FINAL PROJECT

ABSTRACT

Abstract Art is also known as Nonrepresentational Art, which is art without figurative and recognizable representation.Till the end of the 19 th century, most art was representational art. Then, a movement arose in 1870 in Europe, called ‘Impressionism’ which first introduced abstraction in paintings. Artists, during this time, wanted to create art and images which represented the reality of nature as in the depths of water and the different effects of light on things and natural objects. At much the same time, the Neo-impressionism movement began, taking inspiration from the Impressionist movement. Art, during this time, was created using side by side dots. Later, in the 1890s, a new movement started called the Post-Impressionist movement. This era saw a range of striking and unique paintings being created that were anything but representational. Thus, during the last couple of decades of the 19 th century, art had started moving from representational to abstract. Abstract art created a new purpose for art, and that was to evoke emotions and feelings. At the beginning of the 20th century several young artists  revolutionized the Paris art world with Fauvism.  In the early 20 th century, abstract art started gaining importance for the artist. Different variations of abstract art were developed and were known by different names. Then came the ultimate defining point in the history of art; and that was Abstract Expressionism.  In 1940, with the advent of Abstract Expressionism, the popularity of abstract art took the United States by storm.  It was the first American visual art to gain international status and influence. The term, commonly associated with post-war American art, was first used in 1946 by an American critic, in referring to the work of Arshile Gorky (1904-1948), Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) and Willem de Kooning (1904-1997). Abstract Expressionism does not describe a style as much as it does an attitude.  Abstract Expressionist artists were influenced by Existentialist ideas, which emphasized the importance of the act of creating, not of the finished object. There are two distinct groups within the movement. First is color field artist such as Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Barnett Newman (1905-1970), Clyfford Still (1904-1980), and Kenneth Noland (1924- ) who worked with simple unified blocks of color and explored the effect of pure color on a canvas

MARK ROTHKO PAINTING

. Second is Gestural or ‘Action’ Painting artists including Pollock, de Kooning, Hofmann, Franz Kline (1910-1962), Philip Guston (1913-1980), where the focus was on the physical action involved in painting. Pollock nicknamed ' Jack the dripper ' is perhaps the most sensational and famous action painter.

POLLOCK PAINTING

 The era 's sculptors received only modest critical and popular acclaim. With continuing popularity today, the style of abstract expressionism is emotion and energy driven , and explore mediums, lines , shapes , colors and textures. Abstract expressionism is no longer regarding as a leading edge. The abstract expressionists broke away from the conventions of the past and began creating art that was previously not deemed as ‘acceptable’ in the art world. Thus abstract art can be called a type of rebellion by artists of that time.