WWI was supposed to be the war that ended all wars. When the fighting ended, Europe was a burned out shell of what it used to be. Journalists reported that there were no young men to be found. Just widows and old people. The mood was dark and even art changed radically. It seemed wrong to paint the bright, colorful impressionist paintings when the world was in such a bad place.
Enter the new art periods we think about as Modern Art. While some criticize works from this period, you have to put them in the context of the times. And modern artists themselves had to have great courage too. Among the best known was Marcel Duchamp (pronounced DooShomp).
Basing his works on the newest style known as Dada art (this term came randomly, when German artist Richard Huelsenbeck randomly stuck a knife in a French dictionary and picked the word where the point of the blade fell – dada, which means hobby horse in French), Duchamp began painting abstractedly. The art was satirical and nonsensical, as if avoiding all thoughts of realism that was far too painful in Europe. His best known work was Nude Descending a Staircase (No.2).
In this painting, there is no real nudity to see. The form is asexual, composed of angles, shapes, and shades. Duchamp focuses on the movement rather than the form, appealing to the mind, rather than the eye. Well as you can imagine, it was met by criticism by those in the current art movement of Cubism. The committee’s feedback was the painting had “too much of a literary title”, and that “one doesn’t paint a nude descending a staircase, that’s ridiculous… a nude should be respected.”
But Duchamp didn’t care. He believed in his work enough that he to quit exhibiting for the Cubists and to go his own way. Nude Descending a Staircase (No.2) became a seminal work, one that influenced its own period of art. That took courage.
Which brings us to you. What are some areas where you have new, radical ideas that you want to share? Do you care enough to take the risk and offer them up, or will you just hold onto them, believing nobody will listen?
The risk is you being criticized and ostracized. The reward might be you recognized for your innovative idea and courage. That’s something to wrestle with, but I think it’s worth pursuing. After all, it worked for Duchamp. I think it will work for you too.