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Precisionism - Classroom Use - Brief Article

Arts & Activities, Feb, 2002 by Guy Hubbard

THINGS TO LEARN

* The other name for "Precisionism" is "Cubist Realism." Students who know what Realism and Cubism are will probably be able to guess what Precisionist artists were trying to do. It was a very American art movement, quite different from the work by European and Mexican artists who were interested in similar ideas.

All these artists believed that the spirit of the 20th century lay in technology--in the invention, construction and maintenance of machines. As a result, the subjects they chose were usually about engineering and mass production.

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* Early ideas for this kind of art came from a group of artists who worked mainly in Italy. Their art was called "Futurism" because it showed admiration for the beauty of machines in action and the things machinery could make. The most important Futurist artists were Umberto Boccioni, Gino Severini and Giacomo Boccioni, together with American immigrant, Joseph Stella. They were joined by other European artists such as Lazlo Moholy Nagy (Hungary). French artists, Fernand Leger and Franci Picabio, also had similar ideas and worked at about the same time as the Americans.

* As the name suggests, Precisionism was not only a choice of subject matter, it was an artistic style that was executed very carefully and exactly. But it was not necessarily as true to life as people might think on first looking at one of their paintings. For example, people were rarely present, although thousands of people were working in the industries that were depicted. In addition, factory buildings and machinery were unbelievably neat and clean when, at the time, coal and steam power resulted in all kinds of stains and dirt.

* Precisionism began during the 1920s and continued until the end of the World War II. The most important American artists were Charles Sheeler, Charles DeMuth, Preston Dickinson and Louis Lozowick. Most of their work was done in a sharp-edged, cleanly painted style, but so simplified that the results often seemed more abstract than real--as though belonging to another world. They also showed Cubist ideas by the way they focused attention on cylinders, cubes and other geometric forms. In fact, Precisionism grew out of a combination of Cubism and Realism.

* Precisionism was an art movement that gave a sense of national identity to a wide audience of Americans. Industry symbolized the achievements and power of the United States even though, during the Great Depression of the 1930s, large numbers of people were unemployed. And yet, the enormously powerful industrial plants emphasized the idea that human beings were less important than machines. This is noticeable in Precisionist pictures by the lack of people in their paintings.

* Precisionist artists portrayed many different kinds of industrial subjects, including oil-drilling, hydroelectricity, steel foundries, railroads, coal mining, shipping, grain elevators and automobile plants, as well as skyscraper office buildings. To a lesser extent, they portrayed airplanes, mainly because, at that time, air travel was not as common as it is today.

The industries these artists portrayed may look oddly old-fashioned to our eyes, living as we do in an age when factories look more like boxes and rarely have tall chimneys. They showed what were the most modern places in the world, which looked to them as permanent as our industries do to us today.

* In contrast to many artists at that time (and even to this day) who rejected the use of photographs as an aid to painting, Precisionist artists had no such problem. They gladly adopted photography to help with the accuracy of objects in their paintings. However, each individual modified the information present in photographs to suit the needs of his or her pictures.

THINGS TO DO

* In order for students to develop a clear understanding of Precisionism, they need to become familiar with as many examples as possible. The lists of artists names that appear above are intended to help them find out more about this art movement.

* The first goal is to become familiar with the general appearance of Precisionist paintings. They all share similar styles and subject matter even though each artist's work is unique. A second goal is to see enough Precisionist works that students can identify the styles of individual artists.

* Some students may want to compare the similarities and differences between European and American artists who all so strongly believed in the beauty of machines.

* Like the Precisionists, some students may be interested in portraying the industries in their own communities. Skyscraper buildings are no longer as rare as they were 90 years ago, although steam locomotives have all been replaced by diesels. Passenger trains have also given way to road transport and flying. Also, most factories are now powered by electricity rather than steam, so tall smokestacks are quite rare.

Students might sketch industrial plants or take snapshots to guide them later as they create their pictures. Knowing what Precisionism looks like may lead some students to emulate that style, although it may also encourage them to choose other artistic styles.

Precisionism - Classroom Use - Brief Article

Arts & Activities, Feb, 2002 by Guy Hubbard

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