Overview

Abstract Expressionism (often called the New York School) emerged in the aftermath of WWII. In a world shattered by the Holocaust and the atomic bomb, traditional representation seemed inadequate. These artists turned inward, seeking to express profound emotion and universal themes through non-representational forms. It is characterized by large scales, spontaneity, and a focus on the physical act of painting.

Core Idea

The core idea is authenticity and immediacy. The canvas is not a window to look through (at a picture), but an arena to act in. The painting is a record of the artist’s physical and emotional struggle. It values the unconscious, the accidental, and the raw gesture.

Formal Definition

It is generally divided into two categories:

  1. Action Painting: (e.g., Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning) Focuses on the physical gesture of dripping, splashing, or smearing paint. The energy of the application is visible.
  2. Color Field Painting: (e.g., Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman) Focuses on large, flat areas of color to evoke a meditative or spiritual response.

Intuition

Imagine Jackson Pollock standing over a canvas on the floor, flinging paint from a stick. He isn’t planning a picture of a horse. He is dancing, and the paint is tracing his movement. It is pure energy captured in matter. Or imagine standing in front of a massive Rothko painting—a giant rectangle of vibrating red. It fills your vision and makes you feel a sense of tragedy or awe, like looking into a sunset or a void.

Examples

  • Jackson Pollock’s Drip Paintings: Complex webs of paint that have no beginning or end (“all-over composition”).
  • Mark Rothko’s Chapel: A non-denominational chapel in Houston featuring his dark, somber color field paintings, designed for spiritual contemplation.
  • Willem de Kooning’s Woman Series: Violent, slashed brushstrokes depicting distorted female figures, bridging the gap between abstraction and figuration.

Common Misconceptions

  • “My kid could do that”: While it looks messy, the compositions are often highly sophisticated. Pollock denied his work was “chaos,” stating, “I can control the flow of paint: there is no accident.”
  • It’s about nothing: The artists insisted their work was about the biggest things: tragedy, ecstasy, doom. They were seeking the “sublime.”
  • Surrealism: Many Abstract Expressionists were influenced by Surrealist “automatism” (drawing without thinking) to access the unconscious.
  • The Sublime: They sought a modern, secular version of the sublime—the feeling of being overwhelmed by something vast (the large canvas).
  • Clement Greenberg: The critic who championed the movement, arguing it was the logical conclusion of modernism’s focus on the flatness of the canvas.

Applications

  • Cold War Politics: The CIA secretly promoted Abstract Expressionism abroad as a symbol of American freedom and individualism, contrasting it with the rigid Socialist Realism of the Soviets.
  • Modern Design: The aesthetic of “splatter” and organic forms influenced textile and graphic design in the 1950s.

Criticism / Limitations

  • Machismo: The movement was heavily dominated by a “tough guy” masculine ethos (heavy drinking, brawling), often excluding female artists like Lee Krasner and Joan Mitchell.
  • Elitism: The refusal to depict recognizable objects alienated the general public, widening the gap between high art and popular culture.

Further Reading

  • Sandler, Irving. The Triumph of American Painting. 1970.
  • Rosenberg, Harold. “The American Action Painters.” 1952. (Coined the term “action painting”).
  • Guilbaut, Serge. How New York Stole the Idea of Modern Art. 1983. (On the political context).