Abstract Expressionism During World War II

Artists in the early 1900s commonly utilized techniques of distortion and exaggeration, characteristics of expressionism, to establish the element of emotion. According to Wolf (2017), expressionist artists often incorporate “swirling, swaying, and exaggeratedly executed brushstrokes to convey the turgid emotional state of the artist reacting to the anxieties of the modern world” (p. 1). Amplification of the human figure often evokes strong emotions for audiences of many different cultures. Additionally, the style reflects the consequences of urbanization, such as the alienation of individuals in society (Wolf, 2017). Expressionism allows artists to surpass realism and reflect the tribulations of living in a modern society.

Though, throughout this time period, “the great majority of Americans disliked or even despised modern art,” it was an essential art movement in the 1950s and 1960s, and the “CIA fostered and promoted American Abstract Expressionist painting around the world for more than 20 years,” creating a meaningful impact on the outcome of the Cold War (Saunders). “Abstract Expressionism stood for, above all else,

Expressionism appeared in poetry and drama in Germany and Austria just before World War I, and was influenced by Freudian Theories of the subconscious and Nietzsche’s anti-rationalism ideas. Expressionism was mostly popular during times of social change or spiritual crisis. This kind of art was a way for people to express their emotions and feelings during a time in the world when they didn’t know any other way to express themselves.

Abstract Expressionism began in the 1940s and the 1950s in New York after World War II from the ideas of Surrealism about art that looks to examining the unconscious mind, and the feelings people hold that makes us all humans. Through the discussion of Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) by Jackson Pollock, I will define Abstract Expression and why this work is part of this movement. Then, through the discussion of Canyon by Robert Rauschenberg, Target with Plaster Casts by Jasper Johns, and Marilyn Diptych by Andy Warhol, I will explain Assemblage and Pop Art and why each of these works belong to those movements.

Often times misunderstood and, at times, even complex to understand, Abstract is a category of artwork that challenges the viewer’s intellect through its array of bold color schemes, extracted ideas, and conceptual viewpoints. Expressionism is a sub-category of Abstract artwork, which encapsulates the philosophical, intellectual, and emotional stimulation it hopes to create in the observer, which frequently, is the objective of the artist who created the conceptual piece. Three artists who embody the abstract principles are Joan Mitchell, who was one of the first women expressionist painters who focused on landscape-type portraits, and a successive artist to similar abstract painters such as Mark Tobey, and also preceded by modern sculptor Lynda Benglis who literally “cements” abstract painting concepts into unique dimensional sculptures. Yet, Mitchell’s artwork is “special” to me

Art has been a popular medium for public outcry, change and propaganda regarding issues relevant to war and suffering for hundreds of years. German expressionist Kathe Kollwitz and Spanish cubist Pablo Picasso are two artists who through their artwork have engaged with mass audiences and conveyed their own personal ideologies, emotions and beliefs on issues relevant to their world.

Throughout Art History, it is apparent that techniques are established and flaunted to create some vivid image of a story, or a message. Up to the post war of World War II, art has delivered a scene which can be interpreted through context clues such as; current philosophies, current events, and folk-lore. Then, mainstream art had undergone a significant change in theme post World War II. New York City, United States of America, became the art capital of the world. Why? It is arguably due to Abstract Expressionist art and Pop Art known as Modernism. Modernism completely new to the world, and both of which abandoning some common core themes to art. Two famous artists whom facilitated and practiced such dramatic alterations in art culture are Paul Jackson Pollock, or just known as Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol.

Abstract Expressionism was born in 1940’s New York when small group of loosely affiliated artists begin to create a body of work which varied in style, technique, and quality of expression. This stylistically diverse collection introduced radical new directions in art and completely shifted the art world’s focus. Although the works vary greatly, they do share several broad characteristics including the fact that they are based off non-representational forms, they emphasize spontaneous personal emotional expression, and they are all explorations into utilizing the physical characteristics of paint to evoke expressive qualities. Although female artists were among the group who pioneered the new artistic movement, they were left out of the narrative.

"Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." is a popular quote adapted by the street artist known as Bansky to specifically talk about art. It is especially true of abstract art, which oftentimes depicts events that can be uncomfortable to discuss or is confusing. If something is abstract, then it is something that is not clearly defined, or not typically thought of as normal or realistic, and it can be difficult to understand.

From this I gathered the idea of sexuality in Pop Art was a form of

It was the first specific American movement to achieve international inspiration and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role previously filled by Paris. (Encyclopedia Britannica) Abstract expressionism is commonly referred to as action painting. The artists that participated in abstract expressionism, shared an interest in using abstraction to deliver strong emotional or expressive content.

Abstract art is perceived, as a profound separation of the tradition that the primary function of art is the representation of visible reality. Abstract art came to be viewed as the ultimate break with all pervious pictorial traditions. Several trends of thought served as the foundation that contributed to, and made possible the innovative ideas of abstract painting in the first decade of the twentieth century. Such trends emerged from various fields of experience and exploration.

The investigation will evaluate to what extent did World War 1 influence the artists of the Dada movement? The investigation will look at primary sources by artists themselves, as well as secondary sources that may evaluate the artists and comment on any influences to the creation of Dadaism and the motives of artists. To be able to determine the extent to which World War 1 influenced the artists of the Dada movement, multiple influences will be looked at and examined to gage the appropriate influence. Given the Dada movement primarily occurred in America and parts of Europe, no sources outside of these areas will be used. Personal accounts and

The Encyclopedia Britannica reads “Abstract Expressionism, broad movement in American painting that began in the late 1940s and became a dominate trend in Western painting during the 1950s.” Abstract Expressionism was the first art movement to emerge from within the United States. During World War II, European refugees came to the US to avoid persecution; many of which settled in New York City. Among those seeking a safe haven where artist, writers and poets as well as collectors of the arts. Paris had been the center of the European culture and the capital of the art world, which was replace by New York. In the 1940s New York boasted the nation's strongest financial system, a large upscale market for luxury goods, and a flourishing high culture based on many museums, galleries, universities, artists, writers, publishers, magazines and journalism.

Before minimalism in the 1950s, the dominant art movement in the United States was Abstract Expressionism. The artists at that time’s goal were to express their personal emotions through their artwork (“Introduction to Minimal Art”). One popular branch of Abstract Expressionism was called Action Painting. This style of painting was spontaneous; paint would be