Material and Place in the 1920s: Background Information

The 1920s : Age of the Metropolis by Jean Clair (Editor) Twenty-three specialists have contributed essays examining some of the principal themes that during these years ran through all branches of art: architecture and city planning, painting, sculpture, decorative arts, poster design and photography. Also included are biographies of the 285 artists represented in the exhibition and descriptions of all the 688 works it comprises. Approximately eight hundred illustrations, of which over two hundred are in color, complete what represents the most exhaustive study to date of a period that has proved decisive. This volume was published to accompany the exhibition The 1920s: Age of the Metropolis, organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. (via Buds Art Books)

Art of the Twenties by William S. Lieberman (Editor) Published on the occasion of the exhibition at MoMA, NYC, featuring art works drawn entirely from the Museum of Modern Art's collections. Confined to the actual decade, the catalogue reproduces paintings, sculpture, drawings, photographs, and prints, which develop dominant themes and reflect concurrent styles. The decade begins with the founding of the Bauhaus in Weimar in 1919 and extends through the prominence of Surrealism. (via Strand Books)

Eugenics in the Garden by Fabiola López-Durán Winner, Robert Motherwell Book Award, Outstanding Book on Modernism in the Arts, The Dedalus Foundation, 2019 As Latin American elites strove to modernize their cities at the turn of the twentieth century, they eagerly adopted the eugenic theory that improvements to the physical environment would lead to improvements in the human race. Based on Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's theory of the "inheritance of acquired characteristics," this strain of eugenics empowered a utopian project that made race, gender, class, and the built environment the critical instruments of modernity and progress. Through a transnational and interdisciplinary lens, Eugenics in the Garden reveals how eugenics, fueled by a fear of social degeneration in France, spread from the realms of medical science to architecture and urban planning, becoming a critical instrument in the crafting of modernity in the new Latin world. Journeying back and forth between France, Brazil, and Argentina, Fabiola López-Durán uncovers the complicity of physicians and architects on both sides of the Atlantic, who participated in a global strategy of social engineering, legitimized by the authority of science. In doing so, she reveals the ideological trajectory of one of the most celebrated architects of the twentieth century, Le Corbusier, who deployed architecture in what he saw as the perfecting and whitening of man. The first in-depth interrogation of eugenics' influence on the construction of the modern built environment, Eugenics in the Garden convincingly demonstrates that race was the main tool in the geopolitics of space, and that racism was, and remains, an ideology of progress. (via University of Texas Press)

The Art of Modern China by Julia F. Andrews and Kuiyi Shen In the early twenty-first century, China occupies a place on center stage in the international art world. But what does it mean to be a Chinese artist in the modern age? This first comprehensive study of modern Chinese art history traces its evolution chronologically and thematically from the Age of Imperialism to the present day. Julia Andrews and Kuiyi Shen pay particular attention to the dynamic tension between modernity and tradition, as well as the interplay of global cosmopolitanism and cultural nationalism. This lively, accessible, and beautifully illustrated text will serve and enlighten scholars, students, collectors, and anyone with an interest in Asian art and artists. (via UC Press)

The Bauhaus in Calcutta: An Encounter of Cosmopolitan Avant-Gardes by Kathrin Rhomberg (Editor), Regina Bittner (Editor) The Bauhaus exhibition in Calcutta in 1922 was a unique experience on the international art scene—a meeting of artistic and intellectual affinities. On a search for renewal after World War I, Western modernism encountered its Indian counterpart, which had emancipated itself from colonial constraints. At the Bauhaus’s first international show, works by Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, Johannes Itten, and other Bauhaus artists were presented alongside those of modern Indian artists such as Nandalal Bose, Sunayani Devi, and Abanindranath and Gaganendranath Tagore. This publication gives an account how this unusual encounter came about and presents the exhibition as an exemplary case of art history that dealt with shared visions rather than transmissions from the West to the East. (via Hatje Cantz)

Chinese Architecture and the Beaux-Arts by Jeffrey W. Cody (Editor), Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt (Editor), and Tony Atkin (Editor) Chinese Architecture and the Beaux-Arts examines the coalescing of the two major architectural systems, placing significant shifts in architectural theory and practice in China within relevant, contemporary, cultural, and educational contexts. Fifteen major scholars from around the world analyze and synthesize these crucial events to shed light on the dramatic architectural and urban changes occurring in China today—many of which have global ramifications. (via UH Press)

Modern Art in the Arab World: Primary Documents by Anneka Lenssen (Editor), Sarah Rogers (Editor), and Nada Shabout (Editor) Modern Art in the Arab World: Primary Documents offers an unprecedented resource for the study of modernism: a compendium of critical art writings by twentieth-century Arab intellectuals and artists. The selection of texts—many of which appear here for the first time in English—includes manifestos, essays, transcripts of roundtable discussions, diary entries, exhibition guest-book comments, letters, and more. Traversing empires and nation-states, diasporas and speculative cultural and political federations, these documents bring light to the formation of a global modernism, through debates on originality, public space, spiritualism and art, postcolonial exhibition politics, and Arab nationalism, among many other topics. The collection is framed chronologically, and includes contextualizing commentaries to assist readers in navigating its broad geographic and historical scope. (via Duke University Press)

The Space Between: the Modern in Korean Art by Virginia Moon (Editor) In The Space Between, a generative period in Korean art between the traditional and the contemporary is illuminated comprehensively for the first time. After the centuries-long Joseon dynasty came 35 uninterrupted years of the Japanese colonial period (1910–45) followed by the Korean War (1950–53). During this tumultuous time, Korean artists grappled with issues such as identity and nationalism and experimented with a broad range of media. The book is organized into five categories: “The Modern Encounter”— foreign influences enter the country in a significant way in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; “The Modern Response”—how foreign methods are accepted or rejected; “The Pageantry of the New Woman (Sinyeoseong) Movement”—modern women’s attitudes; “The Modern Momentum”—advances in using foreign styles; and “Evolving into the Contemporary”—a glimpse into the contemporary. (via artbook)

Bill Traylor, William Edmondson, and the Modernist Impulse by Josef Helfenstein (Editor) and Roxanne Stanulis (Editor) This exhibition and publication are part of a broader tendency to revisit the history of modernism in the United States and especially those exponents who have been excluded from the canon of modern art for several decades. It is the first large-scale exhibition focusing on the works of two major figures in American art history. (via preface) This exhibition catalog was published in conjunction with a traveling exhibition organized by the Krannert Art Museum.

The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920's by Stephen Harrison and Sarah D. Coffin The Jazz Age showcases developments in design, art, architecture, and technology during the '20s and early '30s, and places new emphasis on the United States as a vital part of the emerging marketplace for art deco luxury goods. Featuring hundreds of full-color illustrations and essays by two leading historians of decorative arts, this comprehensive catalogue shows how America and the rest of the world worked to establish a new visual representation of modernity. (via Cooper Hewitt)

Youth and Beauty: Art of American Twenties by Teresa A. Carbone (Editor) Accompanying a nationally touring exhibition, this critical history of American art of the 1920s provides a fresh perspective on the strikingly original modernist imagery of the Jazz Age. Youth and Beauty is the first wide-ranging look at American art during the period following the Great War and before the onset of the Great Depression. This richly illustrated volume captures a glimpse into American life during a decade when urbanization, industrialization, and mechanization were revolutionizing the United States. (via Rizzoli)

1920s Modernism in Montreal : The Beaver Hall Group by Jacques Des Rochers (Text by); Kristina Hunneault (Text by) Taking their name from the downtown street in Montreal where members shared a studio in the early 1920s, The Beaver Hall Group were early adopters of new modernistic approaches to painting and explored their potential within a variety of genres, including portrait, still life, landscape and prescient scenes of urbanity. As well as providing an artistic window into the modern lives of Canadians during this transformational period of history, as a collective The Beaver Hall Group are exceptional for their inclusion of female artists as core members. Initially comprising of both genders, the group would become an all-female collective that includes some of Canada's most celebrated modern painters. Through a series of comprehensive contextual essays The Beaver Hall Group: 1920s Modernism in Montreal interweaves the work of this pioneering artistic collective within a broader narrative of the arts in the first half of the twentieth century. Exploring the groups' greater role in the modernity of Canada--and more specifically the cultural context of Montreal--the book takes on core themes such as the rise of the metropolis, juxtapositions between economic progress and cultural development, and the impact of gender on critical approaches to both artists and their work. The Beaver Hall Group: 1920s Modernism in Montreal sits alongside a major exhibition and is published in partnership with the Montreal Museum of Fine Art. (via Google Books)

Mexico in New Orleans. A Tale of Two Americas by Katie A. Pfohl The 1920s through 1950s was a time of vibrant artistic connection between Louisiana and Mexico. During this period, a series of acclaimed Mexican art exhibitions brought the culture of modern Mexico to Louisiana. By 1928, the New Orleans Times-Picayune had proclaimed Mexican artist Diego Rivera "the greatest painter on the North American continent" and encouraged Louisiana artists to take counsel from modern Mexican art. Louisianan artists such as William Spratling, Caroline Durieux, Alberta Kinsey, and Conrad A. Albrizio began traveling to Mexico to learn from Mexican artists such as Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, Ruffino Tamayo, and Carlos Orozco Romero, with whom they became friends, colleagues, and frequent collaborators. In spring of 2015, the LSU Museum of Art in Baton Rouge, LA presented Mexico in New Orleans: A Tale of Two Americas, the first major museum exhibition to explore this artistic exchange. The exhibition featured more than 80 works, drawn from the LSU Museum of Art's collection, by Diego Rivera and Caroline Durieux, as well as paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, furniture, and decorative objects by artists like David Alfaro Siqueiros, Boyd Cruise, Elizabeth Catlett, and William Spratling borrowed from public and private collections, including the Historic New Orleans Collection and the Latin American Library at Tulane University. The richly illustrated bilingual exhibition catalog tells the story of a decades-long dialogue between Mexican and Louisianan artists that has generated artistic affinities that persist into the present. (via publisher)

Africa's Struggle for Its Art: History of a Postcolonial Defeat by Bénédicte Savoy For decades, African nations have fought for the return of countless works of art stolen during the colonial era and placed in Western museums. In Africa’s Struggle for Its Art, Bénédicte Savoy brings to light this largely unknown but deeply important history. One of the world’s foremost experts on restitution and cultural heritage, Savoy investigates extensive, previously unpublished sources to reveal that the roots of the struggle extend much further back than prominent recent debates indicate, and that these efforts were covered up by myriad opponents. (via Princeton University Press)

African Art: The Years Since 1920 by Marshall Ward Mount In its painting and sculpture since 1920, African art has combined elements from traditional tribal and modern European art. This book traces this development. Concentrating on the period from 1920 to 1965, the author discusses specific style motifs, as well as ways of handling sculptural forms and surfaces, most of which are drawn from older art. He then shows how this substratum has been shaped by the techniques, media, styles and philosophy of the West. A new introduction by the author describes and assesses current trends in African art. (via Google Books)

Africa under Colonial Domination 1880-1935 by A. Adu Boahen (Editor) The result of years of work by scholars from all over the world, The UNESCO General History of Africa reflects how the different peoples of Africa view their civilizations and shows the historical relationships between the various parts of the continent. Historical connections with other continents demonstrate Africa's contribution to the development of human civilization. Each volume is lavishly illustrated and contains a comprehensive bibliography. (via University of California Press)

Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back by Pamela McClusky This SAM publication by curators Pamela McClusky and Robert Farris Thompson represents a turning point in African art history. The authors draw on personal memories, interviews, and oral narratives to present twelve "case histories" of objects--or clusters of objects--in the Seattle Art Museum's renowned collection of African art. Each case history is enriched by comments from artists, art historians, writers, community members, and patrons who guide readers back into the markets, palaces, ceremonies, shrines, and streets where African art originated. (via Seattle Art Museum)

Before the Deluge: A Portrait of Berlin in the 1920's by Otto Friedrich A fascinating portrait of the turbulent political, social, and cultural life of the city of Berlin in the 1920s. (via Harper Collins)

Rationalist Barcelona: The Architectural Avant-gardes of the 1920's and 1930's by Mercè Vidal i Jansà This book explores the Rationalist architecture of the GATCPAC group and the new avant-gardes of the 1920s and 1930s in the political, social, economic and cultural context of Catalonia and Europe. Richly illustrated with archive images and present-day photographs by Lluís Casals. (via Barcelona Books)

Soviet Art, 1920-1930: Russian Museum, Leningrad by V. A. Leniashin (Editor) This large paperback catalog continues the recent joint Soviet-American effort to make Russian art more accessible to American museum goers and readers. The text, by Russian commentators, divides the artists into group affiliations that have little meaning for Western readers. But the text plays a minor role in the book; its focus is the wide variety of color plates. The pictures, from the Russian Museum in Leningrad, span the range of 20th-century styles with only a few pictorial references to Lenin, collectivism, or other ideology. (via Harry N Abrams Inc.)

The Cold Gaze: Germany in The 1920s by Laerke Rydal Jorgensen (Editor) and Kirsten Degel (Editor) A sweeping journey through the roaring art and culture of the Weimar Republic At the center of this volume are the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) artists--Otto Dix, George Grosz and Albert Renger-Patzsch--and the groundbreaking photographer August Sander, in particular his famed series People of the 20th Century, which portrayed both prominent and anonymous Germans from all parts of society in a simple and matter-of-fact pictorial style. Sander and the Neue Sachlichkeit artists both pursued an anti-Expressionist aesthetic, embracing social engagement and a rejection of romantic idealism. The Cold Gaze also looks at the extraordinary writers associated with the Weimar Republic, such as Vicki Baum, Bertolt Brecht, Alfred Döblin, Hans Fallada, Erich Kästner and Christopher Isherwood. Further points of focus by a range of contributing writers include Germany's Americanization during this period; Marcel Breuer's innovations in furniture design; the invention and ascent of the Futura font; the Weimar cult of technology; and much more. This richly illustrated catalog unfolds a period that was at once euphoric and harsh, an extraordinary moment in modernity birthed in the shadows between two world wars. (via publisher)

Diagramming Modernity: Books and Graphic Design in Latin America, 1920-1940 by Rodrigo Gutierrez (Editor) and Riccardo Boglione (Editor) This massive publication offers the first comprehensive panorama of the Latin American illustrated book between the 1920s and 1940s, a period characterized by the rapid modernization of the region. The books reproduced here encapsulate this transformative era, expressing and embodying emergent national and continental narratives in Latin American countries. Diagramming Modernity reproduces more than 1000 illustrated first editions, analysing the cornucopia of cultural narratives they contain. (via Editorial RM)

The Mobility of Modernism by Harper Montgomery Winner, Arvey Foundation Book Award, Association for Latin American Art, 2018 Many Latin American artists and critics in the 1920s drew on the values of modernism to question the cultural authority of Europe. Modernism gave them a tool for coping with the mobility of their circumstances, as well as the inspiration for works that questioned the very concepts of the artist and the artwork and opened the realm of art to untrained and self-taught artists, artisans, and women. Writing about the modernist works in newspapers and magazines, critics provided a new vocabulary with which to interpret and assign value to the expanding sets of abstracted forms produced by these artists, whose lives were shaped by mobility. The Mobility of Modernism examines modernist artworks and criticism that circulated among a network of cities, including Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Havana, and Lima. Harper Montgomery maps the dialogues and relationships among critics who published in avant-gardist magazines such as Amauta and Revista de Avance and artists such as Carlos Mérida, Xul Solar, and Emilio Pettoruti, among others, who championed esoteric forms of abstraction. She makes a convincing case that, for these artists and critics, modernism became an anticolonial stance which raised issues that are still vital today--the tensions between the local and the global, the ability of artists to speak for blighted or unincorporated people, and, above all, how advanced art and its champions can enact a politics of opposition. (via University of Texas Press)

Art of the Fantastic : Latin America, 1920-1987 by Holliday T. Day and Hollister Sturges