Mid Modern Art- Abstract Expressionism

     Abstract Expressionism became a big development within the state of New York, “their art was championed for being emphatically American in spirit - monumental in scale, romantic in mood, and expressive of a rugged individual freedom” (The Art Story). This movement started in 1943 and drew much influence from the surrealism movement. Artists translated surrealism “into a new style fitted to the post-war mood of anxiety and trauma” (The Art Story). This movement encompassed the work of artists who saturated their canvases with colors and abstract forms, it also included those who bombarded the canvas with vigorous gestural expressionism. Additionally, it included painters who “espoused the painterly actions of the artist as a sign of his or her emotions.” (Art Institute of Chicago). Three very influential artists within abstract expressionism were Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Helen Frankenthaler. This movement was a great success, which robbed Paris of its crown as leader of modern art, which ushered in America’s dominance of the international art world.

    Jackson Pollock was a great pioneer of the abstract expressionism movement. His famous ‘drip paintings’ he produced in the late 1940’s were among one of the “most original bodies of work of the century” (The Art Story).  Pollock died in 1956 at the early age of forty-four, he was a devout alcoholic and through seeking therapy for this, his analyst encouraged him to create drawings. Guardians of the Secret was created in 1943 and is “often interpreted as a metaphor for the emergence of unconscious impulses into conscious thought” (The Art Story). There are many roots intertwined within this painting such as African, Native American, and prehistoric art. Along the sides there is the depiction of Egyptian gods wearing African masks, and along the bottom is a dog representing Anubis (jackal-god of the ancient Egyptian underworld). Along the top of this painting there is a rooster, an African mask, and a scarab-like embryo. Within the center there is a tablet covered in hieroglyphic inscriptions recalling the ancient tombs. This painting appears very beautiful and, though chaotic, I enjoy the connections Pollock establishes with the ancient societies. The Deep, painted in 1953, shows dramatic changes in Pollocks’ work and personal life, as he began to avoid using color starting in 1951. As he started painting primarily in black, this can be attributed to his struggle with alcoholism taking over his life, and also caused a decline in his productivity. This painting “evokes a chasm - an abyss either to be avoided or to get lost inside” (The Art Story). The use of drips creates a web hovering above the chasm, the white paint shows a return of direct involvement with the canvas. I enjoy this piece, as it allows me to reflect on how I view the chasm in my life - do I get lost in it or do I hover above it? This painting has so much raw emotion tied to it, and really connects the viewer to the artist. Pollock, through his paintings, provided intense abstract and color forms and showed great expressionism.

Pollock, Jackson. Guardians of the Secret. 1943, Oil on canvas. San Francisco Museum of Art, U.S.A..

Pollock, Jackson The Deep, 1943, Oil and enamel on canvas. Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France

    Willem de Kooning is one of the most celebrated painters of the abstract expressionism movement as he depicts its vigorous, gestural style. De Kooning did an amazing job at fusing abstraction, figuration, and landscapes in many ways on the canvas, this “made his overall output more eclectic than most of his colleagues” (The Art Story). Many of his colleagues abandoned the depiction of human figures, but de Kooning never fully abandoned this. He approached art with great thought and was regarded as one of the most knowledgeable among the artists associated with the New York School. In the painting Untitled painted in 1948-1949, de Kooning uses black and white, with “vaguely recognizable shapes and complex plays of figure and ground” (The Art Story). With the reduced color palette, his play with the surface and depth are amplified and unstable, which creates a dynamic product that threatens to break apart. This painting shows the amplified interest in symbols and ideographs that De Kooning had, as well as the idea that paintings can communicate a universal human emotion or experience. De Kooning painted Excavation in 1950, and as his biggest painting he made, it measured six-and-a-half-feet tall and eight-feet wide. Much of the surface is covered with dirty white, cream, and yellowish shapes outlined with black and gray lines. All throughout the canvas, spaces of crimson, blue, magenta, gold, and aqua exist. This piece creates an effect of no single point of entry, which causes the viewer’s eyes across the entire canvas - no section stands out more than the other. I enjoy both paintings shown as they show the vigorous and gestural style of abstract expressionism. I enjoy the black and white used in Untitled and find it enthralling to view this piece of art.

Kooning, Willem de. Untitled, 1948-1949, Oil and Enamel on Paper Mounted on Composition Board. The Art Institute of Chicago. U.S.A.

Kooning, Willem de. Excavation, 1950, Oil on canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago. U.S.A.

    Helen Frankenthaler, influenced by abstract expressionism, created her own distinct approach to the style. This invented technique was named “soak-stain” in which she poured turpentine-thinned paint onto canvas. Doing this produced luminous color washes that seemed to merge with the canvas. She was “among the most influential artists of the mid-20^th century” (The Art Story), she also inspired a very influential movement to take place called color field painting. Her piece Mountains and Sea, painted in 1952, is a landmark piece in which she first pioneered the soak-stain process. This was painted upon her return from Nova Scotia and she depicts her impressions of the Cape Breton. Frankenthaler brings a new primary role to color with washes of pink, blue, and green, “defining the hills, rocks, and water, the forms of which are sketchily outlined in charcoal” (The Art Story). I love the essence of this painting; it is a work of quiet intimacy. Canyon painted in 1965 reflects the change in her artistic practice, “she began replacing turpentine-thinned oil with watered-down acrylic poured in larger stains and blots” (The Art Story). This is a brilliant painting with red wash encompassing most of the canvas, blue and greens create the surroundings of this deep canyon. At first glance, I did not enjoy the painting, but as I viewed it longer, I came to enjoy the colors used and was able to see the depth of this canyon. Frankenthaler produces art that has less vigorous motions but has such great abstract qualities such as having a romantic mood and expressing the individual freedoms present in America.

Frankenthaler, Helen. Mountains and Sea, 1952, Oil on Canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington , U.S.A.

Frankenthaler, Helen. Canyon 1965, Acrylic on canvas. The Phillips Collection.

    Abstract expressionism is an amazing movement that projected America to become the new leader in artistic styles of the international art world. The most influential part of this movement was the showcasing of individuality and expressive freedom, whether that was using vigorous brush strokes or filling the canvas with luminous colors and abstract forms. This movement inspires people to express their emotions through various ways on the canvas.

 

References 

“Abstract Expressionism Movement Overview.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement/abstract-expressionism.
“Jackson Pollock Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story,
            www.theartstory.org/artist/pollock-jackson.
“Willem De Kooning Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story,
             www.theartstory.org/artist/de-kooning-willem.
“Frankenthaler Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story,
            www.theartstory.org/artist/frankenthaler-helen.
Kooning, Willem de. “Excavation.” The Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/artworks/76244/excavation.
Kooning, Willem de. “Untitled.” The Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/artworks/62290/untitled.