2 - Art History

02 Art History

The change in art after World War II

In the 1930s, before the onset of war, rationing, and Army drafts, art reflected the somewhat serene lives of the people.

Mundane scenes such as factory workers or office settings were routinely painted to depict the era.

They were reminiscent of the people living a routine life middle-class, ordinary settings.

Yet in 1939, fighting spread throughout the world. War and the subsequent struggles for power, existence, and peace brought great unrest for countries around the world following World War II.

With the changes wrought by war, many countries felt the need to convey a new, postwar image. It was from this need that abstract expressionism evolved as a modern and recognized art form.

Abstract artist Jackson Pollock gave a clear picture of the emergence of abstract art when he said, “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. Each find its own technique. “

It was the art of this revolutionary painter that helped define the abstract movement. Postwar artist like Pollock developed free-form aesthetics by abandoning conventions of past styles while maintaining focused, self-reflexive qualities and the feelings of each individual artist.

The method for creating abstract art involved paintings free of religious, political, and popular subjects.

The paintings were instead comprised of bright colors and shapes, characterized by personal expression, rather than the development of a predictable art style.

Much personal empowerment grew out of this profound freedom of expression. After World War II and during the uncertainty of the Cold War, the world tottered back and forth between stability and instability.

People felt great anxiety amidst their growing prosperity. They viewed the modern art of the time is bold, triumphant, and self-assured.

Although the work seemed to exude postwar confidence, artist portrayed profound unease and viewed their work much differently.

Their images were the expression of desperation in the midst of a tough reality inspired by unrest and contrasted with material growth.

The psychology of the abstract art form emerged from this altered mindset that was at once strong and vulnerable, confident and subdued.

Consequently, artist at the time had the need to feel their experiences in ways that were intense, immediate, direct, subtle, unified, and vivid.

“Painting is a state of being… painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is,” stated Pollock.

Abstract Expressionism, as the new art style became known, was a way to embody the artist’s yearning for stability in an unstable world as well as a way to emphasize his own personal ideas and use those as expression.

Pollock’s chief ambition in his art was to incorporate opposition. He did this by pairing order with chaos, reason with passion, and modernism with primitivism.

Similar to other abstract artist, he preferred to portray notions of the subconscious, giving free rein to forgotten personal memories and psychic impulses.

George Tooker, another artist of the time, painted the Subway, which illustrated postwar expectations of individuality and conformity.

The affluence of the nation’s newfound economic success combined with anxiety over political instability to form a dual consciousness that is said to haunt America’s identity still.

Each had a set of signature styles that expressed personal and societal isolation of the artist in abstract ways.

During this time, modern art became identified widely as “American” art, having its focal point primarily on the nation.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York began to ship abstract expressionistic works to be displayed in places like Malan, Madrid, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, and London.

Some critics overseas were dismayed, stating that this type of abstract art was not new.

As this art was practiced elsewhere, they continued by saying it was not good quality painting and was not purely American.

One writer hailed typical American abstract art as “heir of the pioneer and immigrant.”

Another saw the artist says heroic rebels, comparing them to movie stars of the same caliber as James Dean and Marlon Brando or teen idols such as Elvis Presley.

As the US was celebrating a highly contradictory mix of freedom and individuality, abstract expressionism became a political pawn of sorts.

The art reflected the ambiguity of the world at the time as war-ravaged countries worked to recover their economy and people worked to achieve a normal state of life.

The artists of abstract expressionism effectively captured the emotion of the nation as it emerged from a time of stress and tried to form an updated image.