Conventions of Western Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Conventions of Western Art - Essay Example All these changes in the world economy and politics, as well as in local societies did not leave artists indifferent and have certainly had a major impact on their artistic thought, making them reconsider the purpose of art itself. Artists could not resume themselves for portraits and still life. On the contrary, they started to experiment with color and material. These circumstances have to lead to the creation of original artworks, expression in art changing as fast as the social and political changes occurred. In this paper, I will talk about three artists and their main, representative artworks that best convey the principle of originality and how their artistic thought has challenged old western conceptions about what art is supposed to be. Dadaism was a cultural movement in visual arts that appeared as a response to the cruel and inhumane nature of the First World War and came to challenge rigid intellectual principles as well as all former art conventions. Not only did the sty le deny any existing connection between rationality and artistic expression, it also rejected the artistic standards at the time. One of the most important representatives of Dadaism was Marcel Duchamp, who first built his reputation as an advisor on modern art in New York, but he also leads his activity in Paris. He exhibited in 1913, for the first time, a set of ready-made sculptures, which were basically objects found on the street or elsewhere, abandoned by their previous owners, which Duchamp decided to modify, to change their appearance.