Post World War II Art(Rose's report)

8/9/2019 Post World War II Art(Rose's report)

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ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM


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Art After World War IIArt After World War II

In the decade following World War II,American artists emerged as leadersin the development of abstract art.Although abstract art had its origins

in such European movements suchas Cubism, Surrealism, andExpressionism, it was Americanartists like Robert Motherwell,Norman Lewis and Mark Rothkowho extended its potential and

vitality into the second half of thetwentieth century. In doing so, theyredefined abstraction in a uniquelyAmerican way.

These artists, who come to beknown as AbstractExpressionists, recognized thatwhile abstract art might lack arecognizable subject, it did not

have to give up content. And likethe age in which they lived, thatcontent was complex: they drewupon diverse philosophies,myths, Freudian and Jungianpsychology and even thesymbolism of native peoples.

The resulting works were richwith meaning. As Rothko stated,these artists "favor[ed] thesimple expression of thecomplex thought."


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Despite its complexity, this new artwas fueled by its makers' belief inart's ability to communicateuniversal, spiritual truths. Agreeingon a common cause, these artistssought this universality using

different styles. Rothko's fluidwashes of paint, for example, standin contrast toDe Kooning'senergetic, nearly violentbrushstrokes. Yet both artists

believed strongly in the ability of artto evoke powerful and meaningfulemotions in the viewer.

The painters who came to be called``Abstract Expressionists'' shared a

similarity of outlook rather than of style-- an outlook characterized by a spirit ofrevolt and a belief in freedom ofexpression. The main exponents of the

genre were Pollock, de Kooning, and

Rothko, but other artists includedGuston, Kline, Newman and Still. Theterm Abstract Expressionism was firstused by Robert Coates in the March issueof the New Yorkerin 1936. The

movement was hugely successful, partly

due to the efforts of the critics HaroldRosenberg and Clement Greenberg whoalso originated the terms Action Painting

and American Style.


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TITLE: Street SceneARTIST: Franz Kline

WORKDATE: 1949

CATEGORY: Works on Paper (D

rawings, Watercolors etc.)MATERIALS: Pen and ink wash, and pencil on paper MARKINGS: Signed lower right:Franz Kline SIZE: h: 8.5 x w: 11.1 in / h: 21.6 x w: 28.2 cm


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Title:LeavingARTIST: Philip Guston

WORKDATE: 1950CATEGORY: Works on Paper (Drawings, Watercolors etc.)

MATERIALS: Quill and ink on paper SIZE: h: 29.8 x w: 40.6 cm / h: 11.7 x w:16 in


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ROBERTMOTHERWELLHollow Man Series

1989

Acrylic and charcoalon canvas

60 x 96 inches152.4 x 243.8 cm


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Mark RothkoMark Rothko(1903(1903 --1970) American1970) American(born Russia)(born Russia)

UNTITLED, 1967UNTITLED, 1967Oil on paper, mounted on canvasOil on paper, mounted on canvasHeight 23 1/2 inches Width 18 inchesHeight 23 1/2 inches Width 18 inchesMuseum purchase, 1968.80Museum purchase, 1968.80


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Norman LewisNorman Lewis(1909(1909 --1979) American1979) AmericanPREHISTORY, 1952PREHISTORY, 1952

Oil on canvasOil on canvasHeight 25 3/4 inches Width 49 3/4 inchesHeight 25 3/4 inches Width 49 3/4 inches

Gift of the James F.Gift of the James F.DickeDickeFamily, 1996.13Family, 1996.13


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Gesture painting evolved out of the workof artists such as Jackson Pollock and

WillemDe Kooning. For them, thecanvas was "an arena in which to act,"

and the image on the canvas was "not apicture but an event."These ideas drew

chiefly from the existentialist philosophyof the Frenchman Jean-Paul Sartre,

whose statement "there is no realityexcept in action"influenced artists and

critics alike.

Gesture painting is a term used todescribe styles marked by impulsive

brushwork, visible changes or errors(calledpentimenti), and unstable,

energetic compositions. In

combination, these characteristicsseem to serve as an unedited record ofhow the artist felt while creating the

work. For a period in the 1940s and1950s, gesture painting was

championed as the most authentic

mode of painting. Begun by suchmasters as De Kooning and Pollock inthe 1940s, gesture painting remained astrong force in the art world throughsubsequent decades thanks in part to

its adoption by such "second

generation" Abstract Expressionists asJoan Mitchell.


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JoanMitchellChamps,

1990,Lithograph,94/125, 30 x22 inches, $

1,700


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Willem deWillem de KooningKooning (1904(1904 -- 1997) American1997) American

(born Holland)(born Holland)


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Color Field PaintingColor Field Painting

Color field artists such as KennethNoland, Jules Olitski and HelenFrankenthaler applied color in largeareas, or fields. The main

characteristics of color field paintinginclude the use of colors close intone and intensity; highly simplifiedcompositions; and large formats.

Color field artists used new syntheticpaints such as acrylic and magna in

unique, innovative ways: the paint, forexample, was sometimes sprayed on, orsoaked into unprimed (raw) canvas.

These techniques so closely united thepigment with the support that the twoseemed to become one. This was an

achievement admired in the 1950s and1960s as the purest kind of painting,

one uncomplicated by subject matter,

illusionism or even gesture (the recordof the artist's hand).Decades later,these works still resonate with luminous

color and an elegance of form thatremains unparalleled in contemporary

art.


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Helen FrankenthalerHelen Frankenthaler (b. 1928) American(b. 1928) AmericanSEA CHANGE, 1982SEA CHANGE, 1982

Acrylic on canvasAcrylic on canvasHeight 38 inches Width 116 1/2 inchesHeight 38 inches Width 116 1/2 inchesMuseum purchase with funds provided by the 1987 and 1988 AssociateMuseum purchase with funds provided by the 1987 and 1988 AssociateBoards, 1987.53Boards, 1987.53


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KennethNoland(b. 1924)AmericanNIGHTWOOD,1964

Acrylic on canvasHeight 45 inchesWidth 45 inchesMuseum

purchase,1967.95


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JULES OLITSKIThe Holy Virgin

1959

Spakle, acrylicresin and drypigment oncanvas


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Post World War II Art(Rose's report)

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