Abstract Expressionism and Color Field

Abstract expressionism

The movement that cemented the US as a center of the art world

New York

The US state that many heavily associate with art - a product of abstract expressionism

primary avant garde

During this time, the ______ scene shifts to the United States

destruction following WWII, post-war economic boom, and rise of federal funding for higher education, Cold War politics

The four reasons for the rise of Abstract Expressionism

Paris

The major artistic capital in Western Europe

occupation by Nazis

The main reason why the art scene in France fell apart

vacuum

France’s occupation by Nazis left a ____ that allowed the US to step in its place

innovation

Any time there’s more money, there’s greater ____ in art - with more money comes more unique art, which we can see in the US after the post-war economic boom

after

Most modern-day student loan programs were created ___ WWII

better educated

With the push in the US toward higher education, more people became ______ about the arts, increasing interest

propaganda

During the Cold War, the US government used American art as ____ during the Cold War

democracy, capitalism

The CIA set up international exhibitions of American art to showcase what ____ and _____ allow (form of government/economy) in contrast to the limited art of the Soviet Union

social realism

The only art that the Soviet Union funded. Naturalistic, monumental images of peasants marching, fields filled with grain. A lack of variety

self-expression

The US government used American art to signal that with political freedom comes the freedom for ______

action, gestural, color field, high

Names for abstract expressionist painters: American ___ painters, ____ painters, ____ painters, ____ modernists

loosely

The abstract expressionists were ___ connected to each other - not a formal organization like Der Blaue Reiter with official manifestos

boycott

The unifying point of the abstract expressionists was their ____ of the Metropolitan Museum of Art show

best and brightest, true advanced art

The 1950 Met show claimed to show the “_____” in American art. The abstract expressionists believed them to be hostile toward “_____.”

attention

The abstract expressionists’ boycott of the Met show got them a lot of _____, prompting others to question: what do they say about advanced art?

collectivist

Abstract expressionism wasn’t a ____ avant garde movement

Clement Greenberg

Incredibly influential art critic and scholar. Became the go-to consultant for museum curations

formalism

Greenberg’s methodology. Belief that art’s ability to connect with an individual was independent of representation

trajectory

Since the late 1800s and rise of Modernism, Greenberg saw a new ____ with a focus on the formal properties and elements of art - art for art’s sake

modern art, apex

Greenberg believed ____ reached its ___ (4 letters) with abstract expressionism - in the same way the High Renaissance is considered the pinnacle of its movement

expendable conventions

An idea Greenberg reiterated - anything that distracted viewers from the reality of paint on canvas: narrative, mythology, perspective, illusionism

advanced, sophisticated

Greenberg believed one must do away with expendable conventions to make the most ____ and ____ art

formalism, expendable conventions

Greenberg’s ideas

intellectual spine

Greenberg provided the _____ (2 words, metaphorical) for abstract expressionism

disagreed

One overlooked thing with Greenberg: one of the artists he praised ___ with him

itself as such

Greenberg believed the most advanced, sophisticated art which draws attention to _______ (3 words): art acknowledging itself as art

gestural painting, color field painting

The two trends of abstraction expressionism

gestural painting

Generally what people think of when they think of the abstract expressionist movement

up for debate

Terms like abstract expressionism, high modernism, and post-painterly abstraction are _____

Hans Hoffman

One of the most influential artists that opened the door to abstract expressionism. Taught a few abstract expressionists, while others cited him as an inspiration

Cubism, Picasso, Braque

Hoffman’s style was indebted to _____ (movement) as a known admirer of ____ and ____ (artists)

Germany

Where Hoffman opened his art school before fleeing to NY with the rise of the Nazis

The Gate

Piece by Hans Hoffman, where he is interested in using color as a space-creating device

push-pull effect

What Hans Hoffman claimed his work was always interested in = idea that some colors push you into the work, while others push you away and out

relations

Hoffman’s pursuits proved he had a deep, intricate understanding of color and color _____ to one another

materials

Hoffman’s experimentations were grounded in knowing his _____ and exploring them - effects of putting different colors next to one another

Willem de Kooning

The other forerunner of abstract expressionism, trained in Holland then moved to NY

consistent, representational, non-representational

Whereas Hoffman’s style was relatively ____, de Kooning’s style oscillated between being ____ and _____

gestural, momentum, attacked

de Kooning had a very ___ style of painting. His works have a sense of action and _____, almost as if he had ____ the canvas

labored over

Contrary to his works’ appearance, de Kooning _____ every single brushstroke - a much slower and less chaotic process than it initially appears

aggressive

de Kooning disliked the popular interpretation that he hated women, but the ___ nature of his pieces make that opinion understandable

attraction, repulsion

de Kooning’s Woman pieces feature a back and forth between ___ and ___

bad

Jackson Pollock had a __ reputation as a mean and often physically violent alcoholic

romantic

Abstract expressionism has a ____ element to it, despite its claims of being super modern

tortured soul

This aspect of Jackson Pollock’s identity (2 words) made him especially popular considering the romantic roots of abstract expressionism

American regionalist style

The first style Pollock painted in, not terribly avant garde

Jungian-archetype theory

The psychoanalytic philosophy Pollock learns about during his time undergoing psychoanalytic therapy

collective unconscious

Carl Jung believed there was a ____ (2 words) shared by all humans since the dawn of humanity

primal symbols

Believed to be understood by all of humanity at any time in history - very appealing idea to these artists

Freud and Carl Jung

The two philosophers that Pollock read during his time undergoing psychoanalytic therapy

She-Wolf

Jungian-informed piece by Pollock playing with cross-cultural tradition of stories about leaders being abandoned and raised by wild animals

Romulus and Remus

The main story Pollock is referencing in his She-Wolf. Story of the mythical founders of Rome who were raised by a she-wolf

cultures

With the Jungian-archetype theory, there’s this idea that core elements of Romulus and Remus appear in several different _____

Surrealism

Pollock’s focus on the unconscious mind clearly recalls ______

everyday American realist, Jungian paintings, “drip paintings”

Pollock’s transition in artist styles: ____ → ____ → _____ (excluding his final style)

drip paintings

His best known style. Also known as “splatter paintings”

Ed Harris

The actor who played Jackson Pollock in his biopic

floor, bucket

Pollock’s creation of drip paintings: laying canvases down on the ___, dripped paintbrush in ____, then dripped, dribbled, splattered, and flung paint on the canvas

Full Fathom Five

Splatter paintings by Pollock

dance, dancing

Pollock’s process is described as being done is a ___-like manner - ____ around the canvas in a rhythmic kind of way

automatic

Pollock’s painting, much like Surrealism, was meant to be very ____, not consciously planning or thinking it through

record, interactions

For Pollock and many other abstract expressionists, the piece is a ___ of every movement the artist made and their ___ with the canvas

painting

All of Pollock’s dribbles or splatters are about ____, or art for art’s sake

Jackson Pollock was here

Pollock’s works all have the same meaning: ________ (4 words)

subject matter, within

Of his work, Pollock said, “today’s painters don’t need to have a ____ (2 words) outside of themselves; they work from ____”

directly

Pollock claimed he approached painting and drawing ____, with no preliminary studies

one-to-one

Pollok’s work is meant to be a ___ (_-_) connection between artist and material

skill-less

For many, Pollock is the ultimate representation of the ____ school of thought (ex. “I/my kid could do that”)

conscious, inspiration

Despite his claims that his pieces are not part of his ____ mind, there is some choice in them, such as choosing colors. He’s letting his artistic ____ take control

center of focus

With Pollock’s works, there is no ____ (3 words), making them more difficult to recreate than it seems - they may be worked in a different color or gestural pattern, but no area is more worked than any other area

finished

On top of color choices, Pollock still has to make the decision whether it’s _____

Lavender Mist

A splatter painting by Pollock using whites and blacks on a slightly reddish canvas

important

In Pollock’s splatter paintings, there is no part of the work intended to be more ____ than any other part

active gestural

With his late works, Pollock moved away from the ____ (2 words) style

Lee Krasner

One of the most important gestural painters - Pollock’s wife

studied directly

Lee Krasner was one of the abstract expressionists ____ (2 words) under Hans Hoffman

Pollock’s death

It was only after ____ (2 words) that Krasner’s own artistic career came to the forefront

artistic, ideas

There is debate around the _____ relationship between Pollock and Krasner, with some arguing she’s responsible for some works accredited to Pollock and others arguing she merely gave Pollock many of his ____

improvised, suggestive

Krasner’s work is less _____ and more ____ compared to Pollock

Polar Stampede

Piece by Lee Krasner - its title is an example of how she used pieces’ names to give viewers a sense of what pieces were about, to suggest them

Hoffman, improvised

As Krasner was a student of ____, her work was less ______

a female artist, Surrealism

Krasner’s status as ____ made her far less interested in ______ (movement)

Franz Klein

A less known abstract expressionist known for his drawing-focused pieces

gradual, de Kooning

Klein’s pieces were much more ____ than instantaneous, working in a similar manner to _______ (artist)

New York

Piece by Klein

engagement

Klein’s pieces, like with all abstract expressionism, are a record of his _____ with the paint and canvas

Mark Rothko

The big name in color field painting

simple expressions

Quote to sum up color field painting: “we favor ______ (2 words) of complex thoughts”

profound ideas

Regardless of how reductive the pieces look, color field painters believed their art was expressing very _____ (2 words)

subject matter

There is a ______ (2 words) to Rothko and Newman’s pieces

color field

Greenberg was not fond of ______ painters, who argued their simple pieces were representing complex ideas and emotions

basic human emotions

Rothko explicitly said he was only interested in expressing _____ (3 words)

religious experience

Rothko described what he felt creating pieces and what others feel looking at them as a _____ (2 words)

the sublime

An idea Rothko was especially intrigued by, dating all the way back to Romanticism and Casper David Friedrich

close, fills

Rothko insisted the best way to look at his works was to get as ___ to them as possible: ~18 inches away, so that the entire work ___ your field of vision, embracing the viewer

up close

Rothko’s incredible use of color and layers can only been appreciated ____ and in person