Abstract Expressionism Visual & Performing Arts Essay
- The historical understanding of abstract expressionism has been profoundly influenced by two radically different interpretations: Clement Greenberg’s concept of formalism/ medium specificity expressed in his article “Modernist Painting” & Harold Rosenberg’s concept of action painting expressed in his article “The American Action Painters,” both of which we read for class. (readings are attached)
- For this essay question, respond to all of the following questions/prompts:
1. Define the concepts of “formalism” and “action painting,”
and explain how each can be applied to the interpretation of abstract expressionist painting.
2. How can both of these concepts be understood as a reflection of the political context of the United States during the Cold War with the Soviet Union in the 1950s?
3. Explain how the monumental scale and concept of “action painting” inspired new forms of art making for artists working in the 1960s and 1970s. Choose a single artwork (that isn’t an abstract painting) and explain how it reinterprets the concept of “action painting.”
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
Name
Course
Date
In the American Action Painters, Harold Rosenberg views about action painting is that the canvas can be regarded as an arena where different acts will occur. His ideas differ from aesthetic formalism. He believes that art will showcase the artist’s intellectual and emotional resources if he was in a real-life situation. The canvas is a surface to make records of events and not just for painting a picture. Painting is an action while the sketch is a single action. A sketch is defined as the “preliminary form of an image the mind is trying to grasp”. Action painting applies to abstract expressionist, which means it has a unique goal for extinguishing the object, which is not comparable to other expressionism or abstract phases of modern art. The new painting cannot be regarded as “pure” art. It is because the extrusion of the subject was not for the esthetic — the artist’s expressionistic interaction with the canvas in vital.[Rosenberg, Harold. "The tradition of the new." (1962), 26.] [Ibid, 26.] [Ibid, 26.]
In Modernist Painting Clement Greenberg posits that aesthetic formalism means that the aesthetic appeal of an artwork is not reliant or derived on anything outside the piece of work. He considers the abstract as an element of the modernistic painting. His focus on not on the content of sculptures, and panting, and instead, his focus was on the details depicted b...
You Might Also Like Other Topics Related to art essays:
- Postmodern Appropriation in Art1 page/≈275 words | Chicago | Visual & Performing Arts | Essay |
- Weekly Writing on Arts. Visual & Performing Arts Research Paper5 pages/≈1375 words | APA | Visual & Performing Arts | Research Paper |
- Journal Article Review Literature & Language Essay5 pages/≈1375 words | Chicago | Literature & Language | Essay |
- Part 1: African Slavery History Essay Research Paper3 pages/≈825 words | APA | History | Essay |
- Apply: Strategic Management Research Journal, Part 3 Management Essay3 pages/≈825 words | APA | Management | Essay |
- Individual vs society Visual & Performing Arts Essay1 page/≈275 words | MLA | Visual & Performing Arts | Essay |
- The Bitter Game and Ghost Dance Visual & Performing Arts Essay1 page/≈275 words | MLA | Visual & Performing Arts | Essay |