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Abstract
Expressionism
(1945-1958)
The term was first used in 1919 to describe the
works of Wassily Kadinsky.

In 1946 the term is re-introduced in connection

with the work of
Jackson Pollock, (action painting)
and Willem de Kooning, (gestural painting)
as well as in the (colour field) works of
Mark Rothko and Barrett Newman.

Abstract = to be involved with concepts rather than reality / creating a new reality
severed from the actual reality

+
Expressionism = the need to express, negating traditional ways of expression.

Abstract Expressionism manifests the emotional

approach caused by the disillusionment of WWII. It shows
the shift of the artistic capitol of the world from Paris to New
York. Physical boundaries shifted as a metaphor for artistic
boundaries, especially regarding the approach towards the
establishment of an artwork and the role of determination of the
intrinsic value of a work.

The emergence of the individual, defying Totalitarianism, was

brought about through a process of re-evaluation that took
place after the war. Traces of the theories of Marx, Jung and
Freud,

- psychological manifestation of the individual -

as well as traditions from Dada

- chance, automatism, new boundaries, invented process -

are found in Abstract Expressionism. 1

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Characteristics of Abstract
Expressionism • The process that caused the manifestation of the painting is more important than the
painting itself. Abstract expressionism is more an idea than a definite style.
• The painting is not representational of reality at all, but exists as a record of a
process.

• The entire surface of the canvas is covered in paint in a network of receding and
projecting colours, which causes a false, new space to be created. This process is
termed “alloverness”

• The size of the canvas stretches its perimeters beyond visual boundaries,
therefore including the spectator in its false 3-dimensionality.

• The whole painting portrays a mass of paint.

• Spontaneous establishment of the individual and his experience of the macro

cosmos.

• The artist acts as medium for the direction and placement of energy fields generated
through his actions, recorded onto huge canvasses.

• Canvasses on floor for 360º access.

• Direct painting methods are use – no planning – automatism / intuitive painting

process

• Chance is absorbed in the painting process.

• Action painting is applied to the process as the artists whole body is part of gestures, not
just an arm and hand. Marks are made spontaneously.

• Texture, harmony through marks is deemed important.

Influenc
Gestalt theory
es:
The Gestalt theory promotes the comprehension of a
whole entity, as well as all the parts that it consists of; i.e.
a tree. On e sees the tree and read it as a whole, but
one is aware of roots, trunk, branches and leaves, even
though all of it is not visible.
The Gestalt theory states that all arts are equal to the
whole, and vice versa.
In Abstract Expressionism this theory is applied in the
‘overallness’ of the paint – no part of the canvas is more
important than another, and by itself it will still represent
the whole canvas, in the same fashion that a leaf is
inevitably part of a of a plant.

John Dewey: Art as a ritual with therapeutic value

Nature is not static, but a dynamic reality subjected to processes of change. Life is a constant adaptation to the
environment, and essential for survival. According to Dewey, human kind can only grow up and live successfully if
thought and mind is subjected to constant reflection.Human kind must adjust to the natural and social environment,
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reality of daily life, and strive for the integration of all experiences.
 Jackson
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ACTION Pollock

PAINTING Discussion of an artist:

“…I don’t work from drawings or colour sketches. My painting is direct – the method of
panting is drawn from the natural growth out of a need. I want to express my feelings
rather than illustrate them. Techniques are just a means of arriving at a statement. When I
am painting, I have a general notion as to what I am about, I control the flow of the paint,
there is no accident, just as there is no beginning and no end…”
- Pollock, 1951

Pollock works in the studio of the Mexican David

Siqueros and he becomes captivated by the wealth of
Red-Indian mythology and art. He involves
ideograms and symbols in his automatic
drawings during the mid-1940. He concludes his
automatic drawing with spontaneous gesture sin
in 1947 and thus evolves his drip-technique.
This technique produces the first true abstract
paintings.

Detail: “The Moon-woman cuts the circle”

Pollock is also influenced by eastern philosophy and religion, i.e. Zen

Buddhism and Taoism. Eastern religions emphasise the energy concept,
also prevalent in their handwriting – brush strokes for letters. Pollock
connects this handwriting process with modern automatism in painting (the
handwriting of the psyche).

He subjects his work to the rhythms of nature, acting as funnel for cosmic
energy. Meditation is a strongly relevant aspect of preparation for his
painting process.
Due to his action painting, a new level of harmony is portrayed in
painting:

“…Because the painting has a life of its own, I try to let it come
through. It is only when I loose contact with the painting that the
result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony on easy give and
take and the painting comes out well…”

Pollock is not interested in communicating through his work, but rather to establish it as an
extension of himself, whilst being in interaction with the cosmos. He keeps himself pure from
the world through isolation; therefore what is produced on canvas is pure, essential Pollock.

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• He uses any possible objects as paintbrushes: sticks, trowels, knives, broken glass,
perforated tins, and bicycles.
• He uses his entire body to perform a gesture to activate the ultimate amount of energy,
while remaining in upright position, distancing himself from the canvas.
• He develops a rhythm, echoing a cosmic rhythm, and expands on this with long sweeps
of his torso, arms and hands, circling the canvas from all directions.

• His paintings appear to be layered webs of paint, forming a textured network of

lines splattered in all directions. Some works are bolder in liner than others; all marks
and accidental paint additions i.e. skins off lids are left as part of the canvas.
• Various line qualities are created through the painting action : flowing, splattered,
bent, straight, angular, curved etc.

Works:
“Lavender Mist” 1950 (2,27m x 2.8m) Oil and enamel on canvas

Endless duality of space is contrived in this work. The colours are finely webbed and integrated
into an allover unity, with out becoming solid at any point.

“Autumn Rhythm” 1950 (2.6m x 5.3m)

Pollock’s acknowledgement of nature is evident in the title.
This work is an excellent example of Pollock’s drip technique. The canvas was used without
primer and paint was applied from all around it. Differentiated marks are made on various
sections of the canvas, depending on the method of application.

Top Section: black, brown and red paint was splattered and thrown onto the canvas, causing a
definite direction of marks.
Bottom Section: black and brown paint dripped down sticks and brushes, the marks are generally
more flowing and curved. In some places so much paint was applied that it dried in puddles,
forming ridges in the surface.
The overall impression is one of vibrant energy and vitality.

“Number 27”

“The Key” – Jackson Pollock, 1946 Oil on canvas “Number 27” Jackson Pollock, 1950 Oil on
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“Portrait and a Dream” Jackson Pollock, 1953, Oil and enamel

“Ocean Greyness” 1950 Oil on canvas “Lavender Mist” / “Painting no 1, 1950”

“Number 1, 1948” – Jackson Pollock, 1948, Oil & enamel on

canvas “The Moon-Woman Cuts the Circle”
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Jackson Pollock 1943, Oil 1195x104cm
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Gestural Painting Willem

de Kooning
De Kooning is well known
for his depiction of women,
often portrayed in a mode of
evil, sexual or frightening.
He was influenced by a
number of his
contemporaries e.g. Miro as
well as the portrayal of
women in the American
mass media e.g. billboards,
advertisements.

Gestural =
When a painted
His work is characterized by: mark is created
through a gesture/
• The retention of subject matter – a look of incompletion
free movement of
• Highly energetic, aggressive brushwork the artist’s involving
more than a mere
• Thick swirling strokes that are individualistic and identifiable
hand movement
• He said “art is in continuum” thus often revises his work

• Flesh-tones in pinks

• Figure are drastically distorted and even grotesque

• There is little differentiation between figure and ground

• No attempt is made to model form, or create the illusion of space

• He ignores traditional approaches to composition

• He creates crowded, even claustrophobic works

• Alloverness is also found in his works – a similarity in the urgency and

energy is evident in all the gestural marks which make up the paintings

Although his works seem to have been done haphazardly, it is important to bear in mind that the whole
work is executed in a spontaneous, gestural activity until the artist feels that it is complete.
The urgency of the marks accurately reflects the enormous amount of energy and focus that is
required of the artist. De Kooning’s works are much less abstracted than those of Pollock and Rothko,
but he is still seen as part of the Abstract Expressionist genre because of the many similarities in
process and execution.
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 “Woman and
Bicycle” 1953, 7
oil

“Pink Angels” 1945, Oil on canvas

‘Seated Woman” 1940 Oil, Charcoal
“The Moon-Woman Cuts the Circle”
“Woman I” 1952 Oil on canvas 1.9 x 1.47m 1943, Oil 1195x104cm
“Gotham News” 1955 Oil

“The Liver is the “Excavation” – Willem de Kooning, 1950 Oil

Cock’s Comb”
Ashile Gorky 1944,
Oil

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Colour field painting Mark

Rothko
rtists: Helen Frankenthaler, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko

Characteristics of Rothko’s work:

Technique:
• Rothko uses thin glazes of oil paint layered over one another
• He varies the tones and intensities of the glazes so as to create a cloud-like
visual shifting of shapes
• The canvas (ground) was stained or washed with a colour as a bases for a build-
up of glazes
• The ground colour was usually dark and opaque
• In some areas dry or chalky paint is scumbled onto the canvas
• The final works were built up out of numerous layers of paint and included both
transparent and opaque areas
• Shapes had loose, undefined and blurred edges, created by dry-brushing
• These edges enhanced the ephemeral quality of the shapes

Compositions

• Large cloud-like rectangles of layered colour g\float on a ground

• These planes of colour are surrounded by softened, blurred edges
• The space is undefined; the translucent layers of paint suggest deeper layers of
space, causing the works to billow and move almost like depths of dark water
• The shapes appear to ‘float’ anchorless in the defined space of the canvas
• During the 1940-50’s Rothko used intense glowing colours, their energy
enhanced by painting under spotlights
• He also started stacking and overlapping them. He also changed the hollow
rectangle to form a “U” shape
• After this era his pallet becomes darker and more somber

Discussion of an artist: Barnett Newman

Characteristics of Newman’s work:

• Newman concentrated on the interplay of verticals and horizontals in his work

• By the end of the 1940’s he was creating simplified, flattened colour fields interrupted by
a narrow vertical contrasting colour bar which became known as a ‘zip’
• This vertical line divides the canvas into sections and seems to create an opening in the
picture plane – thus splitting the colour field open
• His works are quite rigid and highly structured