HA11 Final

Abstract Expressionism

"Despite this variety, Abstract Expressionist paintings share several broad characteristics. They are basically abstract—i.e., they depict forms not drawn from the visible world. They emphasize free, spontaneous, and personal emotional expression, and they exercise considerable freedom of technique and execution to attain this goal, with a particular emphasis laid on the exploitation of the variable physical character of paint to evoke expressive qualities (e.g., sensuousness, dynamism, violence, mystery, lyricism). They show similar emphasis on the unstudied and intuitive application of that paint in a form of psychic improvisation akin to the automatism of the Surrealists, with a similar intent of expressing the force of the creative unconscious in art. They display the abandonment of conventionally structured composition built up out of discrete and segregable elements and their replacement with a single unified, undifferentiated field, network, or other image that exists in unstructured space. And finally, the paintings fill large canvases to give these aforementioned visual effects both monumentality and engrossing power."

Impressionism

"Impressionist painting characteristics include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles." (Wiki) In realtionship to photography: "The development of Impressionism can be considered partly as a reaction by artists to the challenge presented by photography, which seemed to devalue the artist's skill in reproducing reality. Both portrait and landscape paintings were deemed somewhat deficient and lacking in truth as photography "produced lifelike images much more efficiently and reliably". In spite of this, photography actually inspired artists to pursue other means of creative expression, and rather than compete with photography to emulate reality, artists focused "on the one thing they could inevitably do better than the photograph—by further developing into an art form its very subjectivity in the conception of the image, the very subjectivity that photography eliminated".[26] The Impressionists sought to express their perceptions of nature, rather than create exact representations. This allowed artists to depict subjectively what they saw with their "tacit imperatives of taste and conscience". Photography encouraged painters to exploit aspects of the painting medium, like colour, which photography then lacked: "The Impressionists were the first to consciously offer a subjective alternative to the photograph". (Wiki) "use of unmixed primary colors and small strokes to simulate actual reflected light."

Minimalism

"Minimalists distanced themselves from the Abstract Expressionists by removing suggestions of biography from their art or, indeed, metaphors of any kind. This denial of expression coupled with an interest in making objects that avoided the appearance of fine art led to the creation of sleek, geometric works that purposefully and radically eschew conventional aesthetic appeal." (From a website) "...their sculptures were frequently fabricated from industrial materials and emphasized anonymity over the expressive excess of Abstract Expressionism." "The use of prefabricated industrial materials and simple, often repeated geometric forms together with the emphasis placed on the physical space occupied by the artwork led to some works that forced the viewer to confront the arrangement and scale of the forms. Viewers also were led to experience qualities of weight, height, gravity, agility or even the appearance of light as a material presence. They were often faced with artworks that demanded a physical as well as a visual response."

Soup Can vs. Pollock's Autumn Rhythm

-Soup Can mocking all over -all-over (using the whole canvas) -one seems more manufactured (repetition of image) while the other you can see the strokes and recreate the movements of the artist

Cubism in Cox

1) "the cubists were representing what the mind knows rather than what the eye sees" 2) "they were creating a pure realm of abstract form 3) "they were making paintings about how paintings work" "cubism rejects the commonplace notion that the work of art can never deal with the world as it really 'is' but only with ways of seeing it and knowing it" "cubism explored the world according to consciousness"

Themes for painting

Impressionism: Painting ephemeral, spontaneous painting, painting what you see Historia: Minimalism: make you aware of their presence in relationship to the art itself (the thing is in your space) painting (on a wall; in a different world) (navigating museum) (white walls/contrast) Performance: Abstract Expressionism: looking into unconscious mind Surrealism: Primitivism: going to other cultures in order to revitalize painting, appropriates culture (using culture as art that is interesting to paint, etc.) Cubism: (check other flash card) Pop art: mocking consumerism

Hesse versus Krasner

Krasner: more reactionary to her husband

Women Artists

Labille- Guiard: Seen as incapable of being great artists, lacked resources: nude body, classes at the academy, no formal training, built herself up from her roots Sojourner Truth: She owned her own body, she was supporting herself by selling images of her Cassatt: Kahlo: Krasner: Kara Walker: Yoko Ono: Hesse:

Viewing and Viewership/Questions about the Flaneur:

Manet-Olympia: Gauguin- Spirit of the Dead Watches: Sojourner Truth: Yoko Ono: Labille Guiard: The Loge: The Loge (Woman in Black): Anthropometries: Place de la Concorde:

Women as subjects in painting

Manet-Olympia: Crude, Naked, Sojourner Truth: Yoko Ono: -she sacrificed her body for art -audience actively participated Labille Guiard: The Loge: -she is looking at you -she's subject to male perogative, but she's aware -eyeglasses are down The Loge (Woman in Black): - profile -unaware of your presence -she is looking at others, but we are looking at her, and the man in painting is also looking at her Anthropometries: -women were more objectified -paid models -audience watched -klein blue -used models to trademark his work Bougereau: