“Abstract Expressionism is a post World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris.” – definition from Wikipedia.
Abstract Expressionism was a period in art history that was very influential. It was a time for artists to reflect upon and portray the effects of the Great Depression in their own more abstracted ways. The art from this period was very bold, and many different techniques have been used by artists of the time to create this style of work.
The WPA and the Federal Art Project
The Works Progress Administration (1935), which was renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939, employed millions of the unemployed in America who were greatly affected by the Great Depression of 1929. A smaller, but still very successful project, the Federal Art Project (directed by Holger Cahill) employed more arts based individuals, such as artists of the time, whether they were painters, sculptors, or worked with other types of media to form their work. This government funded art program resulted in 5,300 artists gaining employment in the tough art industry. You may ask what the aim of this was, and it was to bring art into the public’s everyday lives, as well as the artists who worked to create the pieces. One of the most popular ways that the arts were promoted was through the use of posters.
Marc Rothko
Mark Rothko’s ‘Blue, Green, And Brown’ (1952)
Image from: http://allthingspaintandplasters.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/true-blue.html
Mark Rothko (1903 – 1970) was an American Abstract Expressionist painter who’s work has both a developed sense of space and depth. The use of tone and bold colour in his work, as well as the large scale of many of his canvas pieces, really makes his work catch your eye. The use of both vertical and horizontal bold lines makes the piece above appear very simple at first glance, yet the more you look at the piece, the more depth you can see in the work.
Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange’s ‘Migrant Mother’ (1936)
Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression#mediaviewer/File:Lange-MigrantMother02.jpg
Dorothea Lange (May 1895 – October 1965) was a famous photographer whose images portrayed the result and consequences of the Great Depression which took place in America in 1929. Her photographs were often of scenes best representing the effect of this traumatic economic crisis on the public, for example, the unemployed. She began working for the FSA (Farm Security Administration) as a result of this very relevant work she was producing. This was an organisation to try and tackle rural poverty.
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns’ ‘Flag’ (1955)
Jasper Johns is a famous artist who “uses commonplace emblematic images such as flags or numbers as the starting point for works of great richness and complexity” (www.tate.org.uk). This piece of work in particular stands out to me as a very bold and forward piece which very much focuses on aesthetic elements. “The power of Flag 1955 is its separation of the American flag from a patriotic context, rendered instead as a purely visual entity.” (http://artobserved.com/2010/12/dont-miss-new-york-jasper-johns-drawing-over-at-leo-castelli-gallery-through-december-18th-2010/)
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg’s ‘Almanac’ (1962)
Image from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/artists/robert-rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg (October 1925 – May 2008) was mentioned on ‘tate.org.uk’ to have “acted as a bridge between Abstract Expressionism and Pop art”. The piece above , ‘Almanac’ was created using a variation of media. It was formed using oil paints, acrylic paints, and screen-prints. This allowed for the incorporation of a lot of depth and texture in the work. The piece also uses a lot of varying tones and bold, yet simple paintbrush strokes to capture the viewer’s attention.
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning’s ‘Woman V’ (1952/53)
Image from: http://www.wikiart.org/en/willem-de-kooning/woman-v-1952-53-oil-charcoal-on-canvas-1953
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American Abstract expressionist. The piece of work above in particular is very bold, with the strong use of colour and line. The human figure can also clearly be identified, yet is still abstracted.
“I’m not interested in ‘abstracting’ or taking things out or reducing painting to design, form, line, and color. I paint this way because I can keep putting more things in it – drama, anger, pain, love, a figure, a horse, my ideas about space. Through your eyes it again becomes an emotion or idea.” – Willem de Kooning (quote from ‘www.theartstory.org’)
Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock’s ‘One: Number 31’ (1950)
Image from: http://www.wikiart.org/en/jackson-pollock/one-number-31-1950
Jackson Pollock (January 1912 – August 1956) was an artist who during this period in art used predominantly the drip painting style. This gave his work a lot of depth and a significant sense of space. The piece above is one of his most famous works and the use of so many layers of dripped paint allows for the viewer to interpret the work in different ways.
Lee Krasner
Lee Krasner’s ‘Gothic Landscape’ (1961)
Image from: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/krasner-gothic-landscape-t03291
Lee Krasner (October 1908 – June 1984) was famous for her very influential abstract form work in a “male-dominated art world”. Her work also had psychological content and was very well thought out. In the piece above in particular, the use of brushstrokes is very strong and bold, and the use of neutral colours really makes the outlined elements of the work stand out.
References
- The Library of Congress (www.loc.gov)
- Wikipedia
- markrothko.org
- tate.org.uk
- artobserved.com
- http://www.theartstory.org
gwenbach 
