Differentiate. Stand out. Become avant-garde. Nowadays, EVERYBODY is searching for away to become different. To isolate themselves from the norm of modern culture. To pave the way for future innovation. Why? Because our society has indulged in such rapid evolution that our span of specific interest has diminished into mere nothingness. We have grown to live in a fast-paced world where “hi-tech” will become “yesterday’s thing” in a few days. However, this is nothing new. In fact, this has a logistical problem since the beginning of the Modern Era.
The Modern Era marked the beginning of a prosperous time, with advancements in technology, science, film, and photography. But let’s zoom in on the evolution of contemporary art. Artists of the time recognized that “realistic painting” was no longer appealing to the general public because of the introduction of photography. As a response to this trend, cubism invaded the world of art, most notably in Pablo Picasso’s famous works of art. It started out as an abstract art form, heavily centered on angular shapes and clear distinctions. It had an almost 3-dimensional feel, yet still allowed blend in similar color and shapes. Picasso desired to use everyday, tangible objects to depict something more obscure. In a way, he wanted to confuse the audience, almost mocking them for taking art for granted. He painted sceneries and simple objects, but with an abstract palette. He used simple shapes (circles, squares, triangles) and welded them to form a complete piece of art.
Of course, Picasso aimed to appeal to the audience through differentiation. Never before have simple geometric figures been used as pixels to an artistic canvas. It was unheard of, new, and different; it appealed to the public. But in a way, this was also Picasso and the other cubism artists’ means of retaliation. They used the simplest of objects, those that were clearly familiar to the general public (which they have discarded as useless and elementary), to form something that attracted the intention of the worldwide population. They used the very “trash” of the generation, to create the next big thing. This satirically mocked the social standards of the Modern era, exposing the desire for radical advancements. The artists of the Modern era recognized the danger that the advancement-centric society possessed; they realized that by continually pursuing advancement, there may be no more room to advance. Therefore, they pulled society back and restrained its desires by using elementary tactics to appeal to the public.
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