Download Curriculum 1900-1950 World Events

Art through History: 1900-1950
1903: The Wright Brothers
In 1903, 110 years ago, in a tiny bike shop two brothers worked very hard
making printing presses, bikes, kites, and gliders. They were the Wright
Brothers and they invented and built the first flying machine - the airplane. It
took them three years of trial and error to finally succeed. The first successful
flight was 59 seconds long and reached a height of 852 feet!
1906: Isadora Duncan
“Mother of Modern Dance”
Isadora Duncan revolutionized dance at the turn of
the 20th Century, creating an entirely new and more
expressive dance form. She danced to the music of
the great masters which, at the time, was considered
“above” dance. In doing so, she elevated dance to a
level of artistic appreciation it had not received since
the days of the ancient Greeks. She also danced about
the human condition, politics, and more abstract
themes. She made the stage a bare, curtained space
and costumes were simple, flowing tunics. This was
different from Ballet, the better-known dance of the
time, because the stage was filled with scenery and
props and costumes were made of expensive
materials and were often layered. These bold moves
made Isadora Duncan controversial in America,
however, she was well received in Europe. She
suffered a tragic death in 1927.
1912: The sinking of the Titanic
The Titanic was the biggest, most luxurious boat of its time. The White Star Line
Company began building it in 1909 in Belfast, North Ireland. The ship featured a
swimming pool, gym, libraries and several restaurants. There was a lot of publicity
surrounding the Titanic; everyone wanted to be on board when it made its first
voyage from England to New York City in America
Titanic was just four days into its voyage across the Atlantic when it hit an iceberg
in the middle of the ocean. It took nearly 45 minutes for the first lifeboat to be
launched for passengers to board. By this time, the Titanic had taken on so much
water that it started to sink. The wreck of the Titanic still lies on the seabed of the
Atlantic Ocean, though many artifacts have been discovered since. In 1997,
director James Cameron turned the story of the Titanic into a film.
1909: Ballet Russes
The Ballets Russes (The Russian Ballets) was a travelling ballet
company from Russia., that performed between 1909 and1929
in many countries. Directed by Sergei Diaghilev, Ballet Russes
is regarded as the greatest ballet company of the 20th century.
The company featured and premiered now-famous
works by the great choreographers Marius Petipa and
Michel Fokine, as well as new works (for the time) by
Leonide Massine and George Balanchine.
Some of the company’s greatest ballets include: Le Spectre
de la Rose, Petrushka and George Balanchine’s Apollo.
This is Mr. Armour performing
Le Spectre de la Rose in the 1930’s.
1900-1013: Art Movements
Fauvism:
Fauvism began in 1905, and grew out of the impressionism
movement that Van Gogh began. Fauvists used exaggerated
colors when painting subjects. In fact, color was the
most important aspect of a fauvist painting, with the subject
taking a backseat. By 1908 the movement had run its course
and many of the artists involved moved on to other styles.
When painting a portrait of a woman with very dark
hair, a fauvist might choose to use blue in the hair to
show just how dark it was. He might use yellow for the skin
instead of a carefully mixed bronze. Shadows might be
drawn in greens and purples instead of grey. (See picture to the right)
Henri Matisse is one of the most important fauvist painters.
1900-1013: Art Movements
Cubism:
Some artists became interested in African and Native
American art. Theses cultures inspired the art form
known as “Cubism”. Cubism began in France in 1907.
Pablo Picasso and George Braque began painting
figures that were made up of cubes, spheres, cylinders,
cones, and other geometric shapes. The paintings
looked like someone had cut them up and glued them
back together. And that’s exactly what the cubists had in
mind, cubists wanted to show the most important parts
of the things they painted.
1900-1013: Art Movements
The Armory Show: Introducing Modern Art.
Armory Show refers to the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art that was
organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors; it was the first large
exhibition of modern art in America.
This “new” art form was represented through Dadaism. You’ve likely seen a Dadaist work
of art, though when you Saw it someone was probably poking fun at something silly
posing as art. The Dadaists meant to turn our world upside
down; to make it seem crazy and absurd. They meant for us
to look at that surround us differently so that we would
rethink our world. The Dadaists protested through their art
the war (World War I) and the current culture.
A famous piece of Dadaist work is “Bicycle Wheel” by Marcel Duchamp.
1914-1918 World War 1
What started out as a local European conflict soon became a global war that lasted from 19141918. World War I was the first war that involved nations (28 to be exact) from around the
world, and is commonly called The Great War or The War to End All Wars.
On June 28, 1914, a Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip
assassinated Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria, in Sarajevo.
Exactly one month later, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
The war divided Europe into two-armed camps that were enemies.
On one side was the Triple Alliance made up of Germany,
Austria-Hungary, and Italy. On the other was the
Triple Entente of France, Russia and Great Britain.
1914-1918 World War 1
As other countries began to join sides, the Triple
Alliance became known as the Central Powers and
the Triple Entente became known as the Allied
Forces.
The war lasted four years (1914-1918), and took the
lives of many soldiers from around the world.
World War I (WWI) ended with the defeat of the German
Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, and
Russian Empire.
organization
preventing
realized
–
After WWI ended The League of Nations, an intergovernmental
(like the United Nations today), was formed in the hopes of
another big war. As you will late learn, these hopes were not
because an even larger and deadlier war – known as World War 2
started in 1939.
1910 & 1913: Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky, one of the major composers of the era, composed two works for
Ballet Russes: The Firebird (1910) and The Rite of Spring (1913).
The audience of the time was used to the grace, elegance,
and traditional music of "conventional” ballets; Stravinsky
did not compose traditional works. As a result, the opening
night of The Rite of Spring caused a riot in the theater!
The audience booed in response to the inharmonic
notes accompanying the recognizable bassoon's
opening solo and the work’s unconventional music,
sharp, and unnatural choreography.
1913: The Foxtrot
The Foxtrot emerged in America in the summer of 1914 when
it was performed by Vaudeville actor Harry Fox.
(pictured right)
The Fox-trot originated in the Jardin de Danse on the
roof of the New York Theatre. As part of his act downstairs,
Harry Fox was doing trotting steps to ragtime music, and
people referred to his dance as "Fox's Trot.”
The Foxtrot was the most
significant development in all
of ballroom dancing. The combination
of quick and slow steps permits more
flexibility and gives much greater
dancing pleasure than the one-step
and two-step which it has replaced.
There is more variety in the fox-trot than
in any other dance, and in some ways it
is the hardest dance to learn!
1920: Women can vote!
The 19th amendment to the Constitution.
The 19th Amendment is a very important amendment to the constitution of the United
States as it gave women the right to vote. Previous amendments to the constitutions
(the 15th Amendment)
made it illegal for the federal or state government to
deny any US citizen the right to vote.
For some reason, however, the 15th Amendment did
not apply to women. The 19th Amendment changed
this by making it illegal for any citizen, regardless of
gender, to be denied the right to vote.
Many women and men assembled and protested in support of allowing women to
vote through the 19th Amendment. This was known as the “Suffrage Movement”.
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were key figures in the Suffrage
movement.
These women were the original authors of the 19th amendment although it took fortyone years before the government would pass the amendment. Many lawmakers
feared that women would vote in large groups, which would affect the outcome of
elections.
1920: Harlem Renaissance
A New York neighborhood called Harlem was the center of an African American cultural
renaissance from 1920 until the mid-1930s.
Just before this period in history, a lot of African-Americans
living in the South were moving to New York. Harlem was
the neighborhood that many chose as their new home.
This era is referred to as “The Harlem Renaissance”.
Many of the issues that African Americans dealt with in their lives during this time in history
were expressed through literature, music, art and drama. The influence of the Harlem
Renaissance spread beyond the boundaries of Harlem and was felt on the national level as
well as the international level.
As Harlem gained its new residents, it became a cultural core for black Americans. It was a
time when African-Americans were able to showcase their many talents while differentiating
themselves from their white counterparts. There was pride in being black; that pride was
apparent in the cultural flavor of what was produced during this era. Our very own Overtown
was known as “The Harlem of the South” during this time!
1926: Martha Graham
Martha Graham was a highly influential American modern dancer
and choreographer. She danced and choreographed for over
seventy years!
Graham was the first dancer ever to perform at the White House,
travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and receive the highest
civilian award of the USA: the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In 1926, the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance
was established. That same year, Graham debuted with her
first independent concert, consisting of 18 short solos and
trios that she had choreographed herself.
The Martha Graham Dance Company is the oldest dance
company in America. It has helped develop many famous
dancers and choreographers of the 20th and 21st Centuries
including Erick Hawkins, Anna Sokolow, Merce Cunningham
and Paul Taylor. Many Thomas Armour Youth Ballet alumnae
have gone on to dance with The Martha Graham Dance Company.
Masha Maddux, TAYB Alumni.
Performing at the Rose Theater
with the Martha Graham
Company.
1929-1940s: The Economic Depression
The Great Depression was the great economic crisis as a result of the U.S. Stock Market
crash of 1929. Stock prices fell at from October 24-29, 1929.
Because of this crash, many lost their jobs,
becoming homeless and poor. The wealth
that many experienced in previous years,
known as the “Roaring Twenties”,
disappeared. From 1929 to 1932, the
Depression worsened.
Many believe that increased taxes on
American citizens and the increased tariffs
(taxes on countries that trade with the
United States) made it worse.
In 1932 Franklin Roosevelt was
elected president, establishing programs aimed at helping the country get out of the
Depression. These programs became known as the “New Deal”. New Deal programs were
most commonly known by their initials, which reminded some people of alphabet soup.
Some of these programs were aimed at helping farmers, like the AAA (Agricultural
Adjustment Administration) while other programs, such as the CCC (Civilian Conservation
Corps) and the WPA (Works Progress Administration), attempted to help lower
unemployment by hiring people for various projects.
1931: United States’ National Anthem
In 1814, about a week after the city of Washington had
been badly burned, British troops moved up to the
primary port at Baltimore Harbor in Maryland. Francis
Scott Key visited the British fleet in the Harbor on
September 13th. At dawn on the 14th, Key noted that
the huge American flag, which is displayed in the
Smithsonian National Museum of American History
was still waving and had not been removed in defeat.
This sight inspired him to write a poem titled “Defense
of
Fort McHenry”.
The poem was eventually set to music that had originally been written by English composer
John Stafford Smith for a song titled "The Anacreontic Song". The end result was the inspiring
song now known as our country’s national anthem! Although many accepted the song as the
national anthem from 1814-1914, it took a solid place as our national anthem during
Baseball’s 1917 World Series when it was sung in honor of the brave armed forces fighting in
the Great War. The World Series performance moved everyone in attendance, and ever since
the song has been performed prior to every game!
On March 3, 1931, the song became the country’s official national anthem when the American
Congress proclaimed it as so, 116 years after it was first written.
1935-1948: Ballet Companies
by George Balanchine
George Balanchine was one of the 20th Century's most famous
choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States and the
co-founder and ballet master of New York City Ballet. His works were
known for their musicality; he expressed music with dance and
worked extensively with Igor Stravinsky. Thirty-nine of his more than 400
ballets were choreographed to music by Stravinsky! After his success with
Ballet Russes, George Balanchine moved to the United States in 1934 and
opened up the School of American Ballet in New York City.
In 1935, he created his first ballet company,
American Ballet, which began performing at as
the house company for the Met. In 1938 Balanchine
moved the company to Hollywood, CA and renamed
it the American Ballet Caravan. It toured North and
South America, but closed down after several years.
In 1946, Balanchine returned to New York and created the Ballet Society. Ballet Society
officially became New York City Ballet in 1948. Later Balanchine created his own version of
The Nutcracker ballet, which is still performed by ballet companies to this day!
1939- 1945: World War 2
World War 2 was fought between two groups of
countries. On one side were the Axis Powers,
including Germany, Italy and Japan. On the other
side were the Allies which included Britain,
France, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India
and the Soviet Union.
Hitler (Germany’s ruler) wanted Germany to control Europe.
Japan wanted to control Asia and the Pacific. So, in 1937 Japan
attacked China and in 1939 Germany invaded Poland. This is how
World War 2 began.
Some countries did not join the war, but stayed neutral (did not take sides. Spain, Sweden and
Switzerland were neutral countries. So was Ireland, although many Irish people helped the
Allies.
Britain and France went to war with Germany in September 1939.They wanted to help Poland
after it was invaded, but they were too late. The Germans had occupied Poland. By the summer
of 1940 they had conquered Holland, Belgium, France, Denmark and Norway. Enemy planes
dropped bombs on cities in Britain.
1939- 1945: World War 2
In July 1940, German planes started bombing British coastal towns. By
mid-September 1940, after many battles, German postponed their
planned land invasion of Britain.
This period is known as The Battle of Britain.
Commonwealth nations, such as Canada and Australia, helped
Britain. In 1941 the Soviet Union (Russia) was attacked by Germany.
In 1941 America also joined the war, after Japan attacked the American
naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
By 1943 the Allies were winning. One reason was that
Allied factories were building thousands of tanks, ships
and planes. In 1944, a huge Allied army crossed from
Britain to liberate (free) France. Then Allied armies invaded
Germany. By May 1945 the war in Europe was over.
The Pacific war went on until August 1945. There was
fierce fighting on Pacific islands and big naval battles at
sea. Finally, the Allies dropped atomic bombs on two Japan
ese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The damage was so terrible that Japan surrendered
immediately, ending World War 2.
1939: Famous Films
Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American period romance film adapted from
Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel. The picture was produced by
David O. Selznick. Set in the 19th-century American South, it tells the story of
the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era from a White Southern point of
view.
The film received 10 Academy Awards, a record that was not broken for 20 years.
In 1989, it was selected by the National Film Registry to be preserved.
The film was the longest American sound of its time. It was among the first of
the major films shot in color (Technicolor) and won the first Academy Award for
Best Cinematography in the category of color films. It became the highest-grossing film of all-time
shortly after its release, holding this position until 1966.
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American fantasy adventure film produced by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz by L. Frank Baum.
Noted for its use of special effects, Technicolor, fantasy storytelling and
unusual characters, the film has become one of the best known of all films and
part of American popular culture.
The film was MGM's most expensive production up to that time, but its initial
release failed to cover the studio's investment. Subsequent re-releases made
up for that, however. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best
Picture.
1940: The American Ballet Theater
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is recognized as one of the great ballet
companies in the world. It is recognized as a “living national treasure”.
Since its founding in 1940, ABT has toured annually in the United
States, performing for more than 600,000 people. It has also made
more than 30 international tours to 42 countries as perhaps the most
representative American ballet company.
When American Ballet Theatre was launched in 1940, the aim
was to develop a repertoire of the best ballets from the past
and to encourage the creation of new works by gifted young
choreographers, wherever they might be found.
The repertoire of the company, includes all of the great full-length
ballets of the nineteenth century, such as Swan Lake,
The Sleeping Beauty and Giselle, the finest works from the
early part of this century, such as Apollo, Les Sylphides,
Jardin aux Lilas and Rodeo, and acclaimed contemporary
masterpieces.
1940s: Katherine Dunham
Often referred to as the "matriarch of black dance," Katherine Dunham
helped to establish black dance as an art form in America. Her dance
company helped to pave the way for future famous dance theatres.
While at the University, Dunham continued taking dance classes and
began performing at a local playhouse that her brother helped to
establish. She met choreographer Ruth Page and ballet dancer Mark
Turbyfill at
the playhouse, both members of the Chicago Opera Company.
The threesome later opened a dance studio together, calling their students the "Ballet Negre," in
order to distinguish them as black dancers. The school was eventually forced to close because of
financial problems, but Dunham continued to study dance with her
teacher, Madame Ludmila Speranzeva. She won her first lead in Page's
La Guiablesse in 1933. Dunham moved to New York City in 1939, where
she became dance director of the New York Labor Stage. The Katherine
Dunham Dance Company appeared on Broadway and began a
successful tour. In 1945, Dunham opened the Dunham School of Dance
and Theater in Manhattan. Her school offered classes in dance, drama,
performing arts, applied skills, humanities, cultural studies and
Caribbean research.
In 1947, it was granted a charter as the Katherine Dunham School of
Cultural Arts.
1946: First Electronic Computer
The first all-electronic computer: ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator & Computer).
ENIAC was a general-purpose digital computer built in 1946 by J. Presper Eckert and John
Mauchly. The ENIAC contained over 18,000 vacuum tubes (used instead of the mechanical
switches of the Mark I).
In twenty seconds, ENIAC could do a math problem that would have taken 40 hours for one person
to finish. The ENIAC was built the time of World War 2 had as its first job to calculate the feasibility
of a design for the hydrogen bomb. The ENIAC was 100 feet long and 10 feet tall!
1948: Long Playing Records
In 1948, Columbia Records introduces Long Playing records, allowing listeners to
enjoy 25minutes of music per side.
Prior to this invention you could only listen to one song per record!