Abstract Expressionism | DMA Staging Content Management System

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Although it is often considered the most prominent art movement to have emerged in postwar America, abstract expressionism remains resistant to sweeping definitions. Certain aesthetic and compositional elements generally link the artists in this movement, such as an emphasis on the canvas’s flatness, “all-over” approaches to image making, and a proliferation of large-scale, non-representational works made in the 1940s, 50s and 60s in the US. Yet beyond these superficial consistencies, the term abstract expressionism describes a range of highly individual intentions and processes. The artists of this movement are motivated by a desire to express, without depicting recognizable objects, their private experiences and psychological states. As a result, each comes to develop a personal visual language that can be seen almost as an autograph; each of their works reflect the aesthetic signature of its maker.

Clyfford Still’s jagged, overlapping forms reference the canyons and waterfalls of his native Northwest [1981.136], whereas Franz Kline’s tough black and white marks evoke the grit and severity of the New York streetscape he prized [1968.18]. Adolph Gottlieb embraces a more timeless subject matter with his floating orbs amidst dense fields of paint [1965.27], a sensibility opposed to Sam Francis’s aggressive suggestion of compression and enclosure [2009.16.4]. Lee Krasner brings a complex abstract structure to bear on her colorful floral motifs [1968.10], while James Brooks achieves a similar organic sensibility owing as much to the psychological intensity of surrealism as to sources in nature [2005.72.1]. Jackson Pollock's revolutionary, all-over paint drips demonstrate a controlled exuberance and new emphasis on the act of producing art [1950.87]. Finally, Robert Motherwell’s rhythmic slashes of black paint over a cool blue field reflect his raw emotional response to the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War [1967.7]. Many of these artists believed that the subconscious could be a source of abstract images and marks that would be universally understood. Through dreams and the process of automatism (an intuitive or spontaneous method of drawing or painting similar to doodling), they sought to probe beneath the rational, conscious mind and unite the world through a new visual language. They believed in the power of abstract art to directly communicate profound spiritual and philosophical truths.

Adapted from

Ken Kelsey, Gail Davitt, Mary Ann Allday, Barbara Barrett, and Troy Smythe, DMA unpublished material, Contemporary Art and Design at the Dallas Museum of Art, Teaching Packet, 1995.
DMA Gallery text, 2009.

NOTES

Need to mention Greenberg? [Art critic Clement Greenberg explained these stylistic developments as the result of the inevitable progression of modernist art away from three-dimensional renderings of the world towards two-dimensionality, or flatness.]
DMA unpublished material =

American Art text panels- found on V drive, pdf created in 2009, no author listed.
Ken Kelsey, Gail Davitt, Mary Ann Allday, Barbara Barrett, and Troy Smythe, Contemporary Art and Design at the Dallas Museum of Art, Teaching Packet, 1995, page 5.
Excerpt from Rothko Connect page

Joy of text- lowercase abstract expressionism

Emily's notes, moved from general description:

From the education file, Contemporary Extravaganza, 2000- most of this pdf has been pulled into notes as of May 2015- but there are still passages about museums, dealers, and Abstract Expressionist connections to earlier periods that might be useful. Before completing this note, be sure to read through the Contemporary Extravaganza educaiton packet.

Styles and Content ofAhExs:

• In reaction against American regionalism as well as Cubism, Purism, and geometric abstraction, AE's in early 1940s-- as a young group, became concerned with content and application to universal themes of symbolic language. (by reaching the viewer's unconscious)

• How did the AE's express universal themes? through mythic content. By using mythology they felt they could express themselves to a much wider public: referencing timeless stories of human nature and life could apply to every individual in some way or another.

• How did they use Symbolic language? (Automatism, which freed the unconscious, was crucial in communicating this "symbolic language" ...)

1. Pollock began Jungian analysis and became interested in inner thoughts that could be communicated through codified symbols....

2. American Indian carvings, and hieroglyphic vyritings were another codified way of writing-even though we can not determine what is specifically being communicated, we can understand the significance of this type of communication.

• Barnett Newman: stated in 1947 that "the new painter [AbEx] is the true revolutionary:"[He is ] the philosopher and the pure scientist who is exploring the world of ideas, not the world of the senses. Just as we get a vision ofthe cosmos through the symbols of a mathematical equation, just as we get a vision of truth in terms of abstract metaphysical concepts, so the artist is today giving us a vision of the world of truth in terms of visual symbols."

(Shapiro, David and Cecile. Abstract Expressionism: A Critical Record. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, New York, 1990. P.8. Taken from Barnett Newman, "The Plasmic Image" (unpublished manuscript), as quoted in Thomas B. Hess, Barnett Newman (New York: Museum of Modem Art, 1971), p.39)

• It is these early 1940s AbEx's works that do, in fact, stylistically group the artists together as a movement; Their MATURE works (late 1940s) divide the AEs stylistically in half: 1. color field painters 2. action painters

(Seldes, "The Legacy of Mark Rothko" p.22)

• Uptowners/"color fielder painters": Rothko, Motherwell, Newman and Gottlieb--"lived more conventionally, as their friendships and gesticulations were more restrained, and their allusions more philosophical and theoretical. They absorbed the whys of art, while the downtowners were more preoccupied with the immediate hows"; the uptowners were all sought an inner spirituality through their art

• Downtowners/ "action painters": Jackson Pollock "at the forefront," Kline, Reinhardt and de Kooning shared "conviviality" and "enthusiasm" and were "often at jazz joints, boozing heavily"; all used an aggressive, visible brushstroke in their paintings Political and

Cultural context of Abstract Expressionists:

Rooted in 1930s Depression politics:

• Strong ties to socialist ideology and capitalist reform

• "Despite the unemployment and financial hardship, the Great Depression gave rise to a garden of utopian ventures, some ephemeral, some enduring. The collapse of the financial system brought disillusionment with the existing political, economic, and social order. At the same time, Americans remained optimistic in their belief that the system could be successfully reformed and that an ideal society could be created through a new economic or spiritual order." (Harris, Mary. "The Arts at Black Mountain College", introduction)

• Implications: attitude toward the AbExs-people thought that they were more political than they actually were because they first saw the majority of them working as muralists, employed by FDR's "New Deal" (which were used in part as political propaganda)---the AbExs tried to steer away from this image

[I pasted the remaining context in the historic period notes-- New Deal and 1940s America.]

other notes not used in the general description, but I didn't want to delete entirely:

This mix of talent, experimentation, encouragement, and excitement regarding new possibilities of art resulted in the development of Abstract Expressionism, the first avant-garde art movement to originate in the United States. The artists generally included in this movement are Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Mark Tobey, Philip Guston, Clyfford Still, Franz Kline, Lee Krasner, Robert Motherwell, Adolph Gottlieb, Barnett Newman, and Willem de Kooning. Each artist in his or her own way explored the use of color, line, and abstract shapes in order to find new, more direct ways to express the energy and confidence as well as the anxiety of the post-war world.

Though he strongly denied it, Rothko is closely associated with abstract expressionism, the first avant-garde art movement to originate in the United States. The term refers to the work of artists who responded to World War II through large-scale, non-representational paintings. The experience and artistic styles of the abstract expressionists varied greatly, but they all believed that they could directly express emotional and spiritual realities through painting. Each artist in his or her own way explored the use of color, line, and abstract shapes in order to find new, more direct ways to express the energy and confidence as well as the anxiety of the post war world.

The abstract expressionists were often interested in two ideas: 1) painting as an impulsive physical process intended to capture an emotional response or 2) creating tension and evoking emotion through the color relationships in a painting. Artists such as Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline were interested in the former, while artists like Clyfford Still and Rothko are associated with the latter.

Additionally, many of these artists believed that the subconscious could be a source of abstract images and marks that would be universally understood. Through dreams and the process of automatism (an intuitive or spontaneous method of drawing or painting), they sought to probe beneath the rational, conscious mind and find a new visual language that would unify the modern world because all could understand it. They believed in the power of abstract art to directly communicate profound spiritual and philosophical truths. Based primarily in New York, artists associated with abstract expressionism are sometimes called the New York School.

ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)

Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974)

Willem De Kooning, (1904-1997)

James Brooks (1906-1992)

Jackson Pollock's _Cathedral_

AUDIO ASSETS

13315044: UMO. John Zinsser, "The Canonization of the Avant-Garde: Abstract Expressionism Reconsidered," (speaker is one of the younger generations of New York abstract painters and cofounded Journal of Contemporary Art), DARE/DMA lecture series, March 13, 1993.
16085402: UMO. Ben Lima, assistant professor of art and art history, University of Texas at Arlington, discusses abstract expressionism

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES

Smarthistory~Read "The Impact of Abstract Expressionism."
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History~Read an essay about Abstract Expressionism.
MoMA~Explore themes of Abstract Expressionism.

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

Of abstract expressionism, Barnett Newman wrote, in 1948, "We are freeing ourselves of the impediments of memory, association, nostalgia, legend, myth, or what have you, that have been the devices of Western European painting. Instead of making cathedrals out of Christ, man, or 'life,' we are making them out of ourselves, out of our own feelings."

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES

set operator as OR

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apply to objects where constituent_id equals 1436

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apply to objects where constituent_id equals 1323

apply to objects where constituent_id equals 156

apply to constituents where id equals 253

apply to constituents where id equals 680

apply to constituents where id equals 3143

apply to constituents where id equals 325

apply to constituents where id equals 2692

apply to constituents where id equals 2915

apply to constituents where id equals 3161

apply to constituents where id equals 1606

apply to constituents where id equals 1911

apply to constituents where id equals 1436

apply to constituents where id equals 2772

apply to constituents where id equals 1323

apply to constituents where id equals 156

apply to content where content contains "abstract expressionism"

General Description

Although it is often considered the most prominent art movement to have emerged in postwar America, abstract expressionism remains resistant to sweeping definitions. Certain aesthetic and compositional elements generally link the artists in this movement, such as an emphasis on the canvas’s flatness, “all-over” approaches to image making, and a proliferation of large-scale, non-representational works made in the 1940s, 50s and 60s in the US. Yet beyond these superficial consistencies, the term abstract expressionism describes a range of highly individual intentions and processes. The artists of this movement are motivated by a desire to express, without depicting recognizable objects, their private experiences and psychological states. As a result, each comes to develop a personal visual language that can be seen almost as an autograph; each of their works reflect the aesthetic signature of its maker.

Clyfford Still’s jagged, overlapping forms reference the canyons and waterfalls of his native Northwest [1981.136], whereas Franz Kline’s tough black and white marks evoke the grit and severity of the New York streetscape he prized [1968.18]. Adolph Gottlieb embraces a more timeless subject matter with his floating orbs amidst dense fields of paint [1965.27], a sensibility opposed to Sam Francis’s aggressive suggestion of compression and enclosure [2009.16.4]. Lee Krasner brings a complex abstract structure to bear on her colorful floral motifs [1968.10], while James Brooks achieves a similar organic sensibility owing as much to the psychological intensity of surrealism as to sources in nature [2005.72.1]. Jackson Pollock's revolutionary, all-over paint drips demonstrate a controlled exuberance and new emphasis on the act of producing art [1950.87]. Finally, Robert Motherwell’s rhythmic slashes of black paint over a cool blue field reflect his raw emotional response to the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War [1967.7]. Many of these artists believed that the subconscious could be a source of abstract images and marks that would be universally understood. Through dreams and the process of automatism (an intuitive or spontaneous method of drawing or painting similar to doodling), they sought to probe beneath the rational, conscious mind and unite the world through a new visual language. They believed in the power of abstract art to directly communicate profound spiritual and philosophical truths.

Adapted from

Ken Kelsey, Gail Davitt, Mary Ann Allday, Barbara Barrett, and Troy Smythe, DMA unpublished material, Contemporary Art and Design at the Dallas Museum of Art, Teaching Packet, 1995.
DMA Gallery text, 2009.

Fun Facts

Of abstract expressionism, Barnett Newman wrote, in 1948, "We are freeing ourselves of the impediments of memory, association, nostalgia, legend, myth, or what have you, that have been the devices of Western European painting. Instead of making cathedrals out of Christ, man, or 'life,' we are making them out of ourselves, out of our own feelings."

Archival Resources

Web Resources

Smarthistory~Read "The Impact of Abstract Expressionism."
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History~Read an essay about Abstract Expressionism.
MoMA~Explore themes of Abstract Expressionism.

Notes

Need to mention Greenberg? [Art critic Clement Greenberg explained these stylistic developments as the result of the inevitable progression of modernist art away from three-dimensional renderings of the world towards two-dimensionality, or flatness.]
DMA unpublished material =

American Art text panels- found on V drive, pdf created in 2009, no author listed.
Ken Kelsey, Gail Davitt, Mary Ann Allday, Barbara Barrett, and Troy Smythe, Contemporary Art and Design at the Dallas Museum of Art, Teaching Packet, 1995, page 5.
Excerpt from Rothko Connect page

Joy of text- lowercase abstract expressionism