How have theoretical orientations in cultural criticism evolved and Essay

How have theoretical orientations in cultural criticism evolved and changed since 1900 Outline challenges facing arts criti - Essay Example In addition, the role of artist is explored and their significance and contribution to the cultural space can be critically analyzed, at some point every consumer of art engages in criticism whether formally or informally (James 1994, p.13). Through criticism, artist can learn from their mistakes and get honest if blunt feedback from critics which will inspire them to improve their output thus generally building up the quality of art produced in the long run. Art criticism has been defined in a variety of ways, Arthur Danto, defines it as the process of analyzing the structure significance and problems in a given work of art by making external and internal comparison to come up with an evaluation of the art. The primary intention of the endeavour has been in the past, and remains to provide rational grounds for the appreciation of artistic works. The exact origin of formal artistic criticism as a genre can be traced back to the 18th century and the first individual to acquire a reput ation of a critic of art was La Font de Saint-Yenne, is renowned for his writing about the salon of 1737 and 47. In the late 19th century, of the artistic expressionism and critics occurred in these salons which were societies made up of artists an critics, many of this were centred around Paris in France as the city acted as one of the centres of art and culture (Eagleton 1984, p.97). However, these salons kept multiplying owing to the dissenting views of different artist and in the dawn of the 19th century a group of young painters and sculptor took over the institution and founded the salon of d’Autumne. They were reacting against what they deemed to be the too conservative approaches of the previous salons and from this salon the salon of modern art emerged. Parisian and other galleries all over the world begun to show Avant grade work and new art dealers such as Daniel Henry Kahnweiler emerged presenting contemporary artists such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque as we ll as several other young artists of the time. The early 20th century was an inaugural period where art and culture critics took on retrospective assumptions and generalization of the social cultural evolution; many of the subjective theories of the past were rejected. Throughput the 20th century, critics seem to constantly be in a quest for the relationships between the art created and that which it represents (Lassalle, 1993, p. 1999). One of the preeminent anthropologists of this period was Franz Boaz and some of his students such as Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead who later became some of the leaders of the anthropological rejection of social and classical evolution. Contemporary critics at the time eschewed the previous discriminative and subjective assumptions many of which were based on a distinction between primitive and civilized. Many of the artist works produced from non-western societies especially in Africa was previously not seen as genuine art since the inhabitants we re primitive and uncivilized people. These critics were cognizant of the fact that cultural and artistic progression terminated at a stage of civilization that was not unlike what was happening in modern Europe. Nevertheless, they also noted that the theory presumed communities are distinct entities and did

Electrification transforms city life. (1880) Research Paper

Electrification transforms city life. (1880) - Research Paper Example Electric powered street cars became developed, and electric trolleys in the 1880’s, made it possible for the rich and those in the middle class, to move smoothly in the newly constructed rail lines and trolleys. These trolleys allowed people to move smoothly from the business districts to their residential neighborhoods. This led to expanded and increased city limits and suburbs became developed. The developed suburbs allowed the wealthy families enjoy their privacy and ownership of their homes without sacrificing the excitement of the city.2 The introduction of the modern convenience and the vast technological marvels, such as indoor plumbing, telephone and the famous Brooklyn Bridge provided an appealing aura that attracted thousands of people to the city. Cities grew upwards and outwards. The tallest building in the US was the Trinity Church in New York before the invention of electricity. This got overtaken later by the New York World building, a 26 storey building. The growing size of the office buildings showed the healthy and vibrant growing economy. All businesses, steel mills and factories experienced an increase in their profits.3 The invention of electricity in turn saw the arrival of new technologies. These technologies enabled the constructions of buildings taller and bigger than before. The newly built sky scrapers needed elevators to transport people. In 1870’s, six storey buildings used steam powered elevators that became characterized by cables that got wound around a gigantic rotating drum. These elevators were not appropriate for taller buildings, because the drums would have to be abnormally large. During the 1880’s, with the invention of electricity, the invented electric elevator provided a more practical and suitable solution.1 The built tall buildings needed ventilation systems to cool them during the summer period and heat them during the winter. The ventilation systems adopted in the 1860’s, required steam powered