Abstract Expressionism Essay -- Visual Art Paintings Artists

Abstract Expressionism "New needs need new techniques. And the modern artists have found new ways and new means of making their statements ... the modern painter cannot express this age, the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio, in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any other past culture." Jackson Pollock Rarely has such a massive transfer of influence has ever touched the world as did in the Paris to New York shift of the 1940's and 1950's. All of the characters of American art were to be expelled in a rapid shift of power. No longer would American artists be the lamb suckling at the teat of European sources, American art was to dispose of narrow-mindedness, an uninterested public, and liberate itself into a valued and meaningful force equal to, and in fact exceeding that of, art produced anywhere within the era. The painting and sculpture that emerged from the 'New York School' in the mid 1940s was the foremost artistic movement of its time. It was labelled as the Abstract Expressionist movement. This is a turning point in American art history for the reason that it caused the rest of the art world to recognize New York as the new center of innovation. The outbreak of World War Two had devastated the world massively, crushing world economies, social structure and optimistic manifestos left, right and centre. The war had long ruled out any naÃÆ'Â ¯ve enthusiasm for art or artist, art no longer had the courage to be a vehicle for ideology of any kind. European art took a more realist stance post-war and the Paris scene delved into accuracy and subjective art. The demand for art increased as financial affluence returned to the world, particularly America which (having entered the war later than most Allies) had not been so damaged economically and socially by the war. America had not suffered extensive bombing like Europe and was prepared to invest in art 'Modern art became a modern and popular affair' (Mid-Century Paintings in the USA by) Technological advances like progress in printing and reproduction methods brought art to a larger amount of the public, no longer was art a fad or declaration of wealth owned only by the elite. Government grants, banks churches and communities began to reward artists for works in exhibition and fund displays; this insured that a steady flow of art and artists were drawn from shell-sh... ...m. In Minimalism objects are cut down to their fundamental, geometric form, and presented in an impersonal manner. This movement is a direct descendant of Abstract Expressionism, and colour-field painters in particular. Large scale washes of colour in sections and the overall emotion evoked being far more important than any kind of subject matter. A number of famous developments were led by artists associated with Abstract Expressionists and New York school artists. As the influence of abstract expressionism decreased in the 1960s, artists came to question the very philosophy underlying modernism. As the force and vigour of abstract expressionism diminished, new artistic movements and styles arose during the 1960s and 70s to challenge and displace modernism in painting, sculpture, and other media. This is how Pop art reared its head. Dada-like styles employed in the early 1960s and thereafter by Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns had widespread influence, as did the styles of many other artists. Abstract Expressionism, far from dead however, is still very much alive and living. It lives in modern pieces and artists across the globe; its influence knows no bounds.