{"id":450,"date":"2022-10-24T21:54:02","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T21:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1023moderncivilizations\/chapter\/__unknown__-31\/"},"modified":"2023-03-16T16:41:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T16:41:17","slug":"__unknown__-31","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppschum1023moderncivilizations\/chapter\/__unknown__-31\/","title":{"raw":"5.4 NEO-PRIMITIVISM","rendered":"5.4 NEO-PRIMITIVISM"},"content":{"raw":"
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Neo-Primitivism <\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

Exploration and colonialism brought new ideas to Europe in the form of African carvings and the native arts of the South Seas. Artists recognized the simplicity of abstraction in these art forms. It was powerful in ways that imitation of nature was not. For our purposes, the Neo-primitive style will be applied to art consciously adapted by sophisticated artists from authentic specimens of oceanic, African and other native art.<\/p>\r\n

The Paris expositions of 1878 and 1879 brought articles from the Polynesian islands to the attention of artists and the public. Later, African carvings done by black tribesmen also began to emerge. Two new museums were founded to hold the new, exotic works of other cultures. Books began to be written on myth, ritual, art and the cultures of African and Island tribal groups. William Fleming shares that, \u201cAfrican art, with its indigenous geometric distortions of the human figure, its freedom from western stereotypes and the academic tradition, promised a new beginning.\u201d1<\/a><\/sup> The majority of African artists made no attempt to imitate nature. Instead, they ritually honored the spirit of the tree that they would carve before they even began their work. The animistic nature of African carvings came from following the grain and natural textures of the wood they carved, rather than trying to make the wood look like another material. This fascinated abstractionists. German Expressionists were drawn to the unusual shapes and forms as well as to the non-intellectual nature of these sculptures.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The <\/strong>painting and <\/strong>sculpture of <\/strong>Amedeo<\/strong> Modigliani<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

While Paul Gauguin had experimented with the bright color and atmospheric impressions of island culture, his work is still quite representative. For him, form and design were more important than imitations of nature. His inspiration came primarily from his stay in Tahiti. Painting in this way Gauguin led the way toward a Neo-primitive approach to picture making. The Neo-primitive approach is taken a step further in the work of Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"234\"]\"Painting, 5.7 Amedeo Modigliani. Yellow<\/em> Sweater<\/em>.<\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"391\"]\"African 5.8 African Masks. Nairobi.3<\/a><\/sup>[\/caption]\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n

Note how Modigliani\u2019s painting borrows the simplicity of the faces seen in African masks. He also uses the often-elongated oval of the face seen in many African masks much like those in the image above. Modigliani maintains the same simplicity in his choices of color. Although he chooses a limited color palette consisting of two opposite colors, he does not use the clashing brightness seen in Expressionistic images such as Munch\u2019s The Scream<\/em>. His image is instead primarily expressionless. He incorporates the blankness of the eyes seen in the masks rather than using the face to evoke emotion. Much as the masks reveal that they are made of wood, (or in some cases metal) Modigliani allows the flatness of his canvas to be clearly seen. The large swaths of nearly uninterrupted color flatten the image, defying the image of corner of the room, which when isolated can be read as an indication of depth.<\/p>\r\n

Modigliani became so fascinated by African sculpture that for a time, he put down his brushes and began to sculpt. Below is a lovely piece he created using many of the same ideas seen in his paintings. He reduces the shapes to their simplest forms and allows the material to determine the look of his final piece. Modigliani drew more than seventy drawings of caryatids, female figures holding something above their heads. These figures are quite common in African carvings. Female figures are depicted holding headrests, cups, ritual objects and many other items. The sculpture of a caryatid done from these drawings is seen below. While the figure no longer holds anything up, other than her hair, her positioning is the same as if she were doing so.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"258\"]\"This 5.9 Amedeo Modigliani. Kariatida<\/em>. 1912. This appears to be a ceramic cast of an original clay sculpture.4<\/a><\/sup>[\/caption]\r\n

While the sculpture does seem to evoke a feeling of contentment, emotion is still subservient to the shapes and colors used. Again, the artist uses two opposite colors, blue and orange, and he uses them in a subtle way, rather than presenting them as bright and clashing. There is little attempt to indicate bone structure (as there would be in a realistic sculpture). Instead, the woman is made up of a series of ovals and spheres. Notice that it is impossible to identify the elbow of the arm that disappears behind the head. Even the hair is handled by using overlapping oval shapes. The head itself is an oval and does not appear to be attached to the body in the normal way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Constantin Brancusi\u2019s sculpture<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

Constantin Brancusi, (1876-1957) a friend of Modigliani who also lived and worked in Paris, may have exerted some influence on Modigliani\u2019s brief (about four years) sculpture period. To see how Brancusi applies the Neo-primitive approach to two of his most famous sculptures, each in a different medium, view the brief videos by clicking on the hyperlinks in the line below.<\/p>\r\n

Brancusi's <\/span>The<\/span> Kiss<\/span><\/a> 5:26<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

If you receive an error with the link above, use the following link\u00a0https:\/\/www.khanacademy.org\/humanities\/ap-art-history\/later-europe-and-americas\/modernity-ap\/v\/btheki<\/a><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0Brancusi's Bird in Space<\/span><\/a> 2:39<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

If you receive an error with the link above, use the following link\u00a0https:\/\/www.khanacademy.org\/humanities\/art-1010\/cubism-early-abstraction\/school-of-paris\/v\/brancusi-bird-in-space-1928<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Stravinsky and Nijinsky, expressionistic primitivism <\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

As discussed earlier, Stravinsky and Nijinsky\u2019s collaboration in the \u201cBallet,\u201d Rite of Spring<\/em>, <\/em>is clearly an expressionistic endeavor. It is also distinctly Neo-primitive. Like the artworks discussed above, this piece follows the expectations of the Neo-primitive style.<\/p>\r\n\r\n