Abstract Expressionism Art Movement History free essay sample

Art Movement History By: Sharme Jackson Abstract Expressionism started in America as a post-World War II art movement. It was the first avant-garde art movement that arose from America. Never before in the history of art, the personality of an artist took such central stage and became both an inspiration and the subject of his/her own art. It is challenging to narrow down such multifaceted phenomenon as Abstract Expressionism, to distil the core of this intricate style. Any new phenomenon arises within a certain historical and cultural context. So in order to better understand the nature of Abstract Expressionism and reasons why it was formed in the United States and not it Europe, it is necessary to look at the environment in which it was originally fostered. One of the fundamental historical forces that shaped identity of the artists was World War II and The Holocaust in Europe. The fall of France in 1940 to Nazi occupation, forced many prominent artists to flee Europe and seek asylum in the United States. Because of this Europe had lost its creative â€Å"blood and soul† and consequently the ability to be the artistic Mecca of the world, thus causing the center of creative gravity being shifted to America. In 1945, the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, introducing nuclear war which became the biggest and most powerful threat in the world. The level and immediacy of the destruction it caused affected the world on global and personal levels. On the personal level, it produced an overwhelming sense of insecurity, displacement, and loss of identity. On the global level, it divided the world both geopolitically, socially, and culturally. The term â€Å"Abstract Expressionism† was used for the first time in Berlin, 1919 to describe the work of Wassily Kandinsky (an influential Russian painter), but the Abstract Expressionism art movement erupted in the 1950’s and was the first American art movement to contribute to mainstream art. The group of artists called the Abstract Expressionists lived and worked in New York City in the 1940’s and 1950’s. With their aesthetic philosophy, and an activism fired by their desire to promote new, American way to paint, they changed the world of art. New York became the artist’s magnet city and Abstract Expressionism became the symbol of American freedom in the early years of the Cold War. The movement was a huge breakthrough with transitional art, representing true personal expression through the neglection of representations and figurative painting. It was symbolic and commented on free-speech, individuality and freedom to take risks. Many of the artists that were part of this movement began in the 1930’s. This was at the time after the great depression and the government had instated relief programs, which helped unemployed Americans and let many of these artists begin a career in art. Abstract Expressionism never became a unified movement with one clear and precise manifesto, but rather a small group of loosely affiliated artists. Not all of the artists associated with the term produced either purely abstract or purely Expressionist work, but would sometimes delve into more realistic portrayals of objects or people. However, their exploration was thoroughly grounded in a study of older artistic styles and techniques, and many of the artists’ in the group were attracted to ancient myth and symbols. Some of the leading names of that generation were Barnett Newman (1905-1970), Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), Willem De Kooning (1904-1997), Franz Klein (1910-1962), and Lee Krasner (1908-1984). These artists employed different styles of painting following their varying aspirations. The key unifying factor for all the artists was their exploration of the avant-garde of abstraction. Besides such avant-garde approach to the purpose and form of the art, the techniques of its pictorial representation were no less revolutionary. The artists of Abstract Expressionism often felt uneasy with traditional subjects and styles. They had similar morally loaded themes, often heavyweight and tragic, on a gray scale. In contrast to the themes of Social Realism and regional life that characterized American art of previous decades, Abstract Expressionists valued, above all, individuality and spontaneous improvisation. They felt ill at ease with conventional subjects and styles, neither of which could adequately convey their new vision. Some unique and compelling qualities of American expression included boldness of imagery, directness of technique, stress on the material physicality of medium and surface, and sincerity of statement. Even though the work may have seemed spontaneous, abstract artists employed highly calculated methods. Originality was the driving force behind Abstract Expressionist work. The intention was for the work to wholly and absolutely speak for itself. Artists wanted each painting to hold its own emotional space, instantly transferring the emotional and psychological condition of the artist as it was made. They were doing away with the idea of painting as a window into another world, or a representation of reality. Rather, they embraced the â€Å"action† of painting, paint for paints’ sake, and didn’t try to make the canvas look like anything but canvas. Each artist had his or her own distinct style, philosophy, and persona. The Expressionists valued the Surrealist style because it revealed the action of the dreaming mind and valued accidental and the involuntary. They also valued the American Surrealists’ sense of mission for their belief that art and life was inseparable. Abstract Expressionism had many artists’ that contributed to its’ development which was divided into two sub-categories: Action Painting and Chromatic Painting. Action painting used a variety of spontaneous techniques that randomly splashed, dripped, dabbed, smeared, and even flung paint on to the surface of the canvas. These energetic techniques depended on broad gestures directed by the artist’s sense of control interacting with chance or random occurrences. For this reason, Action Painting is also referred to as â€Å"Gestural Painting†. Chromatic Painting used a variety of colors ranging from bright vibrant and violent colors to dark or dull colors. Each color having a specific purpose and/or meaning to which they were placed in the work. In closing, Abstract Expressionist art is not easy to understand at one glance: these works require close-up viewing, and thought, and often some knowledge of each artist’s intentions. The works created by the Abstract Expressionists’ can be seen as records of the process of painting itself. For them, the canvas was an arena in which to act, rather than a space on which to reproduce, redesign, or analyze an object. What went on the canvas was not a picture but an event. The artists turned to their own private visions and insights in an anxious search for psychic self-expression, art that seemed created out of emotion, conviction about their mission, and rejection by the official art world. Abstract Expressionism has been a phenomenal construction in the development of art from its conception all through to the modern art work. Few would argue that the paintings and sculptures that emerged from the Abstract Expressionism movement was the foremost artistic phenomenon of its time. By the 1960’s the movement’s initial affect had been assimilated, yet its methods and proponents remained highly influential in art, affecting profoundly the work of many artists who followed. It is evident that the Abstract Expressionism art movement has played a significant role in defining the development of the modern art. All the art movements of the 1960’s were Tachisme, Color Field painting, Lyrical Abstraction, Fluxus, Pop Art, Minimalism, Post-minimalism, and Neo-Expressionism, all of which would be influenced by Abstract Expressionism. In the same way that manned flight and other technological breakthroughs embody the intellectual achievement and adventurous outlook of the twentieth century, so too does the abstraction.