Abstract Expressionism

Paper Summary:

The paper explains how abstract expressionism emphasized the basic character of a person or object while having little visual reference to the real world or to nature. The paper discusses some of the artists associated with abstract expressionism that include Jackson Pollack, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline and Mark Rothko.

From the Paper:

"According to Paul Stella of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, abstract expressionism was created in the early 1940's in New York City by a small group of artists who devised "a stylistically diverse body of work that introduced radical new directions in art. Some of the artists associated with abstract expressionism include Jackson Pollack (1912-1956), Willem de Kooning (1904-1997), Franz Kline (1910-1962) and Mark Rothko (1903-1970), all of whom advanced "audacious formal inventions in a search for content" via new techniques and subject matter. Overall, the works of art that currently define abstract expressionism stand as reflections of these artist's individual psyches and their attempts to "tap into universal inner sources," meaning that abstract expressionists relied heavily on the collective unconscious in the form of archetypes that express man's most primitive and at times violent emotions ("Abstract Expressionism," Internet)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Arnason, Howard H. History of Modern Art. New York: Abrams Publishing, 1968.
• Hunter, Sam A Concise History of Modern Painting. New York: Abrams Publishing, 1985.
• Stella, Paul. "Abstract Expressionism." Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abex/hd_abex.htm.

More papers on Abstract Expressionism:

• Essay # 25299 : "Jackson Pollock: The Father of Abstract Expressionism"
• Research Paper # 2712 : "World War Two and Abstract Expressionism"
• Essay # 43370 : "Expressionism and Abstract Expressionism."

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