Industrialisation and Art

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions starting in the United Kingdom. It then spread throughout Europe, North America, and eventually the world. almost every aspect of daily life was eventually influenced in some way. The earliest use of the term "Industrial Revolution" yet located seems to be a letter of 6 July 1799 by French envoy Louis-Guillaume Otto, announcing that the process had started in his country. Industrialism is an economic organization of society built largely on mechanized industry rather than agriculture, craftsmanship, or commerce.

Monet's painting 'Impression Sunrise'(1873) was painted of the sun seen through mist at the harbour of Le Havre when he was staying there in the spring of 1872. A sketch quickly executed to catch the atmospheric moment, it was cataloged as Impression. The word 'Impression' was not so unusual that it had never before been applied to works of art. It was first adopted by the artists themselves for their third group exhibition in 1877, though some disliked the label. It was dropped from two of the succeeding exhibitions as a result of disagreements. Monet's Impression was not in itself a work that need be regarded as the essential criterion of Impressionism. There are many works before and after that represent the aims and achievements of the movement more fully. Yet it has a particular lustre and interest in providing the movement with its name. Monet's painting relates to Industrialisation because it reflects the industrial revolution in a more literal way as it shows the harbour in the background. As the industrial revolution changed most aspects of everyday life, Monet's painting did too. This also shows the relation between Monet's painting and industrialisation.

Olafur Eliasson's, 'The Weather Project' takes this everywhere subject as the basis for exploring ideas about experience, mediation and representation. It was installed at the London's Tate Modern in 2003 as part of the Unilever series. The eighteenth-century writer Samuel Johnson famously remarked ‘It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather; they are in haste to tell each other, what each must already know, that it is hot or cold, bright or cloudy, windy or calm.’ The artwork represents the sun and sky and how they dominate the expanse of the Turbine Hall. A fine mist permeates the space, as if creeping in from the environment outside. Throughout the day, the mist accumulates into faint, cloud-like formations, before spreading across the space. A glance overhead, to see where the mist might escape, reveals that the ceiling of the Turbine Hall has disappeared and then replaced by a reflection of the space below. The arc repeated in the mirror overhead produces a sphere of dazzling radiance linking the real space with the reflection.


References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/monet/first/impression/
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/eliasson/about.htm