Drama in Action, Essay Example

“When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing,” Jackson Pollock said. Abstract Expressionism was not about drawing making pretty pictures of fantasy or history. It emphasized the growth of the artistic process as an instinctive, natural projection of the unpretentious psyche. For Abstract Expressionists, “creativity lay in the process… and preparation… was consequently of little importance” (Galenson, D., 2002). As such, when the newer Modernist artistic generation commercialized these quirks of art, the founding fathers of the artistic revolution felt betrayed. The three paintings we examine, Lee Krasner’s Night Creatures, Jackson Pollock’s “Untitled” (circa 1948-1949), and Mark Rothko’s Number 18, provide a chronology of change.

Abstract Expressionism Art Review

Krasner

Lee Krasner’s Night Creatures appears to be using chaotic brush-stroke construction.  His 1965 work entitled Night Creatures “is comprised of a crowded, allover whirl of gestural strokes of paint in which every inch of the surface is fully activated in a rhythmic patterning” (“Lee Krasner”, 2010).  While Pollock used gravity and the whimsy of his own hands to let creativity land where it may on the canvas, Krasner forces gestured brush strokes to create the illusion of chaos on his work.  The coloring provides a similar dark, mysterious theme.  In this work, the presence of the dark red around the edge creates the illusion of blood or possibly of the night creatures escaping from Hell itself.  Krasner uses the same sharp movements and obese rounded strokes that are often found in works by Pollock, which is not surprising when one considers the long years of friendship and their eventual marriage (Marter, 1995).

She was renowned for her “stylistic persona- through technical… presence Krasner metamorphized and sublimated emotional intimacy into aesthetic sub-text” (Landau, E., 1995).

Pollock

Adding a title, like many factors in the viewpoint of Abstract Expressionism, cheapened the instinctual pull of art. It is no surprise that the Untitled (circa 1948-1949) is thought-provoking and ephemeral- with circles, obstructions, and splatters of red like signal flags waving their call to action. The use of black as the fundamental color is still visible; however, Pollock uses the color of the canvas itself to accent the ink and enamel.  The medium is also unique because the artist chose to use paper instead of canvas for this work.  It also appears that the use of circular dripping strokes almost creates the image of a human head to the left of the work and possibly a large sun or even a Ferris wheel in the distance on the right side of the work.  It also appears that paint has been strategically placed to create the image of three persons standing. This is rare for Pollock’s work to be deliberate as his method usually tries to allow the chaos of the paint dripping to do the creation- a technique which earned him the nickname “Jack the Dripper”. His journey to Expressionistic stardom began in frustrations with Surrealism and the need to stop and go to precisely paint. This is what inspired him to try different brush strokes, splatters, squeezing the paint directly onto his display surface, and using different display surfaces. In short, Pollock popularized the idea that art should not be so restrained (Cernuschi, C. & Herczynski, A., 2008).

The height of Pollock’s success also coincided with the zenith of Abstract Expressionism, and he was a crucial contributor.  When the 50’s media began to feature photos of him at work, he was adopted into the mainstream and even inspired one art critic to coin the phrase “action painting”, which is used to describe the gestural art of Kline, de Kooning, and himself. De Kooning even praised Pollock for “legitimizing avant-garde art in the eye of the public” (Smigel, E.).

Rothko      

Mark Rothko’s Number 18 hardly appears to belong to the same school of art, but it was created in 1951- a mere two to three years after Pollock’s Untitled, making it clear that the action painter would no longer be the paradigm of Abstract Expressionism. Rothko incorporated more color and put thought back into the art. Although his artwork seems primitive at first glance, the observer should notice how he toyed with the concept of foreground and background and with the recession and swelling forth of colors, especially red, blue, and green. One small area of disjunction where the two opposites collide is a feature of many of his more famous paintings, including Number 18. There is fading and a ceaselessness that makes the painting seem vague and poignant. You can see a depth and want to see the blurred details hidden behind the red. He was the master of what might be called “the grass is always greener on the other side” artistic expression.

Rothko’s fame coincided with the end of the Modernist’s Abstract Expressionism. He was in the middle ground of the New York school of gestural arts- between the bitter veterans and the upstart, overnight celebrities of the movement. Although he respected the concepts that informed his artwork and popularity, Mark Rothko desired a split from the static of his predecessor’s action painting (Smigel, E.). His philosophy of Art was to painting what the philosophical viewpoint of nihilism was: exciting, controversial, full of nothing and everything… simple minimalistic genius (Kosoi, N., 2005).

In “Counter Point: Looking for Sacred Art”, Casey points out that he was familiar with the modernism of Krasner and Pollock and was drawn to their art, so he was surprised to see canvases of color and “transportation to Buddhist and Hindi art” (Casey, J.).

The liberating, thoughtless id of the 1950’s and 1960’s New York school of artistic philosophy was not limited to painting. It included Painting, Music, Sculpture, and other artistic specializations. It began with the paintings, but the ripple effect never completely stops. Musician of the day, Earle Browne, allowed room for spontaneity and adlibbing in his music after being inspired by the artists whose paintings “looked like what I wanted my music to sound like” (Smigel, E.).

References

“Jackson Pollock: Autumn Rhythm (Number 30).” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan, 2010. Web. 20 May 2010. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/57.92>.

“Jackson Pollock: Untitled.” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan, 2010. Web. 20 May 2010. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1982.147.27>.

“Lee Krasner: Night Creatures.” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan, 2010. Web. 20 May 2010. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1995.595>.

Cernuschi, C. & Herczynski, A. (2008). “The Subversion of Gravity in Jackson Pollock’s Abstractions”. Art Bulletin.

Galenson, D. (2002). “Was Jackson Pollock the Greatest American Painter?”. Historical Methods. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete Database. Jan. 1995.

Kosoi, N. (2005). Nothingness Made Visible: The Case of Rothko’s Paintings. Art Journal, 64(2), 20-31. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Landau, E. (1995). “Channeling Desire: Lee Krasner’s Collages of the Early 1950’s”. Abstracts. Poetry, and Music”. San Diego State University.

Smigel, E. “Identity, Image, and the Heroic Myth of the New York School of Painting,

Wilkin, K. (2007). Color as Field: American Painting 1950-1975. American Federation of Arts. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete Database.