Cubism (Reflection of lesson)

Cubism was an art movement that began in 1907 and lasted until the 1920s; it was led by two artists known as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Cubism became a breaking art movement by simply approaching art without the technique of perspective, including all the different perspectives involved with the artwork rather than one specific perspective. It is also popularly known as reducing everything to geometric outlines. The purpose of doing this was to show the experience involved with the object, presenting a more realistic reflection of the object. A good example of this was guitar and violin (1912) by Picasso, involving all the features involved when one thinks of the instrument, such as the texture of the object, and the variations of the objects tone when in contact with light.

Guitar and Violin, Picasso, 1912.

George Braque was known for his technique of putting fragmentation into perspective, unlike Picasso Braque used a monochromatic palette and would focus on expanding and manipulating the specific form, rather than the overall impact of space. His purpose was to distract the viewer from the subject of the piece. 

Fruitdish and Glass, papier collé and charcoal on paper, George Braque, 1912.

What started the cubist movement was a piece by Picasso known as Semoiselles D'Avignon (1907). What made this piece so extraordinary was how confrontational the women were with the audience, maintaining eye contact with each individual. This is because at the time people weren't used to nudity in such a bold form. This also shows how cubists were influenced by many things happening worldwide, as the art style of this piece was influenced by African Tribal Art which wasat the time seen as exotic.

Semoiselles D'Avignon, Picasso, 1907.

Picasso and Braque often worked together aiming to combine their own individual perspectives together, regardless of the result wanted; the work was often a fragmentation of abstract forms.
Their style of working (and the movement itself) was influenced by the artist Paul Cezanne, who was known for introducing views from different perspectives. What specifically inspired Picasso and Braque was how Cezanne would visually transform what he saw and broke it down into its simplest form. The geometry involved. This is what inspired the two artists to manipulate, to transform and fully visually explore what they saw, but most importantly the technique of fragmenting and redefining an object with the different perspectives involved.

Maison Maria on the way to the Château Noir. Paul Cezanne,1895.

There were two types of cubist approaches, one known as analytic cubism which was trying to show the object not as the eye perceives them, but the way the mind views and reflects the object. The other was known as Synthetic cubism which was composed of simpler forms but in brighter colours.

It was also during this art movement that the technique of collage was introduced, unifying different elements to represent an entire message and visual journey within the piece. It was Picasso and Braque who were the first to make collages. The basis of collage was to deconstruct an object into components that were then reconstructed to unify the fragmented pieces to create an overall abstract piece.

Bottle of Vieux Marc, Glass, Guitar and Newspaper. Picasso,1913.

Cubist constructions were very influential as they influenced a lot of ideas that were seen later in modern art, which was the use of real life objects as part of an art piece, This was relevant as it changed the perception of what an art piece is. 

Guitare. Picasso,1924.

Cubism links to the theme deconstruction in many ways, from the way objects are fragmented into abstract forms, to how they are simply deconstructed and then reconstructed to take upon another form and purpose. It has a value of expressionism that I believe links with my project proposal of testing the linguistic philosophy of deconstructive architecture.