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AVI4M Abstract Expressionism While you read and view the following slides, you will be asked to answer 6 questions. Please type or write out your answers. When possible, use the ELEMENTS & PRINCIPLES OF ART in your analysis and explanations.

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AVI4M Abstract Expressionism While you read and view the following slides, you

will be asked to answer 6 questions. Please type or write out your answers.

When possible, use the ELEMENTS &

PRINCIPLES OF ART in your analysis and explanations.

Question #1: What do you think when you look at this work?

How do you think it was painted, and what makes you say that?

Jackson Pollock, Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), 1950.

Abstract Expressionism

•  The work just shown is an example of Abstract Expressionism, also called the New York School.

•  During and after World War II, artists needed new ways of expressing themselves, as they were not happy with Social Realism.

Social Realism

Social Realism is a style of art making where artists create works centering on the everyday lives of the working classes. During WWII, Abstract Expressionists grew tired of this type of art making and craved a new outlet, a new aesthetic.

Abstract Expressionism

•  This American art style can be broken down into two categories:

•  Gestural Painters: Included major artists such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

•  Color Field Painters: Included major artists such as Mark Rothko and Barnet Newman.

Gestural Painters •  Abstract Expressionist Gestural Painters were

concerned with the unique marks each artist made on the canvas.

•  Just as we each develop a personal signature, these Gestural Painters sought to develop their own spontaneous style.

•  Major Artists: Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

Jackson Pollock •  He developed his drip

paintings in the 1940s. Born in Wyoming, he later moved to New York.

•  His most famous works are his drip paintings. They are large scale paintings, using not only oil paint, but also, enamel, and aluminum paint.

Jackson Pollock’s Drip Paintings

•  Pollock developed a style where he applied paint to his canvases by dipping the ends of paint brushes and/or sticks into paint and dripping them on to the surface.

•  He used confident, fast paced motions to create intertwined designs.

•  Most of these works were created on the floor, with the canvas laid flat. In some works, you can see his footprints he made in the paint, and cigarette butts and bottle caps that fell into the paint.

•  Pollock thought that the end result wasn’t the only thing that mattered, but the process itself was a center focus of painting.

•  Many people believe that the markings are completely random, however, Pollock thought out where different colors needed to be placed and created areas of interest in his works.

Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), 1950

Question #2: How does this work fit into the Gestural Style of

Abstract Expressionist painting?

Willem de Kooning •  He is another famous Gestural

Painter from the Abstract Expressionist art movement.

•  He was born in the Netherlands and moved to the U.S. in 1926.

•  Most of his works are recognizable because they are abstracted figures. In many of his works, he allowed the paint to drip and move freely.

•  His most famous series is the Woman series.

Willem de Kooning •  The work to the left is

called, Woman I.

Question #3: How would you describe the way it is painted? Question #4: How would you describe the colors used and the brush strokes for example?

Willem de Kooning •  Woman I is a large painting

(about six feet tall by four feet wide).

•  There is a vigorous paint application and is very gestural, but it actually took de Kooning 18 months to finish the work.

•  He would keep removing paint, starting over, revising it.

•  The gestural nature of the work is characteristic of Abstract Expressionism.

Willem de Kooning •  While de

Kooning is known for his paintings of Women, he also created other gestural works such as Gotham News (1955).

•  How does this work fit into the style of Abstract Expressionism?

Abstract Expressionism: Color Field Paintings

•  Color Field Painters said that they “favor the simple expression of a complex thought”

•  They believed that large shapes and big areas of color could arouse a strong emotional reaction.

•  Two major artists: Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman

Color Field Paintings: Mark Rothko •  Rothko’s more surrealist,

earlier works transformed into these large areas of shape and color.

•  His paintings are generally large, usually around 6 or 8 feet in any direction. The goal was to take up the viewer’s entire field of vision. This was key to feeling an emotional reaction to the shape and color.

•  He would apply thin coats of color which would create subtle variety in values and tones.

•  While he started with brighter works, he eventually moved to using more cool colors such as blues, greens, and violets, which he said conveyed a sense of ecstasy and doom.

•  However, what was important was the viewer’s own emotional reaction.

Abstract Expressionism: Color Field Paintings

Stare at the next slide for a little with the lights off.

Question #5: Did you feel any emotional reaction to Mark Rothko’s work? Describe what you felt and why it might have made you feel that way. Discuss what you felt by writing down your reaction individually.

Barnett Newman •  His famous 1948

painting, Onement I, uses a jagged edged Zip line, while others use more clean, crisp lines.

•  The Zip line became a symbol for a human being standing upright.

Barnett Newman •  He is another famous

Color Field painter, known for large shapes of color meant to take over the viewer’s line of sight.

•  His works are recognizable because of what is called a “Zip”. The “Zip” is a vertical line that extends throughout the painting.

Barnett Newman, Vir Heroicus Sublimis, 1950-1951.

•  In this painting, Newman, like Rothko achieves a variety of values of color in the work. The Zip lines are cleaner, more straight edged. The title means, Heroic Sublime Man. The zip line again, is supposed to represent Man.

Time for a quick quiz!

•  You have not seen the following works before, but are all examples of Abstract Expressionism.

•  You need to try to explain who the work is by (Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, or Barnett Newman) and why you came to that conclusion!

•  Who could have painted this work and why?

•  Is it a color field or gestural painting and why?

•  If you said Mark Rothko painted this work, and that it is an example of a Color Field Painting, then you are right!

•  It shows large areas of color meant to evoke an emotional reaction in the viewer!

•  Who could have painted this work and why?

•  Is it a color field or gestural painting and why?

•  If you said Willem de Kooning because it looks like a woman and is gestural then you are right!

•  You can see the hand of the artist, the brushstrokes he made, which is why it is gestural.

•  Who could have painted this work and why? •  Is it a color field or gestural painting and why?

If you said this is a gestural work by Jackson Pollock you are right! It is one of his famous drip paintings. It is gestural because we see the hand of the artist at work through the way he drips and applies the paint to the canvas.

•  Who could have painted this work and why? •  Is it a color field or gestural painting and why?

If you said Barnett Newman painted this, and that it is an example of Color Field Painting, then you are right! Notice the Zip line in the middle that is characteristic of Barnett Newman. Also it is made of a couple big shapes of color typical of Color Field painters.

Abstract Expressionism •  Take a moment to reflect on the works that you

viewed.

Question #6: Write down whether you generally like the works or not. Give at least three reasons why you like or do not like the works. Be as specific as you can. Remember, saying “It’s cool” is not a good reason. What makes it “cool”, the colors, the subject matter, etc.?