APAH KW CH.31- Modernism & Postmodernism 1945-1980

Abstract Expressionism

was the first American avant-garde movement. Called the New York School because the art scene shifted from Europe to New York. Expresses passion and visceral intensity

Action Painting/Gestural Abstraction

The kind of Abstract Expressionism practiced by Jackson Pollock, in which the emphasis was on the creation process, the artist’s gesture in making art. Pollock poured liquid paint in linear webs on his canvases, which he laid out on the floor, thereby physically surrounding himself in the painting during its creation.

Avant-garde

means French, “advance guard'“ refers to 20th century artists who emphasized innovation and challenged established traditions

Chromatic Abstraction

A kind of Abstract Expressionism that focuses on the emotional resonance of color, as exemplified by the work of Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko

Color-Field Painting

a variant of Post-Painterly Abstraction in which artists sought to reduce painting to its physical essence by pouring diluted paint onto unprimed canvas and letting these pigments soak into the fabric, as exemplified by the work of Helen Frankenthaler and Marris Louis

Conceptual Art

An American avant-garde art movement of the 1960s whose premise was that the “artfulness” of art lay in the artist’s idea rather than its final expression

Eclecticism

composed of elements from many sources. Past architectural elements were juxtaposed with contemporary elements or contemporary materials. Piazza d’Italia, The Portland Building

Existentialism

was a belief that each person must his or her own meaning in life because life is absurd. If god does not exist then individuals must struggle in isolation and anguish making decisions in a world without traditional values. - Jean Paul Sartre (Alberto Giacometti)

Feminist Art

is the art of the 70’s which focused on the power that kept women in a subordinate place in society and the arts

Formalism

strict adherence to, or dependence on, stylized shapes and methods of composition. An emphasis on an artwork’s visual elements rather than its subject

Minimalism

a predominantly sculptural American trend of the 1960s characterized by works featuring a severe reduction of form, often single, homogeneous units

Modernism

a movement in Western art that developed in the second half of the 19th century and sought to capture the images and sensibilities of the age

Neo-Expressionism

is an art movement which emerged in the 1970’s and reflects the artist’s interest in expressing feeling in a new way

Neue Sachlichkeit

German, “new objectivity.” An art movement that grew directly out of the World War I experiences of a group of German artists who sought to show the horrors of the war and its effects

Op Art

An artistic movement of the 1960s in which painters sought to produce optical illusions of motion and depth using only geometric forms on two-dimensional surfaces

Performance Art

an American avant-garde art trend of the 1960s that made time an integral element of art. It produced works in which movement, gestures, and sounds of persons communicating with an audience replace physical objects. Documentary photographs are generally the only evidence remaining after these events

Pop Art

refers to art which incorporated elements from consumer culture, the mass media and popular culture, such as images from motion pictures and advertising

Postmodernism

offers something for everyone by accommodating a wide range of styles, subjects and formats. They moved from easel painting to installation and from abstraction to illusionistic scenes

Post-Painterly Abstraction

an American art movement that emerged in the 1960s and was characterized by a cool, detached rationality emphasizing tighter pictorial control. See also color-field painting and hard-edge painting

Post-War Expressionism

expressed a spirit of alienation and isolation 1945-1970

Site-Specific Art

often called earthworks, created for a specific location. Robert Smithson, Michael Heizer & Christo & Jean-Claude

Superrealism

was a school of painting and sculpture that emphasized producing fidelity to optical fact. The painters were also called photorealists because they used photos as sources for their work.