Art Movements: Abstract Expressionism
Known as the first influential art movement worldwide to come out of America, the Abstract Expressionist Movement was born in the 1940's. The movement was lead by artists such as Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell, Willem de Kooning, and so many more.
The Abstract Expressionist movement did not start out smoothly due to the group of artists' varying opinions of what the movement should become. For example, many of the artists did not like the idea of being associated with a larger group, because of their varying ideas. Despite their worries and resistance of being confined to in -ism, history has proved itself, and the art world now knows this group as the Abstract Expressionists. The beginning of the movement was largely influenced by the stock market crash of 1929. This event itself did not start the movement but rather its effects such as the Great Depression, WWI, and WWII. These major events in America created an impetus for change in the art world with so many emotions to express and document.
Mark Rothko (click on the post already done about him) started out his career away from Abstract Expressionism, taking lots of inspiration from Surrealism (click to learn more), but as he got older and more experienced his style grew more and more contemporary. His family immigrated from Russia in 1913, and he began Yale in 1914. Although he dropped out of college, he began traveling around the USA for inspiration. Rothko's art (as seen above) is instantly recognizable to many viewers, due to his large blocks of color. This artist was of the belief that, “I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions-- tragedy, ecstasy, doom. If you … are moved only by … color relationships, then you miss the point.”
Joan Mitchell (click to view the post already done) was one of the only women accepted into the Abstract Expressionist movement. Mitchell used art as a tool of self-expression, as many other Abstract Expressionist did, but rather in a different way. Mitchell used her art as an outlet during difficult times such as her mother's death. She was particularly interested in conveying nature scenes. She said she does not paint a nature scene exactly, but “what it leaves me with.”
Willem de Kooning was an artist that was highly influenced by many different styles and artists, including Cubism, saying," Of all movements, I like Cubism the most." He also was a big leader in the Abstract Expressionist movement.
The Abstract Expressionists believed in expressing emotion through non-figurative art.
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Twemlow, Maleficent. "A Painting as an Experience." MOMA, 18 Mar. 2013, www.metmuseum.org/blogs/teen-blog/modern-and-contemporary/posts/rothko. Accessed 23 June 2020.
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