Art history: Understanding abstract expressionism – Part 2

Abstract expressionism was a phrase that was first used in 1946 by an incredibly popular art critic of the time, Robert Coates. Abstract Expressionism was a means of describing the truly incredible art movement that was happening in the United States, primarily of which took place in New York itself. This movement was what brought art created by those in the United States into international appeal. It was also the first truly American inspired art movement, and allowed America to become accepted in the world of art.

While there are hundreds of artists that perfected their own techniques for this form of artwork, there are a few that became most well known for their techniques which helped to lead the revolution. Some of the most well known being Jackson Pollock for his work with drip paintings, Mark Tobey for his use of white writing, and Mark Rothko for his block’s of color. While Abstract expressionism was seen by many as much less art than more of just luck of the drip, it became instrumental in bringing art into the world eye throughout the mid to late 20th century.

Essentially the main aspect of abstract expressionism is that it is nothing more than the use of randomly placed drops of paint, swooshes of color, blocks, circles, whatever. There are no real rules and as such, many referred to the art as nothing more than anarchist artistry. Regardless, it was and still is some of the best selling artwork of the last hundred years. While it doesn’t necessarily have a single meaning to it, or have a particular look to it, the style in which the paint flies across the canvas or how the colors mesh have enticed thousands of purchasers to hand these upon their walls within their homes, businesses, up in galleries, etc. The reality is that while the art might revolve around a lot of luck of the colors looking good together and the brush strokes making great patterns, they give a certain edge and modern feel to any room and as such have been chosen in many hotels that are attempting to appear new age and funky to their customers.

It is believed that this form of art started as a means of artists expressing themselves without getting involved in the intense political climate of the time. This was immediately following World War II, and a great deal of pressure was placed on those with outside points of view regarding the war or the country in general. If you believed something that the general government was leaning towards, then you were seen to be a communist. To avoid the political climate at the time, many artists began to paint without figures, but with colors, allowing them to paint without fear of retribution. This is a great part of the reason how it became such a popular form of art, it just happened to be everywhere.

Now art schools use abstract expressionism as a means of teaching American art, which focuses more on the use of large canvases, and full coverage of the canvas, rather than the traditional model, which would allow for mostly the use of the middle of the canvas as the primary area of importance. This change has allowed America to have it’s own variation of art, which is much different than that of other nations, giving us our chance to show that we too can have great artistic talent, much like the many Europeans throughout the last few centuries.