Final Postwar-Art terms

Painting

• Definition: A medium of visual art involving the application of pigment to a surface (typically canvas, paper, or walls) to create images or express emotions.

Sculpture

• Definition: A three-dimensional form of art created by shaping materials such as stone, metal, wood, clay, or found objects.

Content

• Definition: The subject matter, message, or meaning conveyed in an artwork, encompassing its emotional, intellectual, and narrative aspects.

Form

• Definition: The physical characteristics of an artwork, including its composition, structure, texture, and materials.

Abstraction

• Definition: Artistic style that distorts, simplifies, or eliminates natural forms to emphasize color, line, and shape, often focusing on the essence of objects rather than their literal representation.

Figuration

• Definition: Art that represents recognizable subjects, such as people, animals, or objects, often in a realistic or semi-realistic manner.

Portraiture

• Definition: The genre of painting, sculpture, or photography that focuses on depicting individuals or groups, often with an emphasis on capturing personality and likeness.

Composition

• Definition: The arrangement of elements (like color, form, line, and texture) within an artwork, determining how the piece is structured and how the viewer’s eye is guided.

Modernism

• Definition: A broad cultural movement from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century that emphasized innovation, abstraction, and a break from traditional artistic forms, techniques, and subjects.

Formalism

• Definition: A critical approach to art that focuses on the formal elements of a work (like composition and color) rather than its subject matter or emotional content.

Clement Greenberg

• Definition: A prominent art critic associated with Formalism, especially in the context of Abstract Expressionism. Greenberg championed the idea that the primary purpose of painting was to emphasize its own flatness and two-dimensionality.

Avant-garde

• Definition: Refers to innovative, experimental, or unconventional art that challenges the established norms of its time, often associated with progressive political ideas.

Kitsch

• Definition: Art or objects considered to be in bad taste due to their mass production, superficiality, or sentimentality, often characterized by excessive decorativeness or banality.

Cubism

• Definition: A groundbreaking early-20th-century movement pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque that fragmented and abstracted forms into geometric shapes, representing multiple perspectives in one composition.

MoMA, NY

• Definition: The Museum of Modern Art in New York, a leading institution dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of modern and contemporary art.

Abstract Expressionism

• Definition: A post-WWII American art movement characterized by spontaneous, gestural brushwork, and an emphasis on abstract forms. Prominent artists include Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

Action Painting

• Definition: A subgenre of Abstract Expressionism that emphasizes spontaneity and physical engagement with the medium, where the act of painting itself is an integral part of the work (e.g., Jackson Pollock).

Gestural Painting

• Definition: A form of Action Painting in which the artist’s brushstrokes or marks directly express energy, emotion, or movement, often associated with Pollock and de Kooning.

Color-Field Painting

• Definition: A style of Abstract Expressionism focused on large fields of color to evoke an emotional response, with key figures including Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman.

Allover Composition

• Definition: A technique used in Abstract Expressionism, where the composition covers the entire canvas, creating no clear focal point, often associated with Jackson Pollock.

Cold War

• Definition: A geopolitical conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union (1947-1991) that influenced artistic and cultural production, with tensions reflected in political art and conceptual art movements.

Cannibalism

• Definition: A concept from Brazilian Modernist art (e.g., Tarsila do Amaral), where cultural appropriation is used as a metaphor for incorporating elements of foreign culture and transforming them into a distinct national art form.

Neo-Concretism

• Definition: A Brazilian avant-garde movement that emerged in the 1950s, responding to Concrete Art, emphasizing emotional expression and organic shapes in contrast to rigid abstraction.

Gutai

• Definition: A Japanese avant-garde group (1950s-1970s) that explored materiality and performance, breaking boundaries between art and life through experimental work.

Leo Steinberg

• Definition: An influential art critic who redefined the understanding of modern art, focusing on the spatiality of the canvas and the relationship between art and audience.

Happening

• Definition: A performance-based art form popular in the 1950s-1960s, emphasizing spontaneity, audience interaction, and ephemeral nature, with artists like Allan Kaprow.

Performance Art

• Definition: An artistic medium that incorporates live action, often blurring the boundaries between theatre, visual art, and dance.

John Cage

• Definition: An influential avant-garde composer and artist known for his radical ideas about chance in art, including the famous work 4'33" where the performer does not play any music, drawing attention to ambient sounds.

Independent Group

• Definition: A group of British artists and critics in the 1950s that introduced elements of popular culture, especially advertising, to fine art and are often associated with the early development of Pop Art.

Nude

• Definition: A traditional subject in art, often referring to the unclothed human figure, explored through painting, sculpture, and photography. It has evolved from idealized forms to more naturalistic or abstract representations.

Consumerism

• Definition: The social and economic ideology that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. It is a critical theme in Pop Art, capitalist realism, and neo-conceptual art.

Collector

• Definition: An individual or institution that acquires works of art, often acting as a mediator in the art market by influencing the values of artworks.

Pop Art

• Definition: A movement that emerged in the 1950s-60s, using popular culture, advertising, and mass media as sources of imagery. Major artists include Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

Collage

• Definition: An art technique that involves assembling different materials (such as photographs, newspapers, and fabric) into a composition. It was popularized by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

Silkscreen

• Definition: A printmaking technique used by Andy Warhol and others to create multiples of an image using a screen stencil and ink.

Flatness

• Definition: The two-dimensionality of the painting surface, which is emphasized in Modernist art, especially by Clement Greenberg, to underscore the medium's inherent properties.

Hard-Edge Abstraction

• Definition: An abstract art style characterized by sharp lines and clear-edged forms, often associated with artists like Ellsworth Kelly and Frank Stella.

Capitalist Realism

• Definition: An art movement in Germany in the 1960s that paralleled Pop Art, using imagery from advertising and consumerism to comment on capitalist society.

Ferus Gallery

• Definition: An influential art gallery in Los Angeles that was instrumental in introducing Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism to the West Coast.

Wallace Berman

• Definition: An American artist associated with the Beat Generation, known for his collage work and involvement with the Semina series of underground art publications.

Assemblage

• Definition: A form of sculpture created by combining various found objects or materials into a unified whole.

“Specific Objects” (Essay)

• Definition: An influential essay by Donald Judd that argued that art should focus on objecthood, emphasizing the physicality and materiality of art rather than representation.

• Minimalism
  A movement in art that emerged in the late 1950s, characterized by simplicity and a focus on geometric forms, clean lines, and an absence of emotional expression. Minimalist art often uses industrial materials and emphasizes the object’s inherent qualities.

• Primary Structures [Exhibition]
  A 1966 exhibition at the Jewish Museum in New York, which was one of the first major shows to showcase Minimalist artists. The exhibition highlighted geometric abstraction and three-dimensional work that emphasized form, space, and material.

• Seriality
  A conceptual art practice that involves creating artworks through repetition or a series of identical or nearly identical elements. This technique is associated with both Minimalism and Conceptual art, where the focus is on the process and structure rather than individual expression.

• Process Art
  An art movement that emphasizes the process of creating art over the final product. Process artists focus on the methods, materials, and actions involved in creating the artwork, often leaving the artwork’s evolution visible and open-ended.

• Site-Specificity
  Art created to exist in a particular location or environment. Site-specific works are designed to engage with the physical and social context of their location, making the space an integral part of the artwork's meaning.

• Land Art
  A movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, where artists used the natural landscape as their medium, creating large-scale installations or interventions that are often located in remote, natural environments. The works are often ephemeral and are meant to interact with or alter the land itself.

• Sol LeWitt
  An influential artist associated with Minimalism and Conceptual Art, LeWitt is best known for his wall drawings and the use of simple geometric forms. He emphasized the idea behind the work rather than the finished object, and his works are often produced by others following his instructions.

• Joseph Kosuth
  A leading figure in Conceptual Art, Kosuth is known for his focus on language, meaning, and the idea of art. His famous work One and Three Chairs explores the relationship between an object, its definition, and the concept it represents.

• Fluxus
  A global avant-garde movement that emerged in the early 1960s, characterized by experimental art forms that broke down traditional boundaries between art and life. Fluxus artists used music, performance, and everyday objects in innovative and sometimes humorous ways.

• Art & Language
  A conceptual art group formed in the late 1960s, known for its focus on the analysis of language and its role in art. Art & Language works often explored the relationship between visual art, language, and philosophy, questioning how meaning is constructed.

• Black Arts Movement
  A cultural movement of the 1960s and 1970s that centered on African American artists and writers. It sought to create a distinct African American cultural aesthetic that was politically engaged, addressing issues of race, identity, and social justice.

• Harlem on My Mind [Exhibition]
  A controversial 1969 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York that aimed to explore the cultural history of Harlem. Critics felt the show failed to represent Harlem's community directly, focusing instead on the representation of Harlem by outsiders.

• Amiri Baraka
  A key figure in the Black Arts Movement, Baraka was a poet, playwright, and activist. His works often dealt with themes of racial identity, social injustice, and political revolution, and he played a crucial role in shaping African American culture and activism during the 1960s and 1970s.

• Shaped Canvas
  A term used to describe paintings that use irregularly shaped canvases, moving beyond traditional rectangular formats. This technique is often associated with the Abstract Expressionist and Minimalist movements, where artists sought to integrate the shape of the canvas with the visual content of the artwork.

• Feminism
  A movement advocating for gender equality, with a focus on women’s rights and representation in the arts. Feminist art emerged in the 1970s as a response to the lack of women’s visibility in the art world, challenging gender roles and stereotypes.

• Ceramics
  The art of making objects from clay, often fired in a kiln to harden them. Post-war ceramic art saw a move toward experimentation and sculptural forms, with artists such as Peter Voulkos pushing the boundaries of traditional pottery.

• Central Core Imagery
  A motif frequently used in feminist and postmodern art, where artists explored the female body or symbolic representations of female sexuality, often emphasizing abstraction and organic forms that suggest the uterus or other reproductive organs.

• Feminist Art Program
  A pioneering art education program created at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in the 1970s, designed to support and nurture women artists. The program focused on issues such as representation, identity, and the social role of women in art.

• Video Art
  Art created using video technology, often involving experimental uses of the medium to explore themes like time, space, and the relationship between technology and human perception. Video art became an important form of expression in the late 20th century.

• Art Market
  The commercial side of the art world, where artworks are bought, sold, and traded. Post-war, the art market expanded significantly, with major galleries, auction houses, and collectors playing an increasingly important role in determining the value and success of artists.

• Neo-Expressionism
  A movement that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, characterized by bold, emotive brushwork, intense color, and distorted forms. It is often seen as a reaction against Minimalism and Conceptualism, bringing back figurative and emotional content to art.

• Postmodernism
  A broad intellectual and cultural movement that emerged in the mid-20th century, characterized by skepticism toward grand narratives and objective truths. In art, postmodernism involved a mix of styles, irony, pastiche, and a focus on deconstructing established norms and conventions.

• ACT-UP
  The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, founded in 1987, was an advocacy group that used art and direct action to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic. Its members included artists who used visual art, performance, and public interventions to protest government inaction and stigmatization of people with HIV/AIDS.

• Appropriation
  The artistic practice of borrowing or repurposing elements from existing works, images, or cultural artifacts. Appropriation in art is often used to question originality, authorship, and the commercialization of culture, as seen in movements like Pop Art and Postmodernism.

• Magiciens de la Terre [Exhibition]
  A 1989 exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris that aimed to present contemporary art from a global perspective. The show featured artists from a variety of cultural backgrounds and sought to challenge Western dominance in the art world, though it was criticized for its Eurocentric curatorial approach.