Abstract Expressionism Uncovered
Abstract Expressionism emerged in the wake of World War II as a significant and dynamic movement in modern art, characterized by a focus on unconventional forms and emotive spontaneity. It marked the shift of the art world's center from Paris to New York and encompassed a varied array of artistic expressions that were both intensely personal and grandly conceptual. By eschewing the traditional standards of figurative painting, abstract expressionists endeavored to portray the complex range of human emotion through bold, often large-scale, works that spoke to the subconscious as much as the conscious intellect.
The Origins of Abstract Expressionism
The term "Abstract Expressionism" was first coined by art critic Robert Coates in 1946, but the movement itself rooted decades earlier in the works of artists like Wassily Kandinsky and European avant-garde movements such as Surrealism and Cubism. The upheaval of World War II had a profound effect on artists, many of whom emigrated to the United States, bringing with them philosophies and techniques that would coalesce into this new American art form.
Jackson Pollock and Action Painting
Jackson Pollock stands among the most iconic figures of Abstract Expressionism, renowned for his revolutionary "drip technique." Pollock's approach involved laying canvas on the floor and applying paint in a dynamic act of gestural throwing, splattering, and dribbling. This technique was a physical, even performative process where Pollock could engage his full body, distancing the mechanical act of painting from the traditional, restrained brushwork.
Pollock's Technique
Pollock's large-scale pieces, such as "Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)," exhibit a frenetic energy trapped within the layers of paint, each layer representing a different moment of action. His canvases were arenas in which he choreographed his movements, often using industrial paints that allowed for fluidity and a range of viscosities.
Willem de Kooning and Figurative Abstraction
Willem de Kooning, another heavyweight in the Abstract Expressionist movement, straddled the line between figure and abstraction. While Pollock abandoned form entirely, de Kooning maintained a corrupted sense of the figure within his abstract works.
De Kooning's Women Series
His "Women" series is a powerful example, with the titular subjects depicted in a ferocious, almost grotesque manner. They are faceless and contorted, rendered in aggressive, expressive brushstrokes. De Kooning’s technique was distinguished by his "slip-tip" brushwork, which combined stark lines with areas of diffuse color, suggesting movement and transformation within the paint itself.
Mark Rothko and Color Field Painting
In contrast to the high energy of action painters, artists like Mark Rothko embraced a subtler, more meditative approach known as color field painting. Rothko is perhaps best known for his large canvases featuring soft, rectangular bands of color that seem to float over the base layer.
Rothko's Multiforms
His "Multiform" paintings use color to evoke a wealth of emotion, tapping into a contemplative, spiritual experience for the viewer. Rothko applied thin washes of paint to the canvas, creating a luminosity and depth that one could almost step into. This layering technique imbued his pieces with a sense of the ethereal, as if the colors were breathing entities.
Clyfford Still and Raw Canvases
Another notable abstract expressionist, Clyfford Still, is recognized for using jagged, life-size slashes of color, a technique that contributed to his signature raw, and often somber, canvases. His approach to painting foregrounded texture and the physicality of the paint itself.
Still's Textural Techniques
Still often scraped the canvas with a palette knife to create textured layers that gave his works a rugged, almost geological quality. This method, combined with his use of stark color contrasts, evoked dramatic fissures and suggested a haunting sense of void within the composition.
Legacy and Influence
Abstract Expressionism broke down barriers and opened up new horizons for future generations of artists. Its bold rejection of convention continued to inspire movements like Minimalism and Post-Modernism, and its emphasis on the artist's personal touch redefined the cultural understanding and meaning of art. Today, Abstract Expressionism remains a testament to the power of innovation and the enduring human need to express the inexpressible.
Each artist of the Abstract Expressionist movement brought their own process and philosophy to their work, revealing the vastness and diversity within the genre. Their techniques, often developed in solitude, were reflections of expansive emotional landscapes, concerned more with the inherent chaos and drama of the human psyche than with the representational or the literal. Abstract Expressionism remains one of the most influential and enigmatic movements in art history, a raw interrogation of what it means to make art and to communicate without words on the canvas of our shared humanity.