The main characteristics of modernist art

The characteristics of modernist art 1) grotesque deformation. In order to realize the artistic proposition of seeking illusion, expressing subjective spirit and recreating the world in his works, expressionist writers often use the method of transforming real people and events to create grotesque images, so as to create a kind of alienation effect, make readers' attention skip the concrete, condense illusions and grasp the abstract meaning of their works. In order to achieve the effect of "defamiliarization" and "alienation", writers often confuse hallucinations, dreams, myths, hell, earth, heaven, past, present and future into scenes and plots that are both true and illusory, but wake up from dreams, forming a bizarre atmosphere and dreamy colors. The grotesque deformation of expressionism is based on inner subjective feelings.

(2) Symbolization of characters. Expressionism does not pursue the fullness and individuality of characters, but tries to express a universal and abstract meaning through characters, so the characters in their works have symbolic characteristics. In order to highlight this symbolic significance, the appearance characteristics of the characters in the works are omitted, and some even cancel the names, such as son, father, worker, youth and girl. Characters become a representative of a certain type and a symbol of abstract essence, and this symbolization of characters deepens the abstraction of the content of the works. In this respect, Kafka's works are representative. The hero in a work is usually K. This K is not a real person, but a symbolic symbol. Character symbol influenced almost all the later modernist literary schools.

(3) the dilution of the times and the environment. Expressionist works often have no definite time and the specific living environment of the characters, and some works indicate: time-modernity, place-world. Expressionist writers never describe the living environment of characters in Balzac's style. They tried to transcend the official environment of a specific era and explore the "universal and eternal" meaning of the world and life. The world in expressionist works is only an abstract picture produced by illusion, which is the illusion and symbol of the world, not the real world.

(4) The plot is illogical and illusory. Expressionist works often come to an abrupt end when listening to the development of the plot. There is no necessary connection between events, intermittent pause in the middle, arbitrary inversion of time and space, no logic to follow, and great randomness. The actions of characters are often in a state of chaos and madness without motivation and purpose. In this way, the plot of expressionist literature is diluted and there is no logic. Its intention is to refute the logical narrative method of traditional literature and try to express the inner psychological and spiritual truth with external confusion. The events they write are not real, but symbols, which are the external formalization of inner experience, so they are illusory.

The unique artistic technique of expressionism forms the abstract and polysemy characteristics of the theme of literary works, as well as the basic style of grotesque abstraction.