Louise Nevelson

Biography• Born Louise Berliawsky in Kiev, Russia in 1899.• Immigrated to United States in 1905.

Influences• Her father—a woodcutter and junk collector—an influence on her wooden sculpture scavenger hunting. At the age of nine she used to nail or glue wood scraps onto other wood pieces and make "assemblages", or art created from odds, ends, scraps, and junk.

• Louise moved to New York in 1920 and married. Later left her husband and son to study art, dance and theatre.

• Studied art in New York then moved to Munich in 1932 to study under Hans Hoffman, a predominant Abstract Expressionist painter.

American Abstract Expressionism• A school of painting that flourished after World War

II until the early 1960s, characterized by the view that art is nonrepresentational and chiefly improvisational. (made up as you go along)

American Abstract Expressionism• Nevelson, along with several other sculptors, took part in this

movement. How does their 3D work resemble the paintings of this movement?

David Smith

Herbert Ferber

Nevelson

Key elements of her work:

• Assemblage technique- the collection and arrangement of non art objects into a piece of artwork.

Sky Cathedral, 1958

Key elements:

• Contains both geometric and organic forms.

• Known for its modular assembly

Key elements:• All her work is done in monochromatic color

schemes

The use of one color allows her to use the shadows to create visual depth in her work and force the viewer to focus on the forms and arrangement.

Key elements

Her early work was strictly completed in a relief format. Later work, called environmental work, consisted of large,

outdoor, in-the-round sculptures.

YOUR PROJECT• Objective: Transform a 2D shape drawing into a relief

sculpture in the style of Louise Nevelson.

CriteriaContain min. of 4 organic & 4 geometric

shapes within the composition.Contains min. of 4 layers of relief.Abstract design (stylized/simplified)Monochromatic color scheme

Nevelson Quiz1. All her work is done in _______color schemes.

2. Contains both ______and _______ forms.

3. The sculpture technique of using non-art objects to build a piece of

artwork is called:

4. Nevelson was born in_____ and immigrated to the US in _____.

5. What childhood influences appear in her relief sculptures?

6. What artist did she move to Munich to study under in the 1930’s?

7. Define relief sculpture:

8. What are the two characteristics of Abstract Expressionism?