2. 1. Abstract Expressionism
Influences from expressionism:
Non-European art – saw it as closer to humanity’s origin
Style: flattened planes; vibrant colors; geometric shapes
Expression of intense or extreme emotion
Move away from Realism and Regionalism
Influenced by surrealism
Related to psychoanalysis (Freud & Jung)
Abstract + expressionism
i.e., emotion of the expressionists without clearly defined or
outlined figures
Turn away from “things” – rejection of materialism
Came to prominence in the 1950s
Surrealism: art movement
that tried to release the
unconscious mind, often
through the irrational
juxtaposing of images.
3. 2. Jackson Pollock, painter
Bio (1912-1956):
Born in Wyoming, but grew up in Southern CA
Mother: seamstress; Father: farmer, land surveyor
Moved to NYC with older brother in 1930
studied at Art Students League under Thomas Hart
Benton
Struggled with alcoholism – died in car crash under
influence
Career:
Worked for WPA Federal Paint Project
Contracted by Peggy Guggenheim to paint mural for
residence
1949: Life magazine does 4-page spread on his work
4. 3a. Jackson Pollock, style
Technique & Style:
Used paint pouring, later dripping
technique
Painted on large canvases on floor
Allowed multiple perspectives & use of
force from body
Paintings more events than pictures
“record of artist’s gestures”
Not an accident – planned and
purposeful
Textured – can see the drips raised on
canvas
Pollock claimed machines could
represent objects, but humans could
uniquely depict the nature of
experience/ reality inside the person –
the self
6. 4. Mark Rothko, painter
Bio (1903-1970):
Born in Russia to educated Jewish family (father =
pharmacist & intellectual)
Family emigrated to U.S. (Portland) in 1913 to avoid draft in
Russian army
Education: public schools; Yale University
Satirized Yale’s stuffiness & bourgeois tone
Committed suicide – struggled with depression
Career:
Moved to NYC in 1923
Worked in garment district
Took classes at Parsons School of Design & Art Students
League
Began showing in galleries in early 30s
Style shifted mid-career from abstract figurations &
cityscapes to color blocks he’s most known for
7. 5. Mark Rothko, style
Style:
Modernist Surrealist Abstract Expressionist
Influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche, subject of art
came to be: relieving spiritual emptiness
Belief that art could affect one’s psyche
“Multiforms”: layered blocks of color on canvas
Sometimes bright (esp. early paintings); sometimes
dark (esp. later paintings)
Often kept his process secret
Sometimes used organic materials (egg, glue)
Layering required quick drying in order to layer
more color without mixing
Multiforms: about expressing human emotion
Yellow and Gold (1956)
10. 6. Willem de Kooning, painter
Bio (1904-1997):
Born in Netherlands; parents divorced when he was 3
Left school at 12 to become apprentice to commercial artists
Attended night classes until 1924 instead
Stowed away on ship to U.S. in 1926
Moved to NYC
Became citizen in 1961
Career:
NYC: carpenter, house painter, commercial artist
Joined artist colony in Woodstock in 1928
Joined artist’s union in 1934
Worked for WPA in 1935
Had several solo shows in mid-20th-c.
Work has sold for near record prices (Woman III sold for
$137.5 million in 2006
11. 7. Willem de Kooning, style
Style:
Early paintings: abstract still-life
Woman series = most well-known
Abstract
Cubist-influenced
Disassembled
Energetic, frenetic
Emotions: frustration, desire, inner conflict
Quote from Elaine de Kooning (wife):
“He was always pressing and reaching through
paint until he found the gesture he wanted and
had what satisfied him.”
12. 8. Jasper Johns, painter
Bio (1930-):
Born & raised in South (Georgia; South Carolina)
Educated at University of South Carolina & Parsons School
of Design (New York)
Served in Korean War
Returned to NYC after war met Robert Rauschenberg
Career:
Started as abstract expressionist Neo-Dadaist/pop artist
First solo show in 1958
Included Flag (1955)
Idea for Flag came to him in a dream
many of his paintings are valued in the millions
Flag sold in 2010 for $110 million
Pop art: art using objects from
popular culture
• E.g., Johns’ use of flags,
maps, and targets
13. 9. Jasper Johns, style
Style:
Used found objects (newspapers, coffee
cans, etc.) in his art
Flag is made out of newspaper dipped
in pigmented hot wax (encaustic)
Dried newspaper mimics brushstroke
Created images of common objects
(like flags & targets)
Dialogue between artist & viewer
Blurred line between “high art” &
“everyday life”
14. 10. Johns, style
Style:
Incorporated sculpture into painting
Plaster cast faces
Newspaper dipped in wax
Called paintings “facts”
Interpretation up to the viewer
Flag & Target both painted during the
Cold War era
Question: How might the Cold War
have influenced these paintings & their
interpretations?
Cold War: era in mid-20th c. marked by political
tension between U.S. + allies & Soviet Union +
allies
• Democracy vs. Communism
• Second Red Scare – McCarthyism
• Political repression
• Suspicion & fear of Soviet espionage
15. 11. Andy Warhol, pop artist
Bio (1928-1987):
Born & raised in Pittsburgh by Austro-Hungarian
immigrants (Slovakia)
Educated at Carnegie Mellon – studied commercial art
Career:
Worked as shoe illustrator for Glamour
Worked for shoe designer
Worked for RCA records designing album covers
By early 60s, had exhibitions on both coasts
Founded “The Factory”
Studio in NYC; frequented by artists, musicians, etc.
16. 12. Andy Warhol, style
Style:
Frequently used silkscreening/screen-
printing
As pop artist, depicted everyday objects
But also obsessed w/celebrity
Repetition of images – celebrity as product
to be consumed – icon
Use of bright colors
Flat, unrealistic, unflattering portraits
18. 14. Andy Warhol, style
Silver Car Crash (1963)
Screen-printed photos of a car
crash from newspaper
Repetition = statement on how
impact can be weakened by its
mass reproduction (like in the
news)
