Abstract expressionism info.

• Abstract Expressionism: Definition and Core Ideas

  • Abstract: Art that doesn’t conform to familiar or easily understood forms.
  • Expressionism: Art that reflects felt experiences, thoughts, and emotions through dynamic actions.
  • Robert Motherwell (1951): “The need is for felt experience – intense, immediate, direct, subtle, unified, warm, vivid, rhythmic.”
  • A compulsion to act and express, focusing on spontaneous, fluid, and chaotic gestures.
  • Emerged in the USA, influenced by movements like Cubism, Surrealism, Impressionism, and Fauvism.
• The Context of Abstract Expressionism

  • Developed in contrast to Paris, where modern art was more established and expressive.
  • American art at the time was more introspective, using less distorted forms.
  • Not a cohesive group: Artists like Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Clyfford Still worked individually but shared overlapping themes.
  • Marked the first locally evolved American style to achieve international acclaim (Edward Lucie-Smith).
• Action Painting: A Hallmark of Abstract Expressionism

  • Emphasis on dynamic, energetic gestures, with the canvas as an arena to act rather than depict.
  • Harold Rosenberg: “What was to go on the canvas was not a picture but an event.”
  • Artists didn’t represent emotions; they enacted them on the canvas.
  • Jackson Pollock: “The modern artist…is working and expressing an inner world.”
• Abstract Expressionism: Materials and Technique


  • Signature approach: fluid, spontaneous, and organic methods, creating chaotic yet rhythmic compositions.
  • Focused on making art a pure projection of thought, reflecting personal experience rather than external references.
  • Paintings were non-elitist, using simple materials and emphasizing process over precision.
• Acceptance and Fame of Abstract Expressionism


  • Gained traction in the USA with exhibitions like MoMA’s Abstract Painting and Sculpture in America (1951).
  • International recognition: The New American Painting exhibition (1958–59) toured eight European countries, showcasing the movement globally.
  • Works like Pollock’s Autumn Rhythm sold for $30,000 in 1957, symbolizing institutional acceptance.
• Commercialization and Backlash

  • 1951: Pollock’s drip paintings featured as backdrops in Vogue, leading to debates about commercialization.
  • Criticism from Robert Rauschenberg: Found Abstract Expressionism overly personal and confessional.
  • Rauschenberg: “I was busy trying to find ways where the imagery, the material, and the meaning… would be an unbiased documentation of what I observed.”
• Shared Influences on Abstract Expressionism


  • Inspired by the opening of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 1929, which showcased European Modernism.
  • The white cube gallery space provided a neutral backdrop for abstract and modern works -> new spaces for modern art
  • Echoed early 20th-century German Expressionism, which emphasized vivid and extreme personal experiences.
• Criticism of Abstract Expressionism

  • Some critics argued the movement lost meaning when viewers tried to search for symbolic interpretations.
  • Dismissed by some for its stripped-back art style, which challenged traditional expectations of representation.
  • Rauschenberg: “I don’t want painting to be just an expression of my personality.”