The Enlightenment and its Impact on Modern Art FormsBy Mallory Woodard
The fine arts of the modern day, in their socially evolved state, contrasted greatly with the means which they were encouraged into a greater magnification during the European Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, taking place in Western Europe in the 18th century, was a period of great artistic blossoming. During this period, fine arts such as music, art, and especially literature were taken into a more popular perspective than what they once were. Quite possibly due to this, the amplification of these factors of the Enlightenment caused them to become common and no longer restricted to a specific class or mentality of people. This various fluctuations of these art forms’ individual popularity could vary on whether they were beneficial or not.
Music today is perhaps the most common and most fluctuating of arts that many take for granted. During the period of Enlightenment, the importance of music had taken a figurative back seat to more intimate arts such as writing and general art. For the same reasons that music is now over appreciated and universal, literature and art became overly common and easily obtainable, thus the tables were turned in the coming of the late 19th century and throughout the 20th. Music today, when once was confined to a solitary style, has branched out into scores of different styles, where hundreds of different musical artists must rival each other for fame and glory. Due to this, the music industries throughout the twentieth century have become increasingly and incredibly wealthy.
Music was not the only art form to evolve, though respectively less than it’s forerunner. Though there was not much emphasis on visual art (sculpting, painting, etc.), it did construct a considerable portion of the concentration areas of the enlightenment. Currently, by international average, the sum of all visual artists is nearly double the number of all novelists and independent journalists combined. The reflux of cultural preference has hit them since the 1700’s, but not quite so hard that it is considered as imposing on everyday life than the musical experience. Fortunately, unlike musical artists, visual artists are in a greater demand for a broader array of job descriptions: computer animation, advertisement, product design, independent artistry, and so on. During the period of Enlightenment, when philosophical thinking were at their peak, artistic expression became a less “creative” means of interpreting thought—or so they felt. Perhaps this flux was beneficial to the artists of that time as well as modern times.
Literature, the shining jewel of the European Enlightenment, was one which bore the greatest blow to its fame. The majority of the Enlightenment, besides the arising conflicts in philosophy, was built upon the arising availability of books, thanks to the printing period of philosophes teachings. The small quantity of literature that existed before this period was completely of religious themes—most written completely in Latin while the others were privately translated into other languages such as French and German. In addition to this, as more text became available to the public, literacy levels grew to the point where anyone had the right to learn to read, instead of the upper classes and clergy. This progressed gradually and continually to the present day, where literacy is a simple and early requirement for years and years of schooling. Books have lost their psychological value because it is no longer unobtainable, but quite the contrary.
The fine arts of the modern day, in their socially evolved state, contrasted greatly with the means which they were encouraged into a greater magnification during the European Enlightenment. While music and art continued to progress from their century long slump, literature’s major involvement in society, thought still an important feature, went into decline. This could conclude that the importance of man-made aspects of society to be dependant upon its demand by that society. Thus, although there will always be a necessary demand for any of these art forms, the stipulate will forever fluctuate in accordance to each other due to their creative differences.
© Mallory Woodard |