 American choreographer
 Created the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre.
 First black dance company to travel abroad
 His most famous work Revelations- gospel ballet
 Various subject matters like American Indians and Irish
Monks.
 Broke down the barriers of race in dance.
Mikhail Baryshnikov
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Russian dancer
Director of the American Ballet Theatre in 1980.
Gave youthful dancers a chance at having lead roles.
Formed the White Oaks Dance Project working with
Twyla Tharp to blend modern dance and ballet.
 Baryshnikov became a successful actor and dancer
Dance Styles
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Modern Dance
Hip Hop
Tap
Modern Tap
Swing
Break Dance-Hip Hop
Evolution of Dance
America’s Best Dance Crew
 Season 7: Return of the Superstars
Drama/Theatre -Modern & Contemporary
American Musical Theatre
 Musical Theatre is an American art form
 It combines a script, singing, and dancing.
 The contribution of African-American music is an important
element in the development of American musicals.
 The 1940’s were the beginning of the “Golden Era” of musicals.
 Oklahoma 1943
 West Side Story 1957
 Cabaret 1967
 British imports such as Cats and Phantom of the Opera, two of
the many Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals to make it on
Broadway
 Today’s technological advances have really enhanced the appeal
of musicals for many audiences through the technical elements.
Music - Modern and Contemporary
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Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Born in Russia, but also held French and US citizenship
Wrote for ballets
Used Russian folk stories for the ballet stories.
Followed the model of the Romantic composers and used
unusual harmonies to create a range of emotions
 Listen to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring: Opening to the
end of Jeu de Rapt.
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
 New York born composer
 His music reflected the unique nature of American Society.
 Wrote concertos, symphonies and music for musicals which were the
“popular” music of the day.
 Famous piece is Rhapsody in Blue.
 the sights and sounds of the city, and came to Gershwin while he was riding a train
from New York to Boston.
 Used sounds associated with the jazz music that was so popular in Harlem
at the beginning of the 20th century.
 George and his brother Ira worked together to write songs for Broadway
musicals.
 People would hear a song from a show that they liked, buy the sheet music
to it, and sing it in their homes. (before radios)
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
 American musical composer
 Most well known for writing
music that represented America.
 Felt that music needed to be
accessible to the general public.
 Wrote music that he felt could
be better understood by
everyone.
 Used American folk songs,
American stories, and also some
elements of Jazz.
 Famous pieces:
 El Salon Mexico (1936)
 Billy the Kid (1938)
 Lincoln Portrait (1942)
 Fanfare for the Common Man
(1942)
 Rodeo (1942)
 Appalachian Spring (1944)
Duke Ellington (1899-1974)
 American born Jazz musician
 Began career as a pianist.
 From 1924-1932 Ellington’s band played at the Cotton Club
in Harlem, NY
 His band experimented with new timbres for their
instruments.
 Some of these new sounds were growling, bending notes,
and using rubber plungers as mutes for their instruments.
 Wrote over 1000 pieces of music.
 Many of his pieces became popular hits and are now
considered jazz standards.
Visual Art -Modern and
Contemporary
 This period has the most drastic changes happening in
visual art.
 Artists were inventing new art styles that did not rely on
representational subject matter.
 Line, shapes, and forms were simplified and abstracted.
 This is the period of “isms,”
 Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism, Precisionism,
Expressionism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and
Minimalism.
European Art - Pablo Picasso
(1881-1973)
 Spanish artist
 Created Cubism
 broke real objects down into
geometric shapes and forms
like cubes
 One of the greatest artists of
the modern period, and the
most prolific artist of all time.
 He mastered: drawing,
painting, printmaking,
sculpture and ceramics.
 When he died, he left behind
over 50,000 piece of art
 Experimented with abstract
subject matter and using color
in nonrealistic ways.
 Had a “The Blue Period” and a
“The Rose Period”
 Also created the concept of
collage.
 He created 165 paintings in one
year, basically one painting
every 52 hours!
Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
 Spanish artist
 Created a style called Surrealism
 Influenced by the psychiatrist Sigmund Freud’s theory
that our subconscious mind and dreams control a lot
of what we think and how we act.
 The Persistence of Memory- bizarre, dream-like images
Modern and Contemporary
American Culture
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Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)
America’s greatest architect.
Born in Wisconsin
His mother did everything she could
to educate him for a career in
architecture.
 Wright believed that “form and
function are one,”
 Felt that using nature-inspired
details should not be limited to just
surface decoration on a building.
 “Organic architecture”
 The Prairie style is
considered Frank Lloyd
Wright’s biggest
contribution to architecture.
 Prairie style homes are very
horizontal with low-pitched
roofs and wide overhangs.
 Wright example homes:
 The Robie House and
Fallingwater
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986)
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Abstract painter
Simplified forms into shapes using form, color, and line.
Created a series of skyscraper paintings.
She loved the landscapes of the West.
Used vivid colors and strong contrasts.
Painted close-up images of flowers, shells, and leaves, as
well as landscapes
 Her flower paintings were sensual in their curving lines and
vivid