Art in America - Abstract Expressionism - Research Paper Example

Art in America: Expressionism expressionism is a post war II art movement in American paintings developed in New York around 1940. This movement is recorded as the first American movement to achieve international influence and put New York City at the core of Western art world (Jachec 6). This position had been enjoyed for along time with Paris. The phrase abstract expressionism was first used in Germany in 1919 by Robert Coates, but it was first used in America in 1946 (Jachec 7). Alfred Barr was the first painter to use the phrase in America. Abstract expressionism began as a small group in 1940 by a small group of artists who were stylistically diverse. The group brought about radical new directions in the painting industry that changed the focus of the world’s art within a short period of time (Jachec 13). The movement was unregistered but strong. Some of its members included; Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) Willem de Kooning (1904–1997) Franz Kline (1910–1962) Lee Krasner (1908–1984) Robert Motherwell (1915–1991) William Baziotes (1912–1963) Mark Rothko (1903–1970) Barnett Newman (1905–1970) Adolph Gottlieb (1903–1974) Richard Pousette-Dart (1916–1992) Clyfford Still (1904–1980) All these members were committed to the audacious formal inventions in searching for significant substance. Their objective was to break away from normal subject matter and technical conventions. Their artistic works included head stoned scales works that were created to reflect their personal psyches. Doing this helped them to tap into worldwide inner sources (De Antonio 34). These artists attributed a lot of importance to spontaneity and improvisation as process accorded the highest significance. Their works resisted stylistic classifications, but emphasised on dynamism and energetic gesture rather than reflective and cerebral focus on color (De Antonio 37). Abstracts acted primarily as their imageries. Highly abstracted modern art was favored by the group even when depicting images founded on visual realities. Abstract expressionism is not a specific style within abstract art, but an American group or artists rebelled and formed an independent group which would give them a favorable environment to express their inner self shared with other abstract painters from regions like Europe (Anfam 78). The phrase abstract expressionism has brought about confusion among people today because of taking the meaning of the phrase literally. Before the era of abstracts and arts, there were more universal objectives directed to the outside world; the public and society in general. These doctrines and philosophies were meant to fill the spiritual vacuum left behind by secularisation, which meant people turning away from religion. Abstract expressionism has been typified by individualism more especially the World War II aftermath (Anfam 79). In abstract art, the abstract artists translated the objective of the art to reflect their inner self as the center of art. Art informed in Europe was a counter-part of abstract expressionism and held the same motive. Responsible artists pioneered the attitude and style of making their paints to suit their inner self motives (Anfam 84). For instance, the WWII abstract paintings were a reaction to former abstract styles that were thought to be no longer fit for the situation after the war destructions. The pre-war abstract art was dominated by geometric abstraction that paved way to paintings regarded to be too remote from the social reality. Abstract expressionism sought and found new ways of making new paints which would represent a break with very strict grounds set on the ground (Wechsler 107). The art used a cool logic of geometric abstraction, which resulted in a wild gesture style. At this particular point, a painter applied her paint to incorporate an element of chance and rely on improvising his ability instead of painting carefully to contemplate fashion. In abstract expressionism, painters like Jackson Pollock laid their oversized canvas flat on floors and drip their paint from brushes or straight from the cans into the canvas. This way of painting earned them the word ‘drippers’. Other painters of the time applied their paints using brushes. During the period of abstract expressionism, the innovations of Pollock dominated every artistic site in America. Pollock’s aim was to outwit his technical weaknesses and he evolved over a short period of time influencing abstract expressionism to a well defined style (Rosenberg 2). Pollock is a painter who influenced his contemporaries and opened up paths in art. He emerged to be one of the greatest individuals in the American abstract art. He was instrumental in shifting the world’s art heart from Paris in France to New York. From this illustration, art had taken an individualistic style. Artists were no longer working as a group, but as an individual. The fame and success that came along was directed to the owner of the work. American abstract expressionists revolved the cycle to produce high vitality paintings with pessimistic quality consisting of boring colors that brought about a somber mood among the viewers (Wechsler 223). The abstract expressionism works proved to be more popular to the public, especially when it came to purchasing the work. This trend encouraged abstract expressionists to become more competitive in doing their work. They became more reserved in that if one invented a new way of doing things he would not share with colleagues (Wechsler 220). This was not in bad faith, but they were doing this to draw more purchasers instead of producing same work which would scatter the buyers to the various available painters of the time. The American business world was active in buying paints after the WWII for future remembrance of what conspired during the war. The Europeans on the other side was impoverished during the period. These aspects made the Americans outdo the European art and to an extent of producing fine art. The success of abstract expressionism became instant. Although at first the American public was not interested in art in general due to the hardships attributed to the WWII (Rosenberg 1). They also found it hard to understand abstract expressed by abstract expressionists. Hence, the reaction was hostility and no appreciations for the work. This trend made the abstract expressionists to feel as undervalued heroes, but they kept pushing on. The abstract expressionists considered them heroes and preserved their loneliness struggle to develop art for the greater good of all humanity. After sometime, the abstract expressionists gained fame and became popular and successful wealthy painters. After World War II, American artists disentangled from European art to become independent. A part from becoming independent, they also dominated the field of art for several decades. In conclusion, the idea of abstract expressionism in America brought about individualism, which is a reflection of the newly individualistic nation, the recent birth of America as a superpower and a period of economic freedom. Abstract expressionism brought diversity, which overlapped sources and inspired many. For instance, the Great Depression gave birth to two popular artistic movements; Social Realism and Regionalism. Neither of these two groups met the desires of abstract expressionists, hence they sought to be independent to meet the rich content with meaning, redolent of social responsibility, and they wanted to be free from provincialism and explicit politics (Wechsler 222). This happened because every abstract expressionist had the desire to do things in his own way, and as they prospered competition came making them more individualistic. Since then, America’s various sectors have valued individualism as a way of doing things in various sectors like the economic sector. This has in turn given the nation the superpower title and economic freedom. Works Cited Anfam, David. Abstract Expressionism—A World Elsewhere. New York: Haunch of Venison, 2008. Print. De Antonio, Emile. Painters Painting, a Candid History of the Modern Art Scene 1940-1970. New York: Abbeville Press, 1984. Print. Jachec, Nancy. The Philosophy and Politics of Abstract Expressionism 1940–1960. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2000. Print. Rosenberg, Harold. “The American Action Painters”. Retrieved 29 April 2014. http://www.poetrymagazines.org.uk/magazine/record.asp?id=9798 Wechsler, Jeffrey. Pathways and Parallels: Roads to Abstract Expressionism. New York: Hollis Taggart Galleries, 2007. Print. Read More