Historical Influences

Looking at the timeline on pages 632-633, I found out that many political and social events helped shaped the Modernist movement. Some of the events that I’m most familiar with are the start of World War I in Europe in 1912, the treat of Versailles that ended World War I in 1919, the 18th and 19th amendment in the US, the Great Depression in 1929, and the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Some of the movements that I’m not familiar with are the sinking of the British ocean liner Titanic in Newfoundland, the opening of the Panama Canal, the protest of Mohandas Gandhi, etc. I think the most notable events that must’ve contributed in shaping the artistic movement of that time are the World War I and World War II, and the Great Depression. The three big events mentioned above all impacted the society and the people in it. People’s optimistic views of the world were shattered, and people became more pessimistic. I think some of the recent events that happened around the world can also influence some artistic movements. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the riot in Libya and other countries in Africa are both events that can deeply influence the present artistic movements.