abstract expressionism

1. Abstract Expressionism "Lavender Mist" [1950] by Jackson Pollock.

3. Art Critic - Harold Rosenberg Redefined Abstract Expressionism as Action Painting The canvas went from “a space in which to reproduce, re-design, analyze or ‘express’ an object, actual or imagined.’ TO “arena in which to act”

4. Gestural painters

5. Colour Field Painters Mark Rothko Barnett Newman

6. THE ROOTS OF ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISMWhere did this art movement come from? EUROPEAN MODERN ART Cubism, Surrealism, Abstraction EARLIER AMERICAN ART ORIENTAL ART MEXICAN MURAL PAINTING

7. EUROPEAN ABSTRACT ARTISTS Cubism e.g Braque Flattening of 3D forms onto 2 D picture plane Kandinksky Red Yellow Blue Paul Klee Dream of Winter

8. Hans Hoffman German artist who had mixed with Fauves and Cubists 1931 came to USA 1944 One man show at Peggy Guggenheim’s gallery Worked in Cubist style and more expressionist style Original use of colour Energetic line Use of paint anticipated Pollock’s “drip painting”

9. SURREALISM For Surrealist artists, the PROCESS and METHOD was very important They aimed to “express the true function of thought” by tapping into the unconscious, and freeing themselves from reason Interest in dreams PSYCHIC AUTOMATISM = giving expression to the unconscious by giving up control of the conscious mind. Artist is “passive” and receptive and lets the art / thought flow automatically.

10. The Influence of Psychoanalysis The Surrealists’ interest in dreams was influenced by Psychoanalysis Founder – Austrian Sigmund Freud KEY IDEAS Ego, Superego, Id Conscious / Unconscious Interpretation of Dreams (book published in 1900) Free association Transference / projection Libido (sexual desire – main driving force) Repression of painful memories

11. ARSHILE GORKY IMPORTANT INFLUENCE FOR AB-EX ARTISTS Arrived in USA in 1920 Emotionally fragile, tragic death SURREALIST artist Used automatism BIOMORHPIC FORMS – organic, look like body parts, or ripe, blossoming fruits LINES - curved, convey movement

12. THE BETROTHAL (GORKY) “the canvas that confronts us is almost nakedly autobiographical. These apparently unspecific forms nevertheless speak with great precision about what the painter feels and is. We sense the painter’s own masochism from the way in which the forms seem to attack each other. Claws and tendrils spout from what is apparently soft and harmless.” (E. Lucie-Smith, ART TODAY)

13. HOW SURREALISM INFLUENCED ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST ARTISTS Importance of process and method Automatism – giving up reason / control to free the unconscious Using art to access the psyche

14. Andre Breton’s instructions HOW TO PRODUCE A SURREALIST TEXT “Have someone bring you writing materials after getting settled in a place as favourable as possible to your mind’s concentration on itself. Put yourself in the most passive, or receptive state you can. Forget about your genius, your talents and those of everyone else. Tell yourself that literature is the saddest path that leads to everything. Write quickly, without a preconceived subject, fast enough not to remember and not to be tempted to read over what you have written.”

15. Automatic Writing a technique used by artists to put themselves in touch with their own subconscious. Get out a blank piece of paper and a pen/pencil. Allow your thoughts and associations to flow out, without impediment. Do not stop, just keep writing. (we will use music to help create a mood, and pictures to prompt you…but this would not necessarily always be done) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOH3QETdleE&feature=fvw

16. AUTOMATIC WRITING EXERCISE

17. JACKSON POLLOCK’S AFFINITY with the SURREALIST APPROACH “When I am in the painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only after a sort of ‘get acquainted’ period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc, because the painting has a life of its own. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess.”

18. INFLUENCE OF EARLIER U.S. ARTISTS Georgia O’Keefe (1920s) Large scale abstract paintings based on organic forms (flowers, plants) challenged the realist style of American art of the time Based in New York / New Mexico 1956 – Retrospective exhibition at MOMA – 1st ever for woman artist

19. Oriental Art Chinese Calligraphy – influential Brush stroke is very important – flow of ink conveys emotion / meaning Use of chinese characters (ideograms) as signs that convey meaning Influential for artists like Lee Krasner

20. “PRIMITIVE” ART Artists looked at Native American Indian art and Pre-Columbian art Robert Matta (Chilean Surrealist) was impt in bringing Native American art to the fore Belief that “Primitive art” was more in touch with the Unconscious

21. Navajo Sand Painting Jackson Pollock was fascinated by Mayan symbols and Navajo “sand painting” for its ritual and the manner of painting.

22. MEXICAN MURALISTS “Los Tres Grandes” were Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and Alfred Siqueiros. All left wing Mexican artists who worked in the USA. INFLUENTIAL because… Large scale works All worked in a realist style but Orozco drew on elements of Surrealism, while Siqueiros was more expressionist strong, gestural brush strokes conveyed feeling

23. EXISTENTIALISM “Being is doing” Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre Emerged after Great Depression / WWII – time of great despair, people felt alienated; wondered about the meaning of life. About finding self and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. People are searching to find out who and what they are throughout life, as they make choices based on their experiences, beliefs, and outlook

24. Some Key Existentialist ideas Humans have free will Human nature is chosen through life choices By making choices, then having different experiences we create our own nature / identity A person is best when struggling against their individual nature, fighting for life A person is best when they are authentic – being true to themselves, own values Decisions are not without stress (“angst”) and consequences . Importance of subjective “truth” Personal responsibility and discipline is crucial

25. How EXISTENTIALISM influenced ARTISTS 1. “Being is doing” focused on the PROCESS rather than Product. The Painting was the record of the artist’s actions (and therefore, self). 2. Artists would exercise their Free will Choice Authenticity In the creation of art works in a process of working out their identity and personal truth. 3. Existentialism emphasised “originality”. ‘The artist was willing to have descendents but not ancestors.” “Bad faith” (prior knowledge not personally experienced) had to be avoided in art.

26. JUNGIAN PSYCHOANALYSIS Jackson Pollock in particular was very interested in these ideas as he had Jungian psychoanalysis Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist follower of Sigmund Freud, who developed “Analytical psychoanalysis” Believed in the importance of bringing our UNCONSCIOUS to the CONSCIOUS realm, developing self knowledge.

27. JUNGIAN ARCHETYPES Archetypes are "the existence of definite forms in the psyche which seem to be present always and everywhere." [Jung] myths symbols Characters Rituals that organise, direct & inform human behaviour

28. Jungian Psychology and Art Art as an outlet for frustrated emotion Artists can being their subconscious to the conscious realm through ‘acting out’ on the canvas. Through the process of art-making, artists can acquire self-knowledge

29. ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISTS believed “If they emptied their minds of preconceptions and applied pigment with a maximum of spontaneity, the images they made would be an expression of the deepest levels of their beings… Art became a method of self-realization.” (Anthony Everitt)