Development and characteristics of Abstract Expressionism & Pop Art

Development and characteristics of Abstract Expressionism & Pop Art
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Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism is an art field that emerged in New York after WWII, but it was not readily accepted as art by critics as the painting methods were unconventional. Gorky would have a profound effect on abstract expressionism being like the father figure of this art movement. To begin with Gorky drew inspiration from Impressionism in the 1920’s but later art works were post – impressionism (Wilder, 2007). It is use of Cubism and abstraction that would later influence abstract expressionism. Nonetheless, Gorky mostly used Surrealism and fused this with Expressionism more than any other artist lyrical abstraction was Gorky’s main influence on art, as this started a new art form (Wilder, 2007).
In New York, Pollock focused more on action painting one of the many aspects of abstract expressionism. Pollock started painting with canvas laid out and mostly relied on alkyl enamels, which are resin based paints (Wilder, 2007). Furthermore he resulted to using sticks and hardened brushes, his technique did not follow the convention of painting upright. This approach resulted to application of paint from all directions in a manner that could be viewed as ‘all over painting’. Pollock’s painting deviated from use of easel and brush as well as figurative representation, which were prevalent at the time. Nonetheless, later on he changed his style to favor more dark colors and focus on figurative elements.
De Kooning began as an artist in 1935 working for the Federal Arts Project, but stopped because he was Dutch born (Lake et al, 2010). However, in 1948 he held exhibitions mainly consisting of black and white abstract paintings. In the 1930s and 1940s De Kooning would experiment with abstract and figurative modes of art oscillating between them. From the 1950’s De Kooning mostly concentrated on female figures, which show highly finished drawings and themes of conscious control versus uncontrolled freedom (Lake et al, 2010). Like Pollock, Kooning was an action painter, and his ability to integrate drawing and abstraction made him stand out among artists of Abstract Expressionism.
Pop Art
Pop art depicted art forms that represented popular culture in the 1950s and 1960s and many famous artists emerged among them Hamilton, Johns, Rauschenburg, and Warhol.
Richard Hamilton a British Artist is considered a father figure in pop art and had a huge influence on Andy Warhol (Phaidon Club, n.d). From the 1950s, Hamilton became one of the artists of the Independent Group of Artists. Furthermore in 1956, he continued with his work, which was subsequently exhibited at the White chapel Gallery as part of series in...