Music, art, and literature: interdisciplinary connections

Music, Art, Literature Trends

From impressionism to pop art, jazz to hip hop, science fiction to beat poetry, artistic, musical, and literary expressions have varied considerably between 1870 and 2005. The period between the end of the nineteenth century to the current day can be generally described as the modern and postmodern eras. The beginning of the modern era, during the final decades of the nineteenth century, coincided with the Industrial Revolution. Along with fascination with modern technology and optimism for the future came simultaneous disillusionment. However, modern technological advancements have made such widespread creativity possible. Social and political trends have also influenced creative endeavors, and vice-versa. Art, music, and literature are more accessible and more possible to create than they ever were in the past. The modern era has been characterized by an overall flourishing of the expressive arts, but some trends have a more lasting significance than others. For instance, the most significant artistic trends that have occurred between 1870 and the present day include impressionism, cubism, abstraction, art deco, poster, and pop art. The most significant musical trends of the modern era include blues, jazz, rock and roll, electronica, and hip hop. Finally, the most significant literary trends between 1870 and 2005 include post-colonialism, science fiction, beat poetry, and horror.

Important modern trends in the realm of the visual arts include impressionism, cubism, abstraction, and pop art. Impressionism was the first major movement in modern art. The range of colors and styles used in impressionist paintings diverged considerably from the more formal traditions of the past. Manet, Monet, Renoir, and Degas produced lively, colorful paintings that depicted more than just their subject matter but captured the mind state of the artist as well. Impressionist color palates, subject matter, and painting styles influenced the visual art world for years to come. Moreover, the works of art produced by impressionists rank with some of the most famous paintings of all time. Cubism, popularized by Picasso and Braque, also made a huge stir in the visual arts community. Cubists dissected their subjects into their constituent parts and rearranged them. The results were distorted and unique portraits of people and objects. From cubism arose pure abstraction. For the first time, paintings did not depict recognizable objects, people, or places. Rather, color, line, and texture became more important on canvas. Abstraction might be the single most significant artistic development because it freed up the canvas for an infinite variety of artistic expression.

Art deco was another significant trend in the arts, emerging around the 1920s. However, art deco became important more in the realm of architecture than painting. Many art deco buildings still stand today, including New York City's Empire State Building, which is why the movement was so important. Finally, pop art became a significant artistic trend of the last century. Artists like Andy Warhol imbued their subject matter with a playful, colorful, fun quality that still characterizes much modern art. Like much modern art, pop art is immediately accessible and is thus a populist art form. Finally, poster art was a significant trend because since the early twentieth century, posters have become an important means of advertising as well as pure decoration. Because of the proliferation of consumer culture, poster art emerges as a relatively unheralded yet significant visual art form.

In the realm of music, the most significant trends to emerge during the past century include blues, jazz, rock and roll, electronica, and hip hop. In fact, many of these categories are intertwined and interrelated and in some instances, modern music defies classification altogether because of the creative freedom that characterizes the century. The blues became more than just a genre of music. In fact, the blues and the scales that derived from it influenced rock and roll decades later. Many rock songs are based on blues scales, and many rock songs are cover versions of old blues songs. Blues does, however, deserve recognition as a genre in its own right, both for aesthetic and social reasons: the blues represented the unique creative expressions of the African-American community. Similarly, jazz evolved as a uniquely African-American creation. The improvisational aspect of jazz made the genre one of the most influential musical trends of all time. Jazz's popularity spread far beyond the borders of the United States, where it originated, and jazz continues to be a potent and expansive musical force. Rock and roll emerged from both jazz and blues. Be-bop was the earliest form of rock and roll, which became internationally, and at first controversially, popular with Elvis Presley. Rock and Roll was the definitive musical trend of the twentieth century because it spawned a slew of genres after it, from heavy metal to punk to grunge.

Rock music became more than just a musical trend; it also characterized the rise of the teenage culture, symbolized rebellion, and influenced political and social attitudes. Furthermore, rock and roll remains a viable creative endeavor today, and is also internationally popular, which is why the trend is so important. Beyond rock and roll, electronic music and hip hop are recent significant musical trends. Electronic music has been around for decades, and reached a peak with the advent of the rave. Electronic music remains a vital force in the industry, and has also impacted the development of hip hop. Hip-hop is yet another musical trend that coincides with social and race-related realities in the United States. The genre is so important because it represents American urban culture.