POST #10 – LECTURE – INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The Industrial Revolution changed everyday life in a big way and pushed both art and technology in new directions. As cities grew and industry expanded, artists started to think differently, leading to the rise of the avant garde and new ideas tied to Modernism. Instead of following tradition, artists focused more on what they personally saw and felt. This is clear in Impressionism, where Claude Monét and Edouard Manét painted real-life scenes using plein air painting, like in Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Moving forward, Post Impressionism artists such as Vincent Van Gogh and Cezanne added more emotion and structure to their work, while Symbolists like Paul Gauguin focused on deeper meaning.

New movements like Fauvism and Cubism, with artists like Picasso and Braque, broke objects into shapes, as seen in Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. At the same time, ideas from Walter Benjamin and Clement Greenberg helped shape how people understood Abstract Art, Abstract Expressionism, and even Surrealism. Technology also played a big role, with people like Muybridge, Marey, and Thomas Edison developing early motion tools such as the Kinetoscope and the Cinematographe by the Lumiere Brothers. These inventions, along with the Kodak #1 Camera and later the Digital Camera, helped lead into contemporary art and modern film.  

discussion question Why/When is Digital photography art? 

Digital photography becomes an art form when the photographer uses it to convey an idea, emotion, or point of view rather than simply to record the real world. It really took off as an art form in the late 20th and early 21st centuries with the advent of the "Digital Camera." Like many forms of contemporary art, it emphasizes creativity and style rather than technical correctness. When ideas, intentions, and meanings are present, it is clear that it is an art form.