Post war culture

1. Postwar
Culture

2. Science
Radioactivity
• Scientists in the early 1900’s began to
experiment with atoms in a process
called radioactivity.
• Scientists found elements adams such
as radium and uranium spontaneously
released charged particles.
• Atoms could also be changed, they
were not solid. They could be divided.
• Marie Curie and her husband won
Nobel prizes for their research in
radioactivity but Marie died of from
radiation poisoning from constantly
burning her fingers.

3. Relativity
• Albert Einstein advanced his ideas
of relativity.
• He felt that space and time
measurements are not absolute but
are determine buy factors that are
unknown.
• This hurt the Newtonian ideas that
the universe had absolute laws.
• People in the post war years didn’t
understand and it was an example
of the uncertainly sweeping Europe
and the US.

4. Freud
• Pushed peoples comfort zones
with the idea that the
unconscious mind drives much of
human behavior.
• He felt society because it was
civilized helped people repress
their urges but there was always
a tension between repressed
urges and social training.
• He pioneered the idea of
psychoanalysis – the treatment
and study of the human mind.

5. Literature
• Lots of war stories and memoirs were printed.
• Most reflected disgust with the war and reflected the
disillusionment felt across Europe.
• Many portrayed Europeans unhappy with the war
and what came out of it.
• The Lost Generation came from this time period.

6. Modern Art and Architecture
Cubism
• Picasso and Braque before the
war invented style of painting –
Cubism.
• Three dimensional objects were
broken and fragmented. New
angles were explored.
• After the war this became a
favorite way of showing the
unhappiness and
disillusionment of the people.
• It led to Dada and Surrealism
Violin and Guitar
Picasso

7. Picasso

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11. Dada and Surrealism
• Popular in Europe before and
after the war.
• It was seen as a revolt against
civilization.
“ give the bourgeois a whiff of the
chaos of Europe”
“ Dada is life without discipline of
morality and we spit on
humanity.”
Configuration
Arp

13. Dali

14. Painted right after WWI, what do you think it represents?

15. Architecture
• Classical styles were
rejected and new styles
were created with new
lines and angles to
match the industrial
urban world.
Falling Water
Frank Lloyd Wright

16. Popular Culture and a Changing Society
People were looking for an
escape.
• Movies became popular
and Charlie Chapin became
known across the US and
Europe.
• Radios were turned on and
tuned to jazz.
• New inventions such as the
automobile and household
appliances made life
easier.
Charlie Chaplin

17. Jazz

18. • Rebellious young people
were also breaking the
rules and visiting
nightclubs, smoking,
drinking and seeking
adventure.
• They came to be known
as the “ lost generation”