American Abstract Expressionism – Summary

In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, a post-World War II surrealist inspired movement called Abstract
Expressionism was born. This art movement contained a range of abstract art which was developed by
American painters using methods which were not seen as traditional. Most artists were primarily New York
based with their work being influenced, to begin with, by the Great Depression and later on developing
into styles inspired by regionalist movements. These abstract expressionists took the political and social
relationship within the working class and used it to criticize the power structures in place creating the
conditions at that time. The physical artwork itself normally didn’t contain realistic images but instead used
colours, shape and line combination to create the image they wanted with the artists wanting people to
enjoy and react to their work without any outside influence or interference. Art on a large scale really
helped to achieve this by drawing the viewers focus directly into that art an allowing the viewer to
experience it rather than just simply view it.
Action painters, led by artist Jackson Pollock, used large brushes to make bold, gestural marks that swept
across the canvas. These brush strokes were driven by improvisation and spontaneity, with the artist
allowing their own impulses to create the desired image. Pollock was seen to famously lie his canvas on the
ground while dancing around it, pouring paint from a can or the end of a stick. There was nothing careful
about this method but that was the whole point, to be creative and create dynamic pieces of work.
Colour-field painting was another method within Abstract Expressionism which included artists like Mark
Rothko Barnett who created highly simplified compositions on a large area using thoughtful and saturated
colour. This approach was a lot more thoughtful and less vigorous concentrating on flat expanses that were
independent of figuration and line.
By the mid 1950’s the movement’s impact started to run its course and by the late 1950’s had totally lost
its place as the centre of critical discussion and it’s control within the art scene. Abstract Expressionism
played a big part bridging the worlds of political and social standing with art form for the masses.