Pollock, Gottlieb and Newman - Essay Example

Teacher In your own words, compare and contrast the work of some of the Expressionist Artists presented AND both composers Henry Cowell and Edgard Varèse. Abstract Expressionism was developed during the Great Depression which lent its inspiration from diverse and overlapping sources and inspirations. One of the most popular artist was Pollock whose work emanates unsettling feeling which probably came from his eccentric personality. Another was Gottlieb and Newman whose works feature “pictographic and biomorphic elements transformed into personal code” of an adventure into the unknown (www.metmuseum.org, nd).

Both works share the same “eccentricity” in their style but differ from their source of inspiration. This boldness in approach in art is also matched by the same boldness by composers Henry Cowell and Edgard Varèse. Cowell’s “distinguishing mark is tone clusters, his striking Synchrony begins with the textural exact opposite, a three-minute trumpet monody. Plenty of clusters in his Piano Concerto - fairly hurled at one in this atmospheric live recording” (www.musicinternational.net, nd).

  His work is characterized by rhythm, harmony and wild and perhaps, ahead of his time as many conservatives during his time would characterize his music. Varese’s music on the other hand emphasized timbre and rhythm where he group certain rhythm into a new definition of music called “organized sound”. Unlike Cowell who emphasized harmony and rhythm in his music, Varese treated music as a mere grouping of noises, which are sound we do not like, into a group that would make it pleasing to hear.

The example of this was electronic music of which Varese was considered as the father, which was basically an assembly of industrial noise that became aesthetically pleasing to hear due to its arrangement and organization. The motivation of his music is organization to achieve musicality while Cowell was rhythm and harmony. 2. John Cage asked, "Where do we go from here?" His answer was, "Towards theater." Discuss how some of the presented Conceptual Artists AND composer John Cage experimented with theater, performance, or concept-driven works/compositions in the 1940s-1970s.

The whole text of the quotation was “Where do we go from here? Towards theatre. That art more than music resembles nature. We have eyes as well as ears, and it is our business while we are alive to use them” (Cage, 1957 pg. 12). This quote embodied how John cage regarded theatre, performance or concept-driven works/compositions. He explored and encouraged the concept of indeterminism in his works which allows the appreciation of music not just those elements selected and prepared by the composer.

This is reflected in his various works in theatre, performance and concept driven works as well as the number of devices he used to emphasize randomness in music. One of his notable works that reflects the indeterminism and the removal of personal preference is his 1952 composition titled 4′33″ where it was performed without any sound. The musicians who were there did not do anything for the entire duration of 4 minutes and 33 seconds. This work is an example how John Cage extended the possibility of performances in theatre to include a broader sense of art and performance in music.

References Acclaim | MusicCoInternational. (n.d.).Acclaim | MusicCoInternational. Retrieved June 29, 2014, from http://www.musiccointernational.com/artist.php?view=acclaim&nid=7052 Cage, John (1973). Silence (1961; Middletown, CT, 1973), p. 12. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. (n.d.).Abstract Expressionism. Retrieved June 29, 2014, from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abex/