ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

Started in New York in the 40’s and 50’s

Cultivated through:Expressionism Social RealismRegionalist Surrealism

Developed in the context of overlapping diverse sources and inspirations

Artists used their paintings to reveal their subconscious without a specific subject in mind

Genuinely free and loosely structured

Gave artists liberty to convey attitudes and emotions

An approach to modernism/post-modernism

Non-traditional art

Unifying theme of shapes, lines, and forms meant to create

Unifying factor for artists was exploration of the avant garde of abstraction

Declaration of personal freedom

“To understand Abstract Expressionism, one must understand the crisis of war and its aftermath.” (Warner Hammersting, 1998)

A movement of the mid 20th century comprising diverse styles and techniques and emphasizing non tradtional means.

Two main concepts:Energetic gestures (action painting)Open fields of color

Action Painting Uses impulsive gestures to splatter paint onto the canvas

The artist would drip or pour paint directly onto the canvas

Harnessed large canvases to the floor and used abnormal tools like sticks and knives to spread paint throughout the entire canvas.

Jackson Pollock was considered to be the creator of the action drip painting

Jackson Pollock Born in Wyoming

Had four siblings who all became artists

Thomas Hart Benton, a realist, introduced him to non-objective painting

David Alfaro Siqueiros introduced him to large scale paintins as well as the drip and paint technique

Number 8, 1949 (detail) 1949 (280 Kb)

Lavender Mist: Number 1, 1950

Full Fathom Five; 1947

Color Fields Focuses on the shape and color.

Artists would use the basic elements as a means of expression

They have no focal point

Emphasizes the flatness of the canvas

This technique is very simple

Pressures audience to explore the deeper emotions the artist put into the canvas

The overlapping areas of flat color create tension

Mark Rothko Born in Dvinsk, Russia

Moved to New York and enrolled in the Art Student League

Was introduced to expressionism in the 1920’s

Violet, Black, Orange, Yellow on White and Red; 1949

Slow Swirl at the Edge of the Sea Mark Rothko-1944

Four Darks in Red, 1958.

Willem De Kooning Born in Rotterdam

Dutch American abstract expressionist

Known for pure abstractions of human figure and landscape

“The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I think. All that we can hope for is to put some order into ourselves. ” — Willem de Kooning

Woman III, 1953

Woman V, 1953

Gotham News, 1955

Lee Krasner Born in Brooklyn, New York

Known for cutting apart drawings to create collages

Small surviving body of work

Wife of Krasner

Noon, 1947

White Squares

Impact Started abstract canvas phase

Painting have people something to relate to

Moved away from “contained art” concept

Moved focus from Europe to America