Art history: Understanding abstract expressionism – Part 3

After World War II, there was a profound shift in the world of art. With personal safety in Europe so tenuous, there was a migration of prominent artists (such as Piet Mondrian and Max Ernst) to the United States, most notably to New York City. As a result, in the 1940s and 1950s, for the first time, American artists became important internationally, and their new vision became the movement that is now called Abstract Expressionism.

The term “Abstract Expressionism” was coined by Robert Coates in the March 1936 issue of “The New Yorker” magazine, and the movement’s success was due in part to the support of critics like Harold Rosenberg and Clement Greenberg (who also originally termed the style used by Jackson Pollock to be “Action Painting” and labeled this movement the “American Style”). Along with Jackson Pollock, the main artists who were considered to be the backbone of Abstract Expressionist genre were Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko.

If one compares the work of these and other Abstract Expressionists, such as Clyfford Still, Franz Kline, Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell, and Phillip Guston, it’s clear that the painters who came under this label shared a similarity of outlook, rather than style. This outlook was characterized by a spirit of revolt and a belief in the freedom of expression.

THE IRASCIBLES

This spirit of revolt is probably nowhere better illustrated than in the discontent expressed by these artists with the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the museum’s position on avant garde painting. A group of 18 Abstract Expressionists (none more vocal than Jackson Pollock) wrote a letter to the museum, saying they would not participate in exhibiting at the museum.

After the letter appeared in the “New York Herald” newspaper, where it was criticized for the tactics the artists were pursuing, the group became labeled “The Irascible 18.” Yet, as Pollock would argue, they felt that each era of artists must choose for themselves their own style to encapsulate their expression of contemporary culture. Neither museum nor newspaper could stop them.

NEW MOVEMENT

For the Abstract Expressionists, attitude characterized the movement more than style. Ironically, not all the work of the artists in this movement was abstract, nor was it all expressive. Instead, what these artists had in common was a vision that spoke to the morality of the times. The artwork addressed important social themes, often on a grand scale, frequently loaded with weight and tragedy.

Abstract painting explained – Part 2

Abstract art is a twentieth-century movement that uses colors and shapes in a non-representative way in order to depict intrinsic qualities of an artistic subject. Essentially, abstract work is intended to capture the essence of its subject without necessarily depicting the subject as it appears in reality.

Types of Abstract Art:

Particular subsets of abstract art often include Cubism, Futurist Art, Op Art, Minimalism, and sometimes Calligraphy, although some subsets are arguably substantial enough to comprise their own artistic movement separate from that of abstract art. Abstract art differs, however, from decorative art or pattern-making, because the use of designs, shapes, and colors are not simply intended to appeal to the human eye. Fine art, as opposed to industrial or decorative patterns, includes a contemplation of a theme or an ideas within its creative process. For example, a randomly generated series of shapes in different colors printed and mass produced would not be considered abstract art, although it makes use of apparently non-representative colors and shapes. Another collection of seemingly random shapes, lines, and colors, however, may indeed be abstract art, although they are also non-representative. This second example would seek to explore a concept or idea, the basic nature of an object, or a simplistic representation of the “idea” behind a particular subject. These ideas typically include inspiration in the form of Nature, Myth, Figures, and Construction.

Extensions of Abstract Art:

Constructivism and De Stijl are art movements that extended the theories and practices behind abstract art and applied them to architecture and sculpture. Constructivism advocates art as an expression of aspiration, by means of mechanical, graphic, and photographic mediums.

Famous Abstract Artists:

Famous abstract artists include Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, and Hans Hofmann (all of whom are American Expressionists) as well as Kandinsky, Forster, Gigon, and Afonso. However, Modernists and artists of other preceding movements are considered key influences on all of Modern and Abstract art, including Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse, and Van Gogh.

Art history: Understanding abstract expressionism – Part 5

The one thing that sets abstract expressionism apart from all other art forms is that the passion for the piece is directly channeled into the act of painting itself. The artist will usually … Abstract expressionism is the physical manifestation of passion on the canvas.

This movement is generally credited with having its start in America following World War II. Robert Coates coined the term somewhere around 1946. This is the first art movement that is credited with having its roots in America, and its impact is still being felt to this day.

Some of the first artists to employ this method include Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, and Willem de Kooning. They resided almost exclusively in New York and formed what was called “the New York School.” At the time there were few art critics and even fewer paying attention to this particular movement. Even though the public at large did not know about the artists that lived among them, they developed fans among the critics who had encountered them, and those critics voices would continue to support them from this period until the movement reached popularity in

The style itself is varied but relies on gestural painting, a surrealist’s appreciation for the immediate, and is by necessary a rapid and forceful process. The name stems from other movements such as Surrealism that value subjective appreciation above actual representation. The fact that these artists were trying to convey feelings and not represent objects is where the word abstract comes from. The word “expressionism” stems from the technique. Their goal was the raw transmission of passion through not only the result but the method of achieving it. The act of painting had finally become as important as the painting itself.

The work is noted for what appears at face value to be a strong reliance on chance, but after careful inspection it is revealed that most of these “accidents” were well planned by their creators. Many works by artists such as Pollock were labeled abstract expressionism even when they did not meet the profile and this has blurred somewhat the idea of what pieces fall under the heading.

That said, there are a few pieces you can check out that are undoubtedly indicative of the movement as a whole. These include: “Popeii” by Hans Hofmann, “Virginia Landscape” by Arshile Gorky, “Woman” by Willem de Kooning, “1951-N” by Clyfford Still, and “Birth” by Jackson Pollock.

Even though this movement was cast aside by the coming of Pop Art in the sixties, its impact on the art culture of today is undeniable. There are still many contemporary artists like Fuller Potter and Jack Bush still expanding the style’s visual representations and applications to this day. This art form will always be, the same as any one of its pieces, one of a kind. As American critic Rosenberg said many years ago, “The canvas was not a picture, but an event.”