Instructor’s Note – It is increasingly difficult to say when one era begins, and when another ends. I know that life looks much different now than when I was a child growing up in the 1960’s. It was a big deal when my mother asked for permission to wear a pantsuit to work at the elementary school where she taught. I had taught elementary school for several years before my school got their first computer.
Where did it all change? And did ALL of it change? There are some very blurry lines in this living history. Keep that in mind. Some of this material is more expounding on influences presented in the Mid-Modern Era.
Politics
Question tradition, question authority
Long held beliefs and customs came into question in the 1960’s and early 1970’s.
Three major movements changed traditionally held beliefs
The Vietnam War Protests – continues into this era
View Nam Protest Transcript (PDF)
A massive bombing campaign in April of 1965 in Vietnam
Sparked protest — mostly on university campuses against US policies in Vietnam
5 years of antiwar protests ensued
The anti war cause was taken up by musicians, writers and actors
Anti-war songs on the radio
Predominately white teenagers and young adults banded together with their views against the war, as well as traditional middle class values and created a counter-culture.
Civil rights demonstration in front of a segregated theater: Tallahassee, Florida, 1963
The Civil Rights Movement – continues
Between 1954 and 1964 the injustice of segregation was coming to the forefront in American life.
After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 more dramatic measures were employed to in order to gain reform. Riots ensued and 2 key Civil Rights leaders were killed
- Malcolm X — 1965
- Martin Luther King, Jr. — 1968
Many firsts were achieved
1966 — First black senator in 85 years — Edward Brooke R-Massachusetts
1967 — Thurgood Marshal named to the Supreme Court
1967 — first black mayors of major US cities
1973 — first black mayor of a major Southern US city.
Women’s Movement – continues
Women’s Rights Transcript (PDF)
1968 — the first black woman is elected to Congress — Shirley Chisolm
1973 — the first battered women’s shelter’s open
1978 — for the first time ever more women enter college than men
Globilization Transcript (PDF)
In the 1990 technology expanded at a rapid rate with computers and the internet. Technology became relatively affordable and communication around the globe got faster, easier and cheaper. Your instructor has taught this class while studying in Trinidad, and Italy, traveling in Canada, Mexico, and the US. Virgin Islands, and while on pilgrimage in Israel.
Mass marketing has brought the West to the East
Cheaper labor markets have brought the East to the West
We are still undergoing globalization, it is still evolving.
Wars in the Middle East
My husband came to the United States after the Islamic Revolution in Iran as a refugee. During most of my adult life conflicts in the Middle East have escalated. American Soldiers in Iraq had decent internet and took this course while serving. Most conflicts revolve around religion. This situation is ever evolving, and I welcome you to study this further on your own.
Religion: Wide and Narrow
All remaining links in the religion section are optional
A Widening
More religious beliefs are reflected in mainstream Western art
Native American
Aboriginal Australian
Taoism
Buddhism
A Narrowing
Christian Fundamentalism
- The Moral Majority 1978-1989
- Art censorship in New Zealand
- Senator Jesse Helms and the National Endowment of the Arts
- Censorship at the Brooklyn Museum of Art
Islamic Fundamentalism
Science: So Much, So Quickly — The Technology Revolution
The developments in computer technology, communications, and imaging have had a dramatic impact on the arts.
Access to the Arts
Access to Art Transcript (PDF)
- The internet
- Streaming capabilities
Visual Arts
Visual Arts Science Transcript (PDF)
- The home computer
- Home printers
- Digital cameras and video equipment
- Software applications
- The development of new materials have also had an impact on the arts
- Celebrities (required link) become the new art patron/collector. Steve Martin (optional link) has a reputation as a patron of the visual arts.
Electronic and Recording Industry
Music Science Transcript (PDF)
- Electronic instruments
- Computerized studio equipment
- Software applications to help composers
- MP 3s
- Computer music sharing
Film industry
- Computer generated graphics
- Editing
- Mechanical devices
- Camera technology
- Materials for costume and make-up artists
Video Games
- A new area for artistic talents – Required link
- Visual artists
- Composers
- Storywriters
- UPDATE – in 2012 the US Supreme Court ruled that video games are art.
Architecture
Postmodern Architecture
Post Modern Architecture Transcript (PDF)
- Postmodern architecture as been dubbed “neo-eclectic’
- Echoes of the past are thrown in with wit and irony
- Like Postmodern art there is to a degree a rejection of the previous modern style
- At times it turns its back on function in favor or art
- More ornamented than the previous International Style
Frank Gehry (Canadian American) b. 1929 (optional link)
- Known as a “Starchitect’ due to his celebrity status — he’s even appeared on the Simpsons
- His building are more art than function
- His buildings are visionary and incredible
Popular work: Disney Hall
Arata Isozaki (Japanese) 1921 (optional link)
- His works have a whimsical look
- His works vary widely in the geometric shapes he uses
- He has created tall skinny towers, round spheres and pyramid structures
- Popular Work: MOCA – Museum of Contemporary Art
Robert Venturi (American) b. 1925 (optional link)
- “Less is a bore!’
- Known for his theories on architecture
- Works in furniture design as well
- Popular Work: Seattle Art Museum
Take a peek at the future of architecture as Dubai rapidly expands to become the newest vacation playground of the rich. Required Link for browsing.