Abstract Expressionism

RUNNINGHEAD: ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM: THE AMERICAN MOVEMENT 1

Abstract Expressionism: The American Movement

By: Larry Whitney

Axia College University of Phoenix

Abstract Expressionism: The American Movement 2

According to Merriam-Webster (2011), Abstract Expressionism is an artistic movement in the mid 20th-century comprising of diverse styles and techniques and emphasizing especially an artist's liberty to convey attitudes and emotions through nontraditional and usually nonrepresentational means. Abstract expressionism was the first American art form that gained worldwide acceptance. While at first, the movement was seen a messiness later by the 1950's it have achieved acceptance worldwide. Born in Greenwich Village, where many of the first artists first met and later was known as “New York School” and push the boundaries of art. Abstract Expressionism was inspired from the tragedy of war and human suffering.

Abstraction with Palette c.1930-31 by Arshile Gorky

Arshile Gorky was born in Armenia in 1904 and arrived in America as a political refugee in the 1920's. He taught at the The New School of Design in Boston in 1922 but moved to New York in 1925. Gorky studied art at Grant Central School of Art and from 1926 to 1931 was also a member of the faculty. He was influenced in his early years by the likes of Picasso and Cezanne but later in life Kandinsky and Miro played a greater role. Gorky played a major role in Abstract Expressionism being accepted and acknowledged throughout the world.

Abstract Expressionism: The American Movement 3

The Flame c. 1934-38 by Jackson Pollack

Jackson Pollack is the most famous artists from the Abstract Expressionism movement. Pollack was influenced by Mexican mural painter and by some...