ART APPRECITION: CUBISM

I. BACKGROUND

Cubism is an artistic movement, created by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, which
employs geometric shapes in depictions of human and other forms. Over time, the geometric
touches grew so intense that they sometimes overtook the represented forms, creating a
more pure level of visual abstraction. Though the movement’s most potent era was in the
early 20th Century, the ideas and techniques of Cubism influenced many creative disciplines
and continue to inform experimental work.

Cubism began as an idea and then it became a style. Based on Paul Cézanne's three main
ingredients—geometricity, simultaneity (multiple views) and passage—Cubism tried to
describe, in visual terms, the concept of the Fourth Dimension.

Cubism is a kind of Realism. It is a conceptual approach to realism in art, which aims to depict
the world as it is and not as it seems. This was the "idea." For example, pick up any ordinary
cup. Chances are the mouth of the cup is round. Close your eyes and imagine the cup. The
mouth is round. It is always round—whether you are looking at the cup or remembering the
cup. To depict the mouth as an oval is a falsehood, a mere device to create an optical illusion.
The mouth of a glass is not an oval; it is a circle. This circular form is its truth, its reality. The
representation of a cup as a circle attached to the outline of its profile view communicates its
concrete reality. In this respect, Cubism can be considered realism, in a conceptual, rather
than perceptional way.

Length of the Cubism Movement

There are four periods of Cubism:

 Early Cubism or Cézannisme (1908-1910)
 Analytic Cubism (1910–1912)
 Synthetic Cubism (1912–1914)
 Late Cubism (1915–present)

Although the height of the Cubism period occurred before World War I, several artists
continued the Synthetic Cubists' style or adopted a personal variation of it. Jacob
Lawrence (1917–2000) demonstrates the influence of Synthetic Cubism in his painting
(a.k.a. Dressing Room), 1952.

Key Characteristics of Cubism

 Geometricity, a simplification of figures and objects into geometrical components and
planes that may or may not add up to the whole figure or object known in the natural
world.
 Approximation of the Fourth Dimension.
 Conceptual, instead of perceptual, reality.
 Distortion and deformation of known figures and forms in the natural world.
 The overlapping and interpenetration of planes.
 Simultaneity or multiple views, different points of view made visible on one plane.

II. INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE

“My perspective in Cubism looks very different from lots of other styles of painting. For me,
Cubism was all about seeing the object from as many sides as possible and thinking about it
in different ways. Wherein you can use random horizontal and vertical lines. In other words,
there is no real formula in making cubism.” - Mendenilla,John Lloyd
“Cubism is a kind of hard to understand when it was saw at the first time. Despite of that issue
cubism is very beautiful and unique way to present the real world. Different cubism art work
had a deep meaning, and it can be truly understood by noticing every part of it. For me, some
painters who are making cubism are a kind of genius because they use geometric to make
form not as the same as we saw in real life but we can appreciate the message in it. Although
this art work is not clear for everybody especially to those not into a painting, but if you study
about cubism every work of that may appreciate and loved by you. The purpose of cubism is
to reject copying the real world we saw and instead it uses shapes to become an abstract. For
me, they made this to at least put a deeper meaning in every artwork and the viewers think
what is happening or pointing out of this painting. The more that the painting have a deep
meaning and hard to crack of it, the more that the people become interested and study about
that painting. So, the artwork become more famous and meaningful depending on what’s the
viewers perspective. For some realization, cubism is the best form of art that has been made
and until now it is used to make a protest or even one of the techniques to give message and
awareness what is happening in the world or in the subject of that paintings. “ - Gazmin,
Brian

“In my take, cubism is a way of depicting reality and the unrealistic world at the same time. At
first it looks like an abstract style, but if you look and understand more of it, you will see an
actual picture where the artwork was inspired from. Then through this, the meaning will be
revealed eventually.” - Mejia, Marinelle Joy

III. THESIS STATEMENT

Cubism is a way of emerging realism and abstract because at first, the message or subject is
hidden and hard to understand due to the form of expression, but if you look further into the
composition, the art is basically derived from reality.

IV. REFERENCES
Beth Gersh-Nesic. (2019). What Is Cubism in Art History? ([Link])
[Link] Editors (2017).Cubism History - History
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Students:
Mejia, Marinelle Joy P.
Gazmin, Brian
Mendenilla, John Lloyd