Individual Assignment: Reaction Essay

Each Reaction Essay has one or more questions that need to be answered in essay format, meant to prompt a thoughtful/analytic response from the student. Each Reaction Essay should the substantial response of 2 pages and will be graded by content, formatting, and spelling/grammar (please see Rubric for details).

Reaction Essay #2 Prompt: Based upon what you have learned in Module 1 and Module 2, consider how the shift in philosophy (pre-modern to modern and modern to post-modern) are evident in the type of work artists were making. For example, throughout the 19th-century artists had a very conservative mindset when it came to the presentation of art. The images and art forms that were made during this time were composed of a certain artistic mold which reflected conservative moral values, virtuosity, righteousness, nobility, sacrifice, and Christianity. Most artists during this time period conformed to the common artistic mold, which is clearly seen in the works of that century. The 20th century, however, saw a new period of design known as modernism, which would eventually lead to postmodernism after World War II. Select four or five examples in order to discuss in Reaction Essay #2 how the modernist and postmodernist periods were composed of very revolutionary and transformative images. Modern artists looked ahead to the future and not to the past, they supported freedom of expression and equality. How did that manifest in work meant for propaganda?