HH Arnason - Abstract Expressionism And The New American Art (Ch. 19)

8/17/2019 HH Arnason - Abstract Expressionism And The New American Art (Ch. 19)

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Abstract Expressionism and theNew Amerian rt

D coking bak on the fores, te erin pnterBarnet Newm realed that s of s generaon:felt the moa crisis of a wold in shambles a world devasated by a eat depressio and a erce world war ad it

was mpossible at tat me to pat e kd of paitngs

hat we were dog-owe, relnng nudes ad peope

plang te elo Tis was o moral risis elao to wat t o pant.

In 1942, mmeately aer the Unted States's enry intoWord War , the domnat styles of painng were sl

Soil Reasm and gonasm (see hapter 8). The wontributed to a ferment that brougt on the reaon ofhe st major orina dreon in the story of mean

paning, Absrat Expressioism, or as it is more gener

iay aled the New York Shool Atude ondonedby he waa sense of aenaon d a loss of i in

old systems and old forms of expression-led sts to

explore a broad rge of inteeua hought om exsten

alism to the theories of Sigmund Freud d Crl JgThe evastaon of Euopes ulura enes by the seond

maor war ree deades reated a auum thearord that New Yrk was poised to Moreover, heemerging polrized pois of the Cold W lent weightto what was pereived as he quntessena merianess

of Absat Expressiosm�its vtay spontaneity ad

ondent sleas a onter to he popa Western

age of oust ultre as ab, povershed adstatedomnated

Entering a New Arena: Modes ofbstract Expressionism

The diverse group of arsts involved were opposed to llforms of Soial Reasm and y art form that smaked of

naonlism Noneheless a number of them had oeons wih he meran West and to a degree ulvated an

anEurope stae Muh as they admred Mondrian, who was present n New York by 1940 they aso reeted

as vl he pure geomeri abstraon, promoted withe rak of he meran Abstrat rist (),his art had engendered Ameria On the oe

the relaonship of he new movement to he EuopSurelists some of whom also sought rege

in New York was rtial The mers were padrawn to he organ absat automast SulMaa, Mr6, and Masson (see hapter 15). Mat w in New York om 939 to 98 helped odue of psy automasm to the Absat Expressioists Ameras were less onerned wth he new od means of tappg to the unonsious than as a lb proedre hat ould lead t e exploaon of fo

The rord of he fores was fr om a oeommuny The experene of he Federa Ar Pj

the WPA had proided a degree of amaradere arst but largey the rss of he New York Shool eed formay in e sios and in the aterastaverns of Greenwh Vlage to disussad batte overthe buring ars issues of he day PGuggeeims gaery Art of Tis Cenry, fet

Europe Surrelists but aso beame a venue for yoarts ke Clord Sll obert Mothewell, d, aly, akon Pollok. A handl of other delers ad

ris, notably formaist Clement Greenberg

as Harold Rosenberg d Thoms Hes, eventualy pioned the ne movement. Greenbergs onepo

modernsm i n parul was ghy uena In aletre later published in 961 as Ar and Culu

advaed the idea hat rts abiy to oet powe wh humn expeene is independent of any repres

onl uaes it may have eognon by maor

seums ame more slowly The Museum of Moder

began t aqre works by a few of he arists fores and to lude their work in group ehibi

devoted to ontemporary mer art By 198 a ternatona apotheosis of Abstrat Expressios m

plae with he muses exhbton The New APaing, whh was devoted to the movement nd


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Eur o pean counries. Created at a point at which

ericn mony and poplr cltr wr oodng h xbion srvd as n assron of Aricando m nce

in hig h culr e as w ell.

lt hough Abstact Exprssionism is as vrs as th

ss ivolvd in a vy broad sns two min tndncisa y b notd. Th st is that of th so-cld gsralters concrnd n ffrnt ways h th spontanous

qu touch of th arst is or hr handwringd mphatc txr of th pint. It includd suchajr sts as Pollock Willm d Koog and Frnz

li Th othr goup consistd of th Color Fild

t rs concrnd with n abstract statmnt n trms ofa lg ud color shap or ara Hr on can ncludRhko Nwmn Stll d Gotlb as w as to agr Mothrwll and hardt n 48 svral ofese pntrs foundd an informal school cd th"ubc of th rtist Thy wr utd by thir bliftat absract art could xprss univrsal tmlss hms y had statd in a lttr to N Y shr is no such hing as a good painng about nohing.'We assrt that th subct is crucial thy ot dly hat subctmattr is vad whch is tac and mless. Evn at its most abstract art could convy a sns inRtkos works of tragdy cstsy and doom

The Picure as Even: Experimensi Gesural Paining

I 2 Harold osnbrg coind th pas acontng to dscib h procss by which h spontousst was nactd on h cavas H wrot:

At a ertai momet, te aa ea to appear to oe

merica paier aer aoer a a area wi toactrater a a a pace wi to reprode , redei aae or expre a ojet, atua Qaed.at wa to o o te ava wa ot a pitre ut

a evet.

hat th trm action painng ild to account for wast balanc hat hs arsts struck btn forhoughtand spontaniy; btn conrol nd th uxpctd.

Hfa

h carr of Hs Hof (880) ncompassdo wolds and o gnraons Born in Bavaaoan lvd nd stdd in Pris bwn 03 and4 xpncng th rang of nw movmnts omNoImprssionism to Fauvism and Cubism H pclarly clos to obrt Dlaunay (s chaptr 0 whosidas on color strucr wr a formav inunc n Hoann opnd s st school in Munich 2h movd to h Utd Stats to tach st at hUnivrsiy of Cifora Brkly hn at Nw York's ArtStdns Lagu a nd nly at his o n Hans HoanSchool of Fin rts in Nw York and in Proncton

Massachustts Hofmann's gratst concrn as a ptrtachr and thorcian lay in hs concpts of pictorialstructu wch wr basd on arctctonic principlsrootd in Cubism. Ths dd not prvnt om attmpting th st kinds of automatc pantng A numbr ofsuch works xcutd in th midfors although on asm scal ancipatd Pollock's ip pnngs

During th last twntysix yrs of s if Hoann

mad abstractons of amaing viy anging om a prcis but pintly gomtry to a lyricl xprssioism. Ins bstknown works Hoann usd thick rctngulrslabs of pant and lignd thm ih th picr's dg (g19.1) dmonstang his idas about color as a spaccratng dvic Whil th rctngls of colo arm h litral atnss of th pictr thy lso appa to advanc andrcd spaally crang what Hofmann calld a push nd pll ct Lk hs fllow Grman g Josf AbrsHofm was on of th prmir rt ducators nd thorcis in th Utd Stats and is iunc on a gnraon of yongr atsts such as L Krasnr (s g )

and cics incluig Clmnt Grnbrg was normous

Ha Hmann a 959 O n ana62% 4 9 m .2 m) Slm R ggnmMm w Yk

CATR ASRA XRSSIOSM A W AMRA AR 4 1 1


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rAmenian-b se Gory (19058 was a seminalgue n the ely yeas f the New Yk Schl He was alagely self-taught ast whse wk cnsituted a cticlin beteen Eupen Selism and Amecn AbsactExpessinism l aved in the United States in 920,a egee fm the Tukish cmpaign f gencide againstthe Amenians His ealy epements wth bth guain

2 Arsl kyThe Arist Hs Mth 92936 Oil nnv 60 X 50 52 X 2 m tnl lly ArWshng D.

3 Arhl rky heLiv Is he 9 O n cnv6 X 2 ( 9x 2 5Alrghx Art ll w Yk

and absacn wee deeply enced by Cz a ten Picass and Mi6 He aceved a sn

mde in rtt and H Mothr (g 92 h

' t

pait based n n ld faily phtgap in st psed beside mhe, well befe s ieihstarvaton in his ms.

( <By he ealy fes k was evlvng his m l

a highly gal mde f expessn that cmbi nes

. . hybd fms Wh ch, d cl One f is m st ts paing, Lvr th CokJ om 44 �i93), is a lge cmpsin that esembles bt fand vast ldscape nd a icscpicaly detal d eanatmy k cmbined veled but ecgni able h such as aws feahes, wth vety sexal fms eg an eically chaged amsphee ed i sbushed, elgent cl His bimphic imae 0\rmuch t ndnsk nd M, whse wks ewell, and t te Sealist atmasm f Mssn Mata, bth in New Yk in the fes he yea mths pantng, y met Betn, the self ap

eleade f he Sueliss, wh tk a stng intees wk and anged f it t be shwn at a New Yk in 94

Althugh its sbject is delbeately ambiguus, te ping Btrotha II is ne f tee cmpsishe se te hat l bilt aund he cenal if a m n hseback Ove a delicate line sclie st apped anspent washes f muted cl, laing visible the acks f his bush It was his dynamic balance beteen epesentainl and ms that appealed t k's cntempes likeKg Flwng a sees f taumac events

412 CA ATACT X SSOSM A T W AM CA A


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ed hims elf n his s uo 19 48, just as hs felow g · h d b d his ct Epesssts, w ose wo( was e te to sA ple wee n seous momentum in New Yok. x

lm d KigW de Koog 07) was a cenal ue ofA s ct pessioism, even thouh he was not one of he

rst emee the pubc eye dun the foies Bo

u tterdam, the Netelands, de Koonin udewent' "

g us rsc in at the edam cademy He

e he Uited States in 126, whee, thouhout theres, he slowly made he nsion om house painte,

ecil desine, d Sunday pate to -te ist.Of he umost impotance was his ealy encounte ih

t Davs, Goly, and te iuen Russianbon

inte John Gaham, "the thee smtest uys on escene, accodn to de Kooin They wee his equentcpnions to The Meopolitan Museum of t, whee its possible to see emples of cient and oldmaste atAlthuh he dd not ehibit unl 8, de Kooi s

n ndeound foce amon youne epeentalintes by he ealy foes

ne of he most emarkable aspec of de Koonin'slent was hs abity to shi beeen epesentaional

n abstact modes, which he neve held to be mually clusive He connued to mke painns of es to

1 sevenes, but even many of hs most abstact comsiions contain emnans of o alusions to te ueven absact shapes must have a ikeness, he said I telt foes he made a bold oup of black-and-white bsacons n which he had ly assiiated he tene ofCubism, whch he made ove into a dymic, pintely

i. Usin comecia enel pint, he made a lelyblack composion Pantn houh which he spead auid neok of white les occasionlly lowin theeiu to i on cose down the suface 19.4)

19.4 Wllem de Koog oni 9 Emel d ol cs 2% 56 ( 03 25 m he Msemo Mode At ew Yok

195 Wlem de Koog Wmn, I 95052 Ol os 63 0 ( 9 . m. The Msem oMode A ew Yok

etain ecozable foms�a hat nd love at he uppehtcan be detected. lsewhee in he pice, deKoonin subsumed uave efeences ihin hyh

mically ow ines, cea vesal foms that conas hs chacteisc shothand fo the human body ePann was shown n de Koons st solo show inNew Yok, it ws acquied by The Museum of Modent, and de Koonin thus emeed publcly as one of te pionees of a new style

While he was mal


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a Renaissance nude, a Pcasso porrat, or a curvaceousmerican move star, ih her bg, ferocous gn Over the years when he was questoned about hs panngs of women, de Koonng emphaszed he dua naure of ter sexual identy, claimig ey derved ply from te fem nine wthn hmsel By the mdes the women panngs gave way to composons sometmes called abstract urban landscapes," whch, wt ter slashng lines and coing forms reect the lively, grtty aosphere ofNew York Cy streets In Gotham Nw (g 196) de Koonng dragged charcoal trough wet pant, churnng up te sce to create a heated atmosphere that pulsates wt an intense metropolta beat Ths s a quitessenal example of ges ral Abstract Expressionsm, wit he hand of te arst te emotion- packed gestre, everywere apparent

In te siies, de Koong moved to a large light ed studo on Lng Island where he coninued hs exploaon

of the woman theme although as he sd in a morefrendly and pastoral ven In Two ur n a anap(g 97, te gures are barely decipherable amdbaroque oushes of lush, qd medm De Koong

connued to paint bll iantly nto e eighes (he stopped n 990 because of debiltang lness), ad, altough e works are largely abstract, te suggeion of ges lks in e curvng folds of pant (g 19.8 Here n hs chac teristic lght, delicate paette of rose yellow green, blue and whte, de Koonng has decelerated hs olent brush stroe nto a gandly ud, almost Rubenesque ow of gacel color shapes

196 Wil e Gh

o onmgt am N, 1Oil on cvas, 59' ). 67(15 X 2m) Albgh A allBu f lo, Ne w Y or k '

197 m de oog o Fgs n a Landscap 16Ol o anvs 0" X 68 18 X 2) Seeqk MuseAstd

Pckccordng t e Koog, t ws Jkon Po(92), w e radcal drp" painngs he began make n te late fores who broke he ce" Halng

te West oock became a huge force on eNew Y

art scene, vng hard kg had ad ten dng v

letly in a car accdent at a yog age He achiev e

414 T : B XP ONM ND T N W MR RT


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tre of mytic proporons By the es he was an

ternaonal symbol of te new Amecn pantng nd

ans an icon of te post-Wold Wr arst Poocke to New York om Cody, Wyoming, by way of

izona and Califora Un 32 he studied at te

198 Wl oog Piate (Un/ 19 Olo ca '4 '4 [2X 1 9 h uof or A N Yo

At Students League t Thomas Ht Benton

(see g. 832), who represented, Poock said,"sometng aganst wch to react very songly,later on Neverteless tere is a relaion beeen

Pollock's abstract aabesques nd Benton's rhyt

micl gurave pattes The landscapes of Ryder(see g 2.3) as wel as te work of te Mexicanmuralists (see gs 18 87) were mporttsources for Pollock's violenty expressive eay

nngs as were the automatc metods of

Masson and M6 In 3 he Museum ofModern At mounte a large Picsso ebion, a

cataltic event for atsts


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190 Jcs Plc Number I, 1950 (lavende Mist). 950 O nmel an almn cnvs 7'4" X 2 X 3tin le Art Wngt D.C.

hs wfe, the painter Lee Krasner, "'I chose to vel themagery." That magery has been analyzed withn thebroad spectrum of Pollock's sual ntests ncludngual Naaho sand pntng Acan sculptue pehstoricat and Egyptan pantng Some hae seen edence ofJungan themes n the powerfully psychc contet of theatsts eary work Carl ]ungs eores of the collecteunonscous as a repostory Or ancent mys and unvers archetpes were a frequent topc of dscusson nAbstract Expressonist crcles Pollock underwent psychoalyss wth ungan analysts beginnng in 1939.

By 1947 Pollock had begun to expement with lloer

pantng a labynthne network of lnes splattes, andpnt drps i·om whch emeged the great drp" orpoured panngs of e next years Nu 1 15Lvnd M (g. 19.10) s one of hs most beutfuldip pntngs wth s ntrcate web of ol colors mxedith black enmel and alumnum pant ne can trace themoements of the artsts arm swi and assured, as hedeployed stcks o dried-out bushes to drp paint onto thesuface Hs lnes are dorced om any descriptve funcon and nge om stnglke thnness to coagulated puddes, mergng nto a hazy, lumnous \:hole that seems tohoer aboe the pcture plne rather than llusonstcally

behnd t These pantngs, generally executed oncanvas lad out on the oor, are popularly assocatsocalled acton pantng It was neer the en

crtc Harold Rosenberg n conng ths term to macton panting was lmted to a kind of athletc ebut rather that e pocess of pntng was as mpothe completed pcture Despte the fuous and sehaphaz;d nature of hs methods Pollocks pntnot a ompletely uncontrolled ntute ct Thequeston that, n hs pantngs and those of otherExpressonsts, the elements of ntuton and acca large and delberate part�ths was ndeed on

prncpal contributons of Abstact Expressonshad found ts own inspr1ton n Surrealsms uto


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"holism, gthr i t larg scal of t wo � ks, ro-d d ao hr concpat of wal painng ffrntuceo t tra on of asl painng. In 46 Pollock, who

b ork d on mal projcts for WPA, said h wantd

0 an t pic rs tat "ncon wn h asl and ht r A scholar Elizath Frank hs win, "Ovr hu ·ex tr yrs, Pollock mad gt art out of is 'haay

tt e, pr servng th tnsion wn th asl pictur,

its capac to draw viwr nto a cv wold, ande mual or wll pictr, wi its powr to hait the rs own spac This was al rak om th

Re aissn c ida of paing dtachd om spctator, to

look at s a slfcontand unit Th panng cam an e ro t at ncompassd th spctator Th fgof asoon or pacipaion is hightnd y h i

19.11 Jacson Pollock at wor i his Long Island sdo 1 950

g of t picr spac Th colors nd lins, atough nvr puncturng dp prspcv hols n surfac, sll crat a sns of connuous movmnt, a llog, a srng ack ad forth, witn a limtd dph Poock rfrrd to g " his paings whn h workd, and No. 1 1950 (Lavender Mis) racks of is litra prsnc ar rcordd in s own handprins, spclly at uppr l dg n 50, partly to displ his mag pop

ulr prss as a mad ast snslssly inging pant at canvas, Poock allowd photographr Has Nuh to im at work at his Long slad sdio Th rsult is a valual documnt of aists mthods, which

mracd o spontani d prmditaon, conrol and larang dom (g 1911)I many ways, Poock dpartd om th raion of naissanc and modrn painng for him, and alough h had no dir slisc followrs, h signicany actd t cours of pmntal painng ar him

Pollock princd a priod of crisis and dout i th wak of th succss of is drp paigs ad i lat 50

h g to rplor prolms of gu n svra dangs ad pangs, prdominany usg lackBwn 53 nd 56 h rd to aiona rush pang, somms hav in mpasto, ad volving mags rmiscnt of panngs of aly fors n magistria Porrait and a Dream, 53 g. 1912), h constructd a vsual dalogu wn o mods At h drippd lack pt in asactd pats that vaguly suggst human anatomis At ght, i what many hav rad as a slf-porait, h rsortd to ovr g uraon ih rushapplid color t is s gur is latnt itin s ws of pant and, wit a fw adusmnts

of is arm, hos ws coud cal up n imag. "Whn your paing out of your unconscious, Polock said,"gurs ar ound to mrg. Ths latr works surd

cca opion whn compard to th drip panng-

19.12 Jacson Poloc, Po!it and a Dream, 1 953 Enael on canvas, 4' 1 0" X 1 1 '2W' 1 48 X 3.4 ) DallasMuseum ofAr.

CHATR 19 ' ABSTRAT XPE SSONSM AND TH NW AMRIAN AT 417


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vn som of ollocks stongst suppots saw thm as aat Th black-andwhit canvass and th pintingsthat followd suggst a nw phas of signa impotancufottly tminatd by th atiss pma dahin 56

rasrBoolybo Lee an (08-84) civd acadmcaiing at svl Nw Yok at schools bfo joining hMural Division of th WA in 35 From 37 to 40sh was a sudnt of Hns Hofmann fom whom sh sidsh "land th udimnts of Cubism Subsquntlysh oind th dvotd to nonobcv at in haion of Mondian and xhibitd Cubist abstacons

thi up shows Kasn bcam acuantd wihPolock in 42, whn John Gaham includd thi wokin a show of young asts h flt showd poms Kasnd Pollock bgan to sha a suo in 42, marid n 45, and locatd to Long sland Unlik PolockKsn flt a gnal antipathy towad th Sualists ndthi automac mthods du in pat as rt histoianBba Ros has shown to th ndamntly misogyistattds of th Euopn Sulist igs (compounddby th gnal maginlization of womn witin AbsactExpssionist cicls) houghout th fotis and s woking in th psnc of Pollocks focl psonlty

Kasn gadually movd away fom Cubistbasd fomsto a concn fo spontanous gst and lagsclllov compositions whil maining commitd to aMondiansqu sns of stuc

Btwn 5 and 62, following th aumas ofPolocks dath s wll as that of h moh asn mada sis of Umber paintings so-cld fo thi pdominntly bownish hus which th aist onc fd to as"cololss In Pola Stampede (g 193 sh appoachdth canvas with a loadd bush allong h mdium tosplsh nd xplod acoss th canvas unl it smbld a vast glacial landscap that has bn sd up s th l

1913 Lee K Pa Sm 19O o coto c 79-�X 133 % [2 4

· olectio ov

asneFoun ation.

suggsts by h pouding hoovs of wild imls did not allow hsf impovisational dom to

g prcticd by Polock fo vn in such a boll y gtabsacion, h stroks hav a gul hytmical bt a sns of mposd suc

Kasn had mployd th collag mium gout h ca n 76 sh cut up h own daw panngsCubist woks mad w sh was a ostdntand ssmbld th sicd mags into nw positons Th shp cutout foms of Imperatv (19.4 ovlap and intrpnat on noth ioicoing lk th Cubist shads h oinal riBy muating h own past wok Kasn lway t

19 14 Lee Krer mpave 176. Oil hrol e o v, 50 0" [127 X 17 ) Ntollle of A, Whigto, D. .

418 PTE · BTT EX OM D TE W M T


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Ti d TbeyUntil he midfortes, ae Wae To (18

153) was one of he most sensitve nd accomplishedAmericans working in an absract Cubist stye Towardthe end of the decade he completed a group of pictogaphic composiions related to those of Adolph Gotieb,cuding u Nht (g ), where he supermposed signs resembling ancient hieroglyphs over ooselybshed and delicately colored backgrouns. n 148 hebegan to expeiment wth a form of ·ee caligraphy, pn-cipaly in black and white, which derived ·om hs interest automasm, Zen uddhism, and Japanese brush paint-g rom this moment, Tomlin retrned dung the lastthee or Our years of his fe to paintely abstracons n

whch deicate and apparently spontaneous dabs of pintcreate shimmeng, allover compositions. In these socaledpeta paintngs," Tomlin discovered some of the lyricsmand luminosi of Impressiost landscapes, but he sub-jected hs stokes to the pictoal discipne of a looselymped grd

Ma e (180176) moved to Seattle om NewYork in 22, and, though he worked far om the astcmaistream, he produced a unique body of work in stepwth the most advnced tendencies in New York at thatme Tobey was drawn by a profound inner compulsionto a personal knd of abstract expression with songly

relgous overtones He was a convet to the ahi faith,which, he said, sresses the unit of the word nd theoneness of manknd" He began studyng Chinese brush pitng in 123 and in he hrties stded Zen uddhismn China and Japn In Broadway (g ) Tobeyapped he lessons of caligraphy to communicate his

vd memories of ew York His mated ne, wh itstcate, jazzy rhthmshe clled it whte wring"captres he ghts, noise, and enetic tempo of he citke de Koong or Polock, Tobey moved beween gurave and abstract modes throughout the fortes . In hsbestknown pictures, such as Unersal Feld (g ),

19.7 radey\ k oi, Al o Nt9 Oi cnvsl,2 6( 1 626 em).

the white wng becomes a knd of nonrefercalligaphy that is a smascle, wrstpinted version

tbroader, amgestred, alover srfaces poured by llTobey, who acuay composed pings o arabesques and uid color before Polock's allover paings here creates a ed charged th ener aght, as les zip and at hough a shlelectred space

98 Mr oey, o, c 95 eer onMonie, 26 X 9" (66 X 49 ). he etrooitMeu o Art, New York

420 A AA PIOM D E W M A


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GusnP Go 9380 wa exelle from Manual gh hool n Lo gee along wh h lamaeon ollo r lamoonng he oneae nglhrmen n her own broae ollo wa ream- bu uon e off on h own worng a o job nng ar hool brey a well a meeng of her oh Ree Club He followe ollo o Newor an n 936 gne u fo he mural eon of heA. By he mOre rawng on h ere ue of

1919 Mrk Tey,Uel Fel 1 99Pste nd teer ndrd, 739 X 6 tey Mueu Aercn Art, Ne Yk

Cubm he ala Renaae he anng of eChro a Beman uon wa anng myeou

ene of ge

iomee ae wor ha ee

hm a naonl euaonuon augh anng fo a me n Iowa Cy an S .

Lo an n he lae foe began o eemen whlooey geome abao e many an ealof oub he mae h abra geal ang 9. Thee onae eely woen newo of ho roe n era n hozonal oguaon (g

1 9.0 Phl p GstZe 9535Ol n cnvs, 6 X

6 X he Edd R Brd Tust Angeles

A 19 ASAT E OM A T EW AMAN A 421


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that reveal an admiraon for Mondan. The heavy impasto, serene mood, and subtle uctatg light in hs

muted reds, pinks and gays caused some to see these works as lyricl landscapes, erning Guston the label

"Abstract Impressionist But Guston, who had neglgble interest in the Impressionsts explned, I of pt ing more n terms of the drama of this process thn do of'naturl forces

hroughout the es Guston employed larger and more emphatic gestures n hs abstacons, wth a tendency to concentrate centlized color masses whin a ight an

uid environment n 1962 the Guggeeim Museum monted a major Guston retospectve did New YorksJewsh Museum 1966 But despite these externl suc cesses Guston was experiencng a crisis in his art wth con

cerns about abstactons limited potenial for expressing

the ll gamut of humn expeence. This came at a me when the New York atord was undergoing a profond shi n mood with yong Pop atsts nd hrd-edge abstractonists castig a critc eye over what they regaded

as tle emotional excesses of their arsc predecessors. n the late sLties Gston returned to recogniable magey astonishing the arold th intensely person, some tmes nightmash images a crude catoosh style got sick and tired of all that prity he sad, [I] wnted to tell stories A gifted drasman wth a penchant for carca

tre as well an abiding fondness for coons and sig nicantly for the wrting of Fran Ka nd Smuel

11 ilip Sd, 16 l48 X 42 "(121. 9 X 1 0 67 e m) Privat e;

" 11' 0"

0 eho

Beckett Gston composed hau sce i n a ch ra ct e r s c p al e e o f p i k black ' ,

red At rst he invented nrrav es f ea omnous hooded ges, her a b identity rangg om maraui ng Ku KK l n m e mb e rs to th e ar s t h i m se lf at h i s e( f ig. 19.21) I n H e a d an d B ot l e , Gu s en vi s io n ed h i ms elf a s a g ro tes qu e, dsemb i e d h ea d, fush ed an d s t ubble - co v er e, h s o n e vs ible e y e d e o p en. Wh e were show in New York, Gustons r pa nt ing s w e re see n b y m n y, i n clu in b fo r me r der ct or s a nd s up po rt ers, as a betr of abstracon ad an acquescence to urP op t e nd s. In m n y w y s th e ll im p li at of Gstons powerlly mong late ca

were not realed l they provide key nspraion for te New Image an Nxpressioist pnters of the erly see

and eighes (see chapters 24 and 26

Eai d Kig ad ra HartigaEe de Kog (9889) is probably best !o the gave pangs she made in the es. Hoe at her death a group of abstractons om the rties w

dscovered among er beonngs that revel her e experments hn an Abstact Expressionst mode spent the summer of 948 a t Black Mount CollegNorth Crolna with her husbnd, Willem de Koo(they had maried n 943) At the vtaton of Albers Wilem had joned the dsngushed faculty a experiment school as a vsitng st lae de Koo lways acknowledged the mportnce of her husb

paings well as those of their end, Arshe Gorkher own work: heir reverence nd knowledge of

materials teir constant attenton to rt of the past an eveg ound them smultaneously established fo

the whole level of consciosness as te way n rst shbe n Unled ) Numer 15, pnted dung the s of 1948, she set suggesve biomorphc forms a midst m

geomerc shapes recling her hsbnds work of the moment (see g 194) Following the smmer at B

Motin de Koog begn to wrte on contempo rr

for Tnew e keen percepons, as well as her vn pot a pracicng tst who lew her subject rsh endowed authrity to her ritng n he es and si

de Kooning dsplayed expressive tendencies n a g

of mae pors (ncudng sevrl of ohn F. Kenner porayl of art critc arold Rsenberg (g 19

422 A : AAT EOIM AD NW AMA A


14/36

19. lae d ong, o oe #3, 1956.l o avas, '8" X 4' OW (2 X 1 5 ) atoal oatGlley, Sthsona son, ashngon, C

ne of the chmpios of Abstract Expressosm, showsw she brought the gestrasm of the Ne York Schoolt ber o grave subjects.

Gce Hg (b 1922) ws eve youger memer of the New York School tha le de Koog, bute who lso witessed the crtcal arsc developmets iN York at cose rage A so-cled secod-geeraoAbsact xpressost, Harg was deeply affected as a

youg arst by her ecoter h Polock's p pigsd Wle m de Kooig's blackdwhte pigs, bothshow New York 1948 Like de Koog hosefmous perambulao trough dowto Ne York were fodder for hs stridet "urb ldscapes (see g196), Hrg foud sprao the most daespects of c fe I Gares, 1955 (g 19.23) shedepcted he tawdry oergs of a storeot do,

rasformg them ito a glowg sl fe wch heloosely brushed but leble forms are puled up to the pcre ple ad dspersed evely across he cvas WleHrtgas rch plee s a knd of homage to Masse herhomely subect matter pregures work by rsts of the sxtes such as Claes Oldeburg (see g 212) I the latees Harg embrked o a series of stcve gesturlabstracos bere resug a hghly abstracted brad ofgrao he folowg decade

Complex Simplicities: Color Fieldainting

Alhough the dvsos betwee gestrl d olor Feldpig are somehat arcal, here were both formlad coceptul ereces betwee arsts such as ned de Koog o he oe hd d Mrk Rohko dBre Nem o the other 1943 Rtko Ne,ad Adolph Gotteb stated ther purpose i a letter toe N rk Tmes: "We vor the smple expresso ofhe complex thought We re for the large shape becauset has the mpact of the ueqvocal We sh to reassertthe picure ple We re for at forms because theydesroy illuso d revel truth These rsts fervelybeleved that abstract art as ot "subjectless d that

1 93 Gace Hagan, 19 O ocavas 5'3" X 6'916 X 21 eugerMse of t olge atPchase State Unvesy Ne Yok.

A AA X OM A W AMEAN A 423


15/36

")

'.

1

,

no maer how reducve, it cold commuicate the most profound subjects and eicit a deep emoon esponse ithe viewer. I heir sech for universl subject mater, for"smbols as Roto 'said " of mans primtve fers nd

movaons he sts ooked to my sorces, ncluding

Jungan theory, Srealist racce, and the art of non

Eropen sociees.

Rthkk Roko (1903-70) emigated to he United States with his Russineh mily n 93 and moved ten

years ater to New Yor where h e sdied wth MWebeat the Art Stdents League. Throughout the thirtes he

made gurave pngs on mosy urban themes nd n

935 formed ndependent ss goup with Gottliebcaed "The Ten In 940 n search of more profound

and unversal themes and impressed by hs readngs ofNiezsche and ng othko began to engage with cient myhs as a soce of "etern symbos In their etter

to e N k Tmes Roko, Newman, d Goeb procimed her "spual nship th primive andarchc art. thko rst made compositons based on

424 A 19 o ASA SSOM AD T W AM A

9 Ma R 8 8 nanva 6 X "78 X c ane eman e ACente Pugee,Ne Y

19.2 5 Mark Ro tho,

U n iled (R othk umb er

5068.49 ), 19 49. Oil o

canvas, 6'9 " X 56

[2 . 1 x 1 7 m). N otina

Gallery of A t,ang D.C


16/36


17/36

r :,r ' I

[

�

expmns, but rahr wantd to provok moonl and

vn anscndntl xpncs for th vwr.

aL


18/36

.2 antt Nwan Hus Subm 1 955 Ol n ana 7 1 % 1 7'9 (24 X 5 1 ) T um rnt w Y

ord o he cro he Hebrew ble meg dd o forke me?"

Stilo S 90480 who grew Whgoe d Alber Cd ffered om he other AbcExreo h rl ll of h g d erlc deelome ook lce ode of New York Ce hd howeer ehbed Peggy Gggehem' of

19.30 antNwan n t Css a Sln RGuggnim MuumNw Y Al 1 966Nw a NainalGally AWasng/n D.C

Th Cer beg 945 hk o othko d he Be Pro Gller 947 I 90 he moed toew York om S Frcco where he hd bee ecgt the rogee Cforn Schoo of Fe Ar ow theS Frcco Ar te. He remed ew York 96 whe he ook redece n the Mdcotryde Ferce rod d deede otorocorolg bo h work, d geell coemto ofthe r wold" Sl referred o ehb neqetl d

CR BRC XR M W MRC RT 427


19/36

19.31 lo Sil , 99. Ol o caas7" (23 7 . olecton ue ag a Meda,Wago

live at a cosiderable distce from the ex of the art

establishmet i New YorkSice the late thes, Still had pited i eely

abstact mer (which cotied some vesgal gratio) ivolvig large owig images executed heavy,

eve coarse, pat textres that he realzed wth bushes

ad palette kes. He repeatedly disvowed ay iterest

i Surreasm or the "mthmakg of s New York co

temporaes d reed to give iles to s works other

tha eutrl letters or dte) to prevet y asocoith a specic subject By 1947 he was workig o hugescle, sometimes eight by te feet 24 3 m, ihimmese crust eas of color a costat stte of d

though tgid movemet (g 191 These bscoshave bee descbed s awesome ldscapes tht combe

the drma ad vsess of the West-its mess, cayos,ad riversad the Romac ladscpe magery of Albert

Pikhm Ryder (see g 2.53 Art histoia RobertRoseblum characteized the drmc effect of Sll's c

vases s abstrct sublime Although the arst resisted ydirect ssociao betwee his compositos ad ldscape,

he oce said his work reected "mas stuggle d sio

with te Over the ext twey yes Sl persisted

his basic image, predot coor vaig i vaue adshot hrough with brlliat or somber accets

RehardtAd edt 19137 wa eady pitig

b

th th. H scons 1 e ate Ires. e w superb cd o ' I

.

. pa st, a merc ess y InCISVe wter, and stdet of Orietal art A he wote i a proimagaze i 1962, he ws for '(art-st," elbortin

h b h su art, ecessa y stract, as o g to do if th d " · a dIsses o e er a y m or exste oubt

TJthig to say about t ad life is ht rt is t ad li

. . . At that I a mtter of fe ad death eith ee, he wrote Reihdt regarded the tl of m)•gedy amog the Abstrct Expressioists s hosese ad objected to ay associo ofhis at ideals of the goup er absct expeimets i es, Rehardt beg the early es to silplette to a sigle color. The st groups ofsuch were ll red or all blue (g. 92 d the l wch he worked for the rest of hs fe was all blcrst observes these lter pags smply as mooc

eds With me however ad especiay ith thpatgs), there begis to emerge secod ier i smller rectgle, sque or cel cross cositin

93 AReat ang 952. O oca 63 9

aegi MofA sbu

428 CATR ATRAT XRIM A TH W AMRCA ART


20/36

h erent vlue or tone of the color, what t histog Ye-An Boi ed "the ve trnformaon of onean" Th

. . ' a lr into two.

ee pmgs are tc, syetc ,

oring to the t, eles hey rewd low:ng d re powely hpno in their effectlogh inhdt apped hs olor th brushes, he did

0 ithout leving the slightest ace of hs implement on

�e

rce. H stted purpoe was the eimiton of all

ocion, ll extreous elements, all ymbol nd ign,

ad te renement of pintngs to a ngle domit expe-

ence. Durng the sixes d evenes, Reinhardt wsmuch ired by Mnimist tit d beame something lt gre mong Coneptul tst, ply due to

wrings nd extreme positons on the nature and

non ofthe arst

Gotliebrn n New ork City, Adolph Gotteb (1903-74)

ied t the t Student Lege with John Slon d

bert He see g. 18.1, 18.2) While vising Europe

in 2122, he became awe of Europe expements inbim, bation, and expressiosm The endship formed th Rothko, Newman, nd Milton Ave n theenes were rucil for hs ure dvelopment Dring a in zona dug 193738, Gotleb made numberf uriou pntng of objet piked up om the deertnd rrnged wthin rectnglr compartmen. heencipted the Pitogph irregl painted grds edi oiensionl ideogm wch oupied the rtbeeen 1941 and 1953 g 1933) Goteb ompoedi pntg titively, drawing on utomatist method el a on s terest in nient myth d l he

itogphsthe term iself mpe preistorc ave pantinghad Europe soues, om Mondn 6, ndlee, to the Cubt grd of Uruguayn st orrer However, it wa alo ian and Nave menrt, notbly tht of the Northwet ot Kwl


21/36

194 Adl Gl f ss 1 94. O cvs 76 X 5 2.3 m alas Msm At

30 HR · BRT XREM D T W MER


22/36

5 Rbt Mtwll Po Va Dead ad Alv43. Gac and l wt cad-pd pap onrdbad X 35 7 7 X 9 ) Ms f t w Yok

1.6 Rbrt Mtwll Ely h Spa Rpb N 3,5354 Ol n cana 6' X '" ( X 5 m Albg-Knxrt Gl Bfao w Yk.

exampls is Pnho l Ded nd Ale 1943 (g.95). Moerwell who had aveled to Mexico wihMatta, had been uck by a photograph of he revoluonay gure, dead nd covered with bood The stick grerepresentng Villa relate directy to a panng by Picasoom the tene� but other forms in the collage were become ignaure Motherwel image uch as the ovoidhape held n tenion beeen verca rchitectura ele

ment Motherwell's involvement with the colage mediumwas more extenive han that of any of s AbactExpreiost coleague In the may exmps he connued to mke throughout hi career he used postcardpoters wine abes, or muica cores that constitte aviu day-by-day autobiographyI 1948 Motherwell made he t work of his greateries of absac panng enled El he pnshRepubl (g. 96), npred by i profound reacton tohe defeat of he Spaih Republic by scist forces n erly939 Unl i death n 991, he painted more than onehundred and variant of the Eleg theme hee work

tand in conast to the bianty coloistc colags ndpanng alo created by the rtist during the sme periodfor they were executed predominntly n trk black ndwhite "Black i deat; wte i fe, the rtst said t no

TR RC XR M MRIC R 31


23/36

\ I

!•,

" I 'l 1I .'• .,

19.37 Rober/ Mohewell Summe Open wih Medteranean Blue, 1974 Acyi on cavas 4 X 9 22 X 27

Coleion Dedas Fondato.

oincdene that Passo's monumental panting of protestanst the Spanish Cvl War, Gzernica (see g. 1546),was blak, \hte, and gray he Eleges onsisted x the

most part of a w large, smple Orms vertal retangles

holding ooid shapes n suspenson he sae inreased as

the seres progressed with some works on a mral sale

YVhile the loosely brushed, organi shapes hae been read

lteraly by some who have suggested that they mght

represent male gentalia reng to Spanish bul ghts,

Motherwell sad he nvented the Orms as emblems Or un

versal ragedyIn 19 67 the artst began a seond great seres known as

the Opens or "wall and window paintngs (g 3)Motherwell one sad he would rather look at �parks ortown squares with wals than at "raw natre "There ssomething n me he wrote "that responds to the starkbeauy of dividing a at sol d pl ane he penrange omrelatvely nOrm, althogh never Hat areas of olor tolarge-sale eerses n rhythmi variegated brshworkhere is always movement and lght wthn the grond, a

well a the so-alled window motf ommon to these paintings Alhough the en series ed its nepton prly to

Motherwells l!ong dialogue vth the art of Matsse, ;dpartiarly to wo of hs starkly redtve ompostions:om 1914 nvolving vevs om wndows, Motherwells

pantngs also onded wth the signant emergene ofMnimalst abstraon n New ork

Baziots

A end of Motherwell and Matta om he early OrtesWillam Baziotes ( 19126) eplored with them aspets

of Su·alist atomatism and was respeted enough by theEuropean Srrealists to b nluded in te group sosin New or Automatsm Or Bazotes \as not a matter of

improvisatonal gestre, wih all ts mpations fmotand angst Rather, t gided a slow and medtatve r

durng hih allusve, biomorph Orms emerged t

1 938 Wla Bazotes, Dusk, 958. Ol on caas,0� X 48'(53.4 X 1 22.6 c) Soloon R. GggenhemMuse New Yok.

432 CAER 1 9 . ABSRACT XPRSSOISM AD HE W AMRlCAN AR


24/36

ng roceeded. Devoted to ftasc, mc subjectpner Bziotes was a cofouder i 1948 of he Subjecs ' e rst school oe of the itelecal meeg laces0fe New York School. His pinng was chctezed by0ig uid diahous color ito which were workedirc shaes aw wih great sesiy ad sug

sve of crocosmic or marine life. The stange forms in

urk(g 1938) may have somethg i commo with

histoc fossils the kid the ast might have see one f his my visis to New York's Ameic Museumf Naral Hstory ke a umber of his feow AbstractExressioists Baziotes was fasciated by aeotologyndive ife forms.

Ding in Sel: Construcdlpture

Cnsructed sclre-as costed with scuture cast brze or modeed stoe-d rcury wededtl sctre costed a major irecto te by

eic artsts aer Wold Wr I.Smi ad DeerDad Sm 19066 a ioeer sctor of his geero workg weded steel sid of his medium: "Theteria ced ro or stel I hold i hgh resect Theetal iself ossesses ile t history. What associaos itssesses ae hose of cety: ower sucre moveet rogess, susesio, btay. Sth was bor eca Ilois ad bewee 1926 d 1932 he sdiedaig ialy wh Jo Slo, at he Art Sdetsge i New York {he ws ever formay ried as a

scltor) I he eary thires iigued by reoducosf Picsso's wededsteel sculres of 92930 (see g.10 s wel s the wors of Juio Gozez (see g.13 he saw oh Grahams coleco Smi begat eemet wih cosucted meta scultre ·He rstleaed to weld i a automoble at the sumer of192 d i 1933 he established a so i Brooy at

Termia Iro Works a commercil wedig sho. DugWold Wr II he wored i a ocomove ctoy where headvaced his techca eeriece i hdlg metals adthe sheer scle of ocomotves suggested to ossiblies for he moumetl develomet of is meta sure. Moreover these eerieces established he shthat Smith felt wih sklled dustil aborers.

Duig he hires ad fores Smith edowed hsscure wih a Surreist quty deved om PassoGozlez ad Giacomet I Ra rd (g 19 39),he suggests the vciousy aggressive skeleto of some geatairbore creare of rey Sith ad his wfe, the scultorDorothy Deher had urchased a hotoah of he fossis of a rehistoric yig creatre d both made use ofthe image heir work His wors of the ery es aele steel dawigs i sace, as Lttr (g. 194)whose meta glhs recl Golieb's ictograhc igs(see g. 933 Yet eve whe the scures were comosed wodimesioaly the atra setg see houghhe oe saces itroduced everchgig suggesos of

deh coor ad movemet.Towd the ed of the w Smth estabshed a sdio Bolto Ldig i ustate New York The so was acomlete mace sho ad drig he es ad siesSmith ouated the suroudig eds wih his sceswich were becomig more moumel scale adcoceio. Duig much of his caeer Smith worked oslre seies with deret seueces somemesovelaig chrooocy ad ivdual sclreswihi series varyig widely i form The Aco cosucos 929 coued the oe iea aoah(wih obvios agrria overtoes) we he ntn19661 were usuay mooitc grave sculresat mes emloig elemets om m or dustamachiery ntn I for emle icudes a re rod didustrial stee ste while he "head of he scutreresembles seet sigs I coast with most sctors whoused foud obecs i he sies Sth itegrated suchobjects i the to srucre so hat their oil co

939 ad Sm, a Bd 1 4748Sl, nz, an stnlssseel, 1 X 59 X "

(55 X 50 9 m) Wl tCt, Mnnas

CTR RCT XROM W MR RT 33


25/36

\ I'

;' , , ·

I -' : i • \

1940 ad Sm 1 90 Wl stl 37 X 9" [9 x 8 X 3 m) . Mus-Wlamsct stut Musum A tca, w Yk

was sbodnad o h oaly of h nw dsgnTs was Conscs sclp n h ognal sns ofNam Gabos Real Mano n whch ods do no

mrly srond mass b a aclad by foSgncan fo �r dvlopns n sclpr s h faca entnel Is no solad on a pdsal b ocps hws acal spac

941 a Smt l:Cb VIII 1 94 Salssst gt 98" [9 m)Musum f AtsBs; c Cub f1 93 Stalss stl g9 [7 m) alas Musumf At gt Cub I

1 94 Stalss st gt9" [ 9 m) T aGaly

2 ty Nuba Qu 1 90. Bz 1 4 X 8 [ 1 4 X 3 03 m) Rca L aga As w Y

3 CHR STRC XRSSOSM TH W MRC R


26/36

In his ls greatsees, begu i 1961 wi he geec

e of C Smih assembled moumeal geometc"es sless seel (g. 94) lways sesive to;e srfces of hs sculpes, Smh had o� painted

es bgh at color or Wt dscve ey:�xres. I e C seies he eercised parculr care ie shig of te surfaces o creae effects ofbrilliat aler clgraphy out of the highlyreectig, igt-saratedces The work commicaes a iimae sese of thess uch. Smith oly rrely employed workshop assis nd eve the C series th is macelke preciin was costuced ad ished by he ast Despitei ccer for te persol Smith's ar was crcl oe devopme of he more impersoal creaos ofmis riss i te sies

ty Dene (1901-94) was overshadowed as by her :mous husbad David Smith, ye for earlyfry yes she produced a distigished body of sculpreose oigis should be cosidered i e AbsactExressiois ieu She met Smith whle studyig pait

in a the rt Stdes League 1926 ad later becamecqited ih Davis Gorly d Avery. Deer workedin vrious grave syles u the lae forties whe she bega to eibit he work publicly lough may ofer ely absact paitgs ad drawigs demosrae astrs sesibily Deer id ot sa makg sculpre l 1955, ve yes aer she ad Smi had seped NanQ (g 942), a broze om 1960, isan opee, oemic costco cotaiig myteris picoaphic sis ike her cotemporaies i eNew York School, Deher soug o develop a pivaelnage it uiversal impicaos, ad like tem, as

r ttle mplis, she lied to tap e of aciet civizaons for forms ad meaig. mn archaeolost ofsorts she said per ith e pst.

Lipt ad aawOigilly tred s a dest, eLitn (19081 made st sculpres e lae tees ad begasg his work d eachig sculpre i te fores For his marers he hmmered d welded sheet

f Mel metl ickel-sver, or broei lrge spal volumes, suggesvet mes of teaeg plat forms orredaoy creatues i sharp, pro

9.44 l w Clouds of Maga1 Welded onze nd teel 44 '1 " '" 1 32 2 1 4 mleion h li p Johnon, ew Yor

943 Semo pton ee 1 57 icelilve on Moneletl length 2 3 1 8 (58 .4 457 Spener Mueof t Univeri of Kn wence

rudig feaes (g 943) His works combie moumetaliy ad repose it a sese of poey ad mysery.

Spaally they oer a itelay of eterior ad teorforms tat emphasize te ate of he mateialA e works aready see woud suggest maymeic scpors shed te dyamic opeform aeshecs espoused by e Abstrct pressioists. Ibssaw (b. 193 eve maged to threemesioalizePolocks allover webs of og lies, doig so i reiefsad eesadig cosucos formed as icae weldedcages (g. 944) However rater ta oocks dageuiibium of coidig opposieseedom d coolLassaw seemed more at oe it te myscl hrmoy ofMark Tobey. d deed he ws a sdet of e Germa

mystics d of Ze phiosophy

CA o AA M A W AMCA A 35


27/36

' I .' . · ' , , i

'· .I :

, I ) ,

9.5 Mk di SuvroHakcamo, 1 960 Woodnd c, nie woodnpeces ovrl 6'5 X 1 '5" X89 ( X 3 8 X . 7 m)Whiy Mueum of AmricnAt New Yok

19.46 Mrk di Suvro Auro/ 992-93 Se 1 6'4 X 96"X 6' (5 X 59 X 79 mNtiona Gay ofAWahigton, DC.

Di Suero and Chamberlain

Ma Suveo (b 1933) much younger than the otherat dcued in th chapter, wa till tudyng at atcoege in Clfornia when he Abact Expreontreached the pinacle of e n he mid-e But onlyhree yea aer ring n New York n 1957, d Suverowa ranlang he bold getre of Kline and de Kooningnto a damc culp iom Hankchampion, 960(g. 9.4), const of mve rough timber tha project in a precrous, even treatening, manner Thee ealywood piece omeme ncorporated chain, rope, and

found object like barel or tire cavenged oindutal landcape. Although e Suvero aed R

and Giacomei, the mot meangl and immeate a

c example for hm wa Smth, who changed culpre,

Suvero aid from an "objet d'at pe of hng to thing that i really tong, American indurial a."Desp

a drac accident in 1960, when he wa nearly cru hed

deah in an elevator by he mdixe i Suvero w

ing work in teel o large they requred a crane Aho

he ha made many mallcale work, he bet ko· the monumental outdoor culpre he ha made nce

436 CHAPTR 1 9 r ABSRAC EXRSSIONISM AND T NW AMRICAN ART


28/36


29/36

' , I l I· -

949 lam Nguc n ubi i n 1 85 g slnd Nw Yrk

onele orms, all inteocked and rrnged he vercal

oientation o a standing gre he idea or sculptres othis pe had oginated with Nogch's 9 set designor Hrdad, a ballet by premier American choreographerMartha Graam n the blet, Salome dnces beore hermirror, which she sees, accordng to Nogch, herbones, the potenal skeleton o her ody As Nogchi'srenon spread internationally in the ies, he began toreceive commissions or public sculpures and grdensaround the wold In ong sland City, where he had had astdo since 9 (he later established a stdo Japan as

well), Noguch established a garden and msem devotedto hs work (g 949) The works shown here give evi

dence o the mny textures and orms that the rst couldmine om stone, om immaculately smooth and geometic orms to orgac ones that incoporate accidentalorms cased i the qarry process

Brgirench-bo ge (b 9), best known asa scuptor, is hard to classi because o her acve workin a variey o meda She began as a pnter-engraver ithe mieu o Surreism Early her rsc creer, whenshe was stuggling th the mlple roles o mother,ie, nd artist, she made a disqueting goup o panngs

that rendered women literlly as houses or F

Masons Borgeois rned to carved sculptre in te ortes, creating roughly hewn, vertical orms i wthat she clled Prsnas Their closest historicl analois perhaps the Surrelist sclptres o GiacometPrnas, Bourgeois sid, are each endowed ith dal personalies and re best experienced as a Indeed, the ve vericl elements o Quarantana I950) were oiginally separate sculptres that Bouglater decided to unite on a single base ike Bourgeois's work, the Prsonas have powerl psassociations rooted in her own biography In the sxBorgeois expemented th new materials such as la

plaster, nd marble to create globulr, overly sexal shthat bubble orth as thogh in the process o beig bBourgeois could achieve a plpable sense o the org within an essentially abstract composition The hi polished cluster o orms i Cumul I (g 95)example, seems to emerge om a tin membrne beour very eyes

The importnce o the eminist movement o the sixand seventies to Bourgeoiss work can be strongly e

her later career At the age o eighty, she embarked ono her most intguing series, the elaborate, multimenvironments that she called Cl Within the glass

38 CHAPTR ' ATRACT XRE OM A H W AMRCA AT


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1.5 ose Borgeos, aaaa I 1 9453 Panedood on wood base, 62% 1 2 1 58 29

5 m) he Mse o Moden A, ew York

chan -ink enclose of el Y Beer Gro p 199 3(g. 952), are wo miors. Between them is a rougly

cut marble bse on which sit exquisite cavgs of an adt

hand grasping those of a cild Other objecs ude ire perme botles, d a glass object that contains a

ny glass gune Bogeois has said tat the gurine andhe cild's hands e sef-portats and form pat of a work

aout "the ghtened world of a child who doesn like

eing dependent nd who suers om it Lke many

women asts Bourgeois id not receive proper recogni

on for her remarkable acievements late in hercareer In the eighties, her long involvement ih performace ad instllaon at suck a chord of common pur

ose th ren durng that decade (see chapter 6)

rneAlso rooted in Surresm is the work of Joseph Con

(907), a highly cultvated Ameca who brougtgreat distincton to the aditon of assemblage In the erlytrtes, Cornell became acquainted with the Jlien Levy

Galler in New York a center for te display of EopeanSurrelism :s st expermens ith collage were sired

95 ose Bogeos, Cumu 1 96 Mabe 22 � 50X 8 (565 X 27 1 2 1 .9 Mse Nonal dArModene, enre dA e de Cre Geoges Popido as

by works of M:" Est, ad soon Le was exhibing is

small constructons long ith the works of the SurreistsBy the midtirties Coell had setled on is formula of asimple box usually glassonted, i which he arraged

found objects such as cork balls, photogaphs and maps

Cornell read widely especially French nineteenth-ceny

lteraure, but hs nterests were broad om poery and

bllet to asronomy and other natl sciences. He haunted

the penny acades, ibraies dime stores souvenr shops

art gallees, and movie houses of New York secing out

the ephemera that becme he content of his enchantngssemblages In his boxes Cornell who lived reclusivelyand rarely spoke about is work created a personal wold

lled with nostalgic associatonsof home mily, chidhood and of all te literare he had read d he athe had seen one critc has noted, He reated theephemel object as if it were the rest heirloom of a

legendary pince or pncess

Medc Slo Machne of 194 (g 95) centersaound reproducons of a Renssance portrit, mulpleimages taken om the ealy cinema, and symbols suggest

ing relations beteen past and present Everyting is alusion or romanc remiscence gathered together, as one

idea or image suggested another, to create nmate d

magical wolds. i all his creaons, Cornell carellyorganized is imagery wthin a loosely geomec format

To enance thei quity of nostla Coel oendelibeately distressed his surfaces somemes placng s

boxes n the elements to aceve a weathered, mebaered appeance. In nled e Hoel den} (g95), the ad for Hotel Eden is tatered and the pint on

he box is cracked and worn Cornell usully bt a number of boxes aound specc hemes such as the ares ofthe fores, wic include images of exotc birds A ical of is work, tis compositon is ric with associaonsThe Hotel Eden ad suggests the gaden of paraise, we

he spiral form at the upper le probably refers to a work

CHTR , TRCT XR NM T EW MRC RT 39


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).

i ' I ' . 1

'

I .

1952 Louise Bor-geo Ce

(Y e Gw Up}, 1 9 3 Steel gas mabe ceamand o 6' I " 6 0' 6 1/" 2 I x . I m)oeon he as

0 CHAPTE Q ABTACT RES SONIM A fID T EW .�MRICA AR

1953 Jose eMec Machine, o, 3 / X 1 4 [33 30.5 1

m . Pvate cecfo


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by Coell's iend Mcel Duchamp. ornell was includedi e istorc 1936 exhiion at The Museum of Modert n New York, Ftasc At, Dada, and Surreaism,

here

works were nsted next to Mirs Sureaist

bjet om 1936 (see g 1514) Alhough the tesbeeen nted Hte den and Mirs sculpure areos, oell ojected o eg classied wih herelists, sayng that while he admred heir at, he had terest n he dream wold ad the suconscious andrefeed to focus on "healer possiilies By he ies,rnell knew many of the Asact Expressionist painters were s contempories, ut s quiet, smll-scaleorks had less in common wh heir rulent cnvases ith he assemlage art of he next generaon (seeg 2110

Nevesoous vlson (18991988) lso worked in a raionfassemlage, ut ih results qte fferent om hosef CornelL She sted voice, dance, and art in New orki he late enes I 1931 she went to Europe, sudyingaiing for a me ih Hans Hofman n Muich adlayg sma roles in moves in Ber and Viennavelson always mantaned a air for he theaical n hereccenic dess and amoynt maner, and her maureWrk as a sculptor lso masted a dsncvey hearclesiliy She liked to conrol he light d space thin

1 94 joph Coll o , c 1 95. Mdmeda csrct, 1 5 1 5 " (38 4 X 40 1 1 m)Natoal ally of CanadaOawa

wch the vewer experenced her work, which, e that ofcontemporary panters such s Polock and Rotko, wasenironmental n its effect In the early fores, Nevelson

egan to make Surrealstinspired assemlage sculpresom found ojecs and received her st solo exiionn New York. Her charactersc works of the eswere large wooden walls ed h ndivdul oxes lledth scores of crelly rranged found ojecsusullysawedup fragments of rniure or woodwork rescuedom old, destoyed houses (It is not inconsequenlhat her ssian father was a uilder who a lumeryard.) Nevelson hen panted her scptre a uform matlack, wite, or, her later work, reecve gold Dawn )ddn hape I formed part of a lge instlaon at TheMuseum of Mode At n 1959 caled Dawn' Weddn

Feat t cluded eestanding, totemic consuctons swell as wa pieces, a suggesng a site for ancient ceremony and rial The shallow oxs were ed with assemlages of wtewashed alusters, ials, posts, moldngsand oher rchtectral remnan (g 955) Despitetheir composion om junk, hey acieve a quality ofdecayed elegance, reminscent of he gacel old housesfrom which the elements were mned

In he sixes, Nevelson reied less on foud materialsad had oxes rcated accordg to her speccaons(g 956. Her work ok on a more pise character,th regaized, somemes symmecal forms, tendencies

CATR ' ABRAT XROIM AD TH W AMRIA R 1


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.· l

;I .f:

19.55 ouise Nevelson Dawns Weding C oPaied wood, 76" X 4'3" [ 3 X 1 3 m) rit �ll 5Yechr,

hat accorded wih he Mnmlist aesthec of the decD ' h u

adespte e ew mac ate precSo, hese wrk .

have the ltke quit of the woode wll I t

h l I d ' ·HeSxes, e pro c eve so expemete i ew n .1\trials iclug cer Plexigls, ad beg to xcue (J]}lmssios for lrgescae outdoor works i aluum , Sireand Cor-Te stee.

Expressive Vision: Develope inAmeican Photogaphy

Depressio, politc upheavl, ad war shaped te Yio

of photographers i the fores just as much tha opaiters Mewhile, photographyby he ubquioot oy ews coverage d adversig but alo i pfessio jourals, books, nd specil exhboexerted an uavoidably powerl effect o he vsin o

everyoe, pters perhaps most ofa.

1956 Loie Nevelo lef: An Amercan Tbute to h Boe, 96Q65 Wood paiBd gold, 1 02" X 4'3"(3 4.3 . Tae Glle, odon; righ Sn Gaen, No I1 96 Wood paitd gold 6 X 35 1 8 X 4 m)Prte col lecio

442 CHAPER 1 9 . ABSTRACT EXRSSIONSM AN D T NW AMRICAN ART


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57 Rrt , Nrandy Invas jn 6, 44,lnsilvr pint

p d MirSome of the ld pictures ade by the Hungin

eic photographer obt aa (193-54), dinge Spaish Ci War nd World War I (g 1957,seemed to d a prel n Absact Expressiois's idrizaon nd i concepon of he picure as n expres

sion of persona, agic expeence uiverslized throughsact gesture. It was as photojounais scienc photoraphy, nd icrophotography helped preparee huan eye for the pictoril foraions of Absractpressios Capa was deeply coied to he processf he photojournaisc essay as the eans for bearng istended content nd felt it could be done oy by beng as

lose to the subject atter as possible He was lled by a

ldmine whie photographing he war in IndochinaAnoher photographer who wtessed the carnage of

rsthnd was Le lr (907-77) an Aerican whosent ost of her adut ife i Europe st in he Parisinircle ofMan Ray beween 1929 d 932 d aer 942 n ocia US forces w correspondent She was present 94 at he ibeaon of Dachau nd Buchenwldoncenron cps, nd he hrrowng scenes sherecorded here are aong he ost py revelatory

mages of he wa (g 1958. Soe of he were soonfeaed i Vueagazie where her work had been published sice he late enes, wh he heading "Beieve

It The roic conast beeen photoaphys abliy toapue oen of eee huan iser and the use ofsuch ages to lend ipact to os pubicaons is a pr

do paricularly evident o he posr period onwrd

Whit, ikid, Prtr, d Che ndeur nd etaphor of Absrct Expressioistaining encouraged photographers to renvesgate heotenal of boh saight d ipulated proceduesfor creaing absact iagery Aong the photoaphersho used saight photogaphy to discover iage capa

ble of yieldig absact fors potent with ysca feeng

98 Millr Dad 55 Gad n Caa a Daa 9. Md gli·ilvr pint 9 Milr Achivngnd

was t (908-76) n works ke he one seenhere (g 1959 hite's vision plleled slisc developents in he art of Absact Epressioniss gesrlpainters, a did his devoon to photogaphy as a for ofselfepression photograph not hat which is he saidbut hat which I " A a teacher and wter ndfouder a well as a longe editor of ptue agazne, hite had a vast and endurng ience on a wholegeneraion of youger photoraphers

99 Minr Whi Sn in Rk Dvi Sd 97tr 2, 9 Gtinilvr print 7% X 9[ 7 ) Ms f Mdn r N Yr

CHAPTER o ABSRACT XSS ON SM AD T EW AMICA ART 443


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, I,

,·;'1 :' I, .

I 't · l i

·

I l i

. ·,

' I . · ' • • '

9.60 An Ss hicg 949, Gln-siv prnt.

Aon Sisind (1903-91), t, lst terest subjectmatter as a surce f emve ctet a re stea

twr at, rchly texure paers scvere lweathere walls, segmets f avertsg sgs, gra, apeeg psters (g. 6) hs preccupa wthe expressve qutes f wmesal esgn, sfu hmself sympathec cmpy amg pate

96 Et , D Cnn, Gn nyn 965 Dyns pn W! X / 259 X 20 ). T At nstut Chcg .

9.62 Hy Cn, Weed Agnst h Sky D 1Gt-svr nt

lke e a Wllem e Kg, whse ueackwlege

her phtgapher whse wr mght l twt New Yrk gesural pags was E P(90190) Prter prtaye ature e tr

sel Ams (see g. 82 3), but, ule mst merca! phtgraphers f hs geera, he wrkclr (g 6) T aa such ualy, Prter, ufr a clr phtgrapher, mae hs w clrseegaves a ye asfers

Hry Ca (191299), a e cllegsk's, has geerate phtaphs f such csg spreess a subtley that they e r

abstract Hs prcpal uece cae omAams n the frmer Bauhaus culy at the IsDesig in Chicago, where he taught fom 1946. H

fue te phtgraphy eparment at the he

chl f Desg Callaha has wrke cuuslthee eeply felt pers themeshs wfe, Elea

urba scee a smple, uspe are s s

a sply wee (g 6) s erely star

mag sese f the rm requres se scruty

later Cape C lascape, Callaha she m h

late seup f a mf atre t seemgly l

space (g 6) hs sle vew f he wrl

ts emphatc hrztly erly mchre

y, recals late wrs by Rhk " that eve

cnualy was t reach the ege f thg

Callah sa.

444 A 1 9 ASA XPSSOSM AD H W AMEA A


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. ary Calahan, Cope Co 1 72 atnsiv rint,

24.4 248 m

Li and DCaraaObviously, not al photographers acve in e fores

ies were combig the landscape for absract formsf expression. ew York photographer Hn L(b. 193) began recorg ordiary street life wih herand-held Leica cmera in the late thes Crual to herw he dscovey of the work of Henri Carer-Bresson(see g 5 6 8) , and her magclly comple mage of

ldren playing with a broken mirror in the street g964) is more reminscent of the Frenchm's "deisiveoent than he socil inctments of doumentaryotographers such as Lewis ine see g 6) Levitticluded this and oher scenes om Spnish Harlemin a book called A Way of Sn 965 It included assay by James Agee the wrter who had already collaboated on a book with evitts end Walker Evas seeapter 8)

elftaught photographer DCaava b 99)ew up in the midst of he arlem Renaissance, a oishing of rban Mrica-Ameica cture hat w recorded

by his older contemporary ames Va Der Zee see g850) By 952 his photographs had earned hm a presous Guggenheim grnt, the rst ever awarded to anicanmerica "I want to photograph Halem hroughte Negro people, he wrote in his proposal, "orgon night, at work, going to work at play in he seets

alng, dding, lauig, i he home in the playgroud he shools I wat to show he strengh the wsdom

9.64 ln vit, Yk, c. 40 linsilv rintCoutsy Fa! aly, Sa Fanso

commnity In 955 DeCarava ke evtt joed forces

wth a noted writer, in is case the poet Lagston ughesto publish is Hrlem photographs as a bok aptly led

e Swee Flypap ofL

9.6 Royaava aa, 1 2atn-slvr print 2 1 0"

HH Arnason - Abstract Expressionism And The New American Art (Ch. 19)

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Transcript of HH Arnason - Abstract Expressionism And The New American Art (Ch. 19)