Abstract Expressionism is a movement that emerged in the United States after World War II. It was a form of art that rejected figuration in favor of abstraction.
The artists of the Abstract Expressionist movement believed that art should be spontaneous and based on feeling rather than on thought. This gave them an outlet to express their feelings without worrying about what the public would think of it.
Origins
Abstract Expressionism is an art movement that originated in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to gain international influence and put New York City at the center of the Western art world.
Abstract Expressionists were artists who rejected the representational style of painting and instead favored non-objective imagery that reflected their personal feelings and emotions. Their work often resembled primitive images that harkened back to the collective unconscious, which they believed was an important part of human history.
The origins of Abstract Expressionism are difficult to pinpoint, but it is likely that the movement had a number of roots and influences. Its greatest antecedents were the French and German Expressionist movements, which focused on the use of emotion and emotionalism in art.
However, Abstract Expressionism was unique in its rejection of representational imagery and its focus on color and form. It was also different from the cubist style of art that Picasso and Kandinsky were pursuing at the time.
Color Field paintings were an early subgenre of Abstract Expressionist paintings. They created by painters like Hans Hoffman who immigrated to the United States in the 1930s and trained other young American painters in abstraction and color. These artists influenced by Cubist painters Robert Delaunay and Pablo Picasso, and by French painter Henri Matisse.
During this period, American painters began to feel a need to express their feelings and emotions, especially after World War II. Their fear of portrayed as Communist sympathizers led them to seek a new approach to expression.
This new approach created through the use of gestural mark making and imposing color fields on canvas. It encouraged meditation and introspection, and emphasized the emotional connection between an artist’s inner self and their outer world.
Abstract Expressionists sought to elicit strong emotional reactions from their viewers through their choices of composition, color, and other artistic elements. They were a major contributor to the development of the abstract art wave that would become popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
While Abstract Expressionism did not have a single unified style or application of paint, it was an influential art movement that helped shape many of the other movements that followed it. These later movements included Tachisme, Lyrical Abstraction, Color Field painting, Fluxus, Pop Art, Minimalism, Postminimalism and Neo-expressionism.
Characteristics
Abstract Expressionism is an art movement that developed in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. It is rooted in spontaneous emotional paintings that influenced by both traditional and nontraditional forms of painting. It has two major styles: action painting and color field painting.
There were many different artists who contributed to the movement, but they all ascribed to the idea of creating abstract art from one’s emotional expression. This allowed them to deliver their feelings and ideas without the worry of having their thoughts scrutinized by others.
Artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning practiced Action painting, which consists of energetically applying paint in sweeping brushstrokes. They also used dripping and splashing techniques that partially dictated by chance, as well as using no brushes at all to create a more direct revelation of their inner psyche.
Other painters like Clyfford Still, Helen Frankenthaler, Mark Rothko, and Ad Reinhardt created Color Field paintings. These painters were not as expressive as the Action painters and did not use as much gestural paint application, but they achieved a similar emotional response through large areas of color and subtle paint applications.
The Color Field painters influenced by both the European surrealist movement and the American folk-art movements. They drawn to the mystical side of painting, and they also took inspiration from Native-Indian art.
As an art movement, Abstract Expressionism was born out of the need to escape from the horrors of World War II and find a place to meditate and explore the human spirit. These artists inspired by the ideas of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who believed that elements of a collective unconscious could tapped through archetypal symbols.
Abstract Expressionism incorporated elements from both modernism and cubism, including the use of flat colors, geometric shapes, and large blocks of color. It also incorporated the themes of primitive art, the influence of the American West, and surrealism.
It was through the combination of these influences that Abstract Expressionism became an art movement in its own right. Moreover, it considered to be the most important movement in the history of art and has shaped many of the styles and concepts that exist today. It also credited with helping to shift the creative center of modern painting from Paris to New York City during the 1950s.
Influences
Abstract Expressionism was a movement that emerged in New York City in the 1940s. It made up of a group of artists who rejected figuration in favor of abstraction. The style reflected their emotional concerns and the crisis of war, and influenced by European Modernism.
Some of the most prominent Abstract Expressionists were Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Lee Krasner and Mark Rothko. The movement had many influences, but a common theme was improvisation and spontaneity. Jazz music also played a large role in the development of this art style.
These painters used a variety of different techniques to create their artwork. For example, Jackson Pollock created paintings using a technique known as “action painting,” which consisted of dripping and splattering paint across the canvas. He was also a pioneer of a technique called Navajo sand painting, which he created by spreading thinned paint on untreated canvas and letting it soak into the weave of the fabric.
Another influential artist was Helen Frankenthaler, whose paintings featured sensuously flowing rivulets of color. These swaths of paint were reminiscent of the horizontal bands of color that found in Greek vase designs.
The swaths of color in these paintings are meant to evoke feelings of emotion and the metaphysical, while the colors themselves serve as a way to represent the world. Several painters in the movement, including Mark Rothko, also use color theory to create works that evoke specific emotions.
Although Abstract Expressionism was born in the United States, it drew on a wide range of European styles and practices, most notably Cubism and Surrealism. It also drew on the Regionalist and Socialist Realism styles of American painting.
Abstract Expressionism was a revolutionary art movement that changed the way we see paintings. It refocused attention on the process of painting and the relationship between artist and viewer. It was a style that had a significant impact on the art world and is still a popular choice for many contemporary artists. These artists sought to convey their own emotions and feelings in their art and were willing to experiment with a variety of techniques to achieve this goal.
Symbolism
Symbolism is the use of objects, people, or places to represent ideas that are beyond their literal meaning. It can be as simple as a yellow shirt that foreshadows a future friendship or as complex as a hurricane that represents a character’s internal turmoil.
Using symbols in writing can help readers better understand your story and its themes. Using symbols can also add depth and artistry to your writing. Symbols can be use to add emotion, connect different ideas, and add a personal touch to your paper.
In art, the use of symbols called “allegory.” Symbols can place within the setting, objects, or even characters in a work of literature. They can also create by the author.
For example, in William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, a conch shell is a symbol of law and order, and later it breaks as a sign of destruction. The children in the book are also symbols of human society, depicting societal flaws.
The use of symbolism in Abstract Expressionism is an important aspect to understanding this movement. It is a form of art that expresses unconscious emotions and impulses onto the canvas. Symbolism in this art is a powerful tool that can draw the viewer into the painting and confront deeper spiritual realities.
Symbolism in abstract expressionist paintings can include everything from color fields to psychedelic images. Often the symbols in these paintings are very personal to the artist and may be the result of a childhood memory or an emotional experience.
Many professional artists use symbols to convey deeper meanings. They will often use a single color or even a single tone on the canvas to symbolize an idea. For instance, the color red is often associated with anger and blood. The color blue is often associated with calmness and peace of mind.
Symbols are a part of our culture and can found in almost all forms of art. You can see them in all kinds of art, from film and music to photography and drama. The art world has a rich history of using symbolism to create stories and convey meaning.
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