Contemporary art homework
pehleeone
art_visual_timeline.pptxArt Visual Timeline
the modern art of the 1950-1960s
Reflections
My feelings and reflections on the images in the following slides are what I interpret or believe the images to be, when seen by the eyes of an observer.
The actual interpretations or intent by the artist may be contrary to what I ‘see.’
The chosen time period is the 1950s with the constantly changing visual landscape and effects of World War II on the human psyche.
Autumn Rhythm No. 30
Jackson Pollock, 1950, Oil on canvas, 105 x 207 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The very heavy layering and dripping of the color pigment creates movement and texture. There's no central point of focus, no hierarchy of elements in this allover composition in which every bit of the surface is equally significant.
Chief
Franz Kline, 1950, Oil on canvas, 58 3 ⁄ 8 x 73 1 ⁄ 2 in. The Museum of Modern Art, New York
The painting’s title refers to the name of a train that passed through his childhood hometown in Pennsylvania. Many of Kline’s works, though non-representational, seem to suggest through their titles and through the stark, pulsing compositions the bridges, railroad tracks, and machinery of America.
Afro Emblems
Hale Woodruff, 1950, Oil on canvas, 18 x 22 in. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
Woodruff divided his canvas into rough rectangles, filling each shape with an emblem inspired by Ashanti or Akan gold weights. Woodruff’s bold black outlines and dashes of color stand out from the blue background, creating an abstract African-influenced pattern.
Every Atom Glows: Electrons in Luminous Vibration
Norman Lewis, 1951, Oil on canvas, 54 x 35 in. John P. Axelrod Collection
In this image, the background bleeds with blurred areas of black-and-white while in the foreground, the checkered patterning of elongated tendrils flickers with energy, possibly a reference to the devastating potential of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Day One
Barnett Newman, 1951–52, Oil on canvas, 132 x 50 1/4 in. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
The artist is using flat hard edged painting with very subtle shading to create his version of Day One. One can only speculate the meaning/reference.
Mountains and Sea
Helen Frankenthaler, 1952, Oil and charcoal on unprimed canvas, 86 3 ⁄ 8 x 117 1 ⁄ 4 in. Collection of the artist.
The illusion of a watercolor painting is created by the artist by diluting oil paints with turpentine.
Woman and Bicycle
Willem de Kooning, 1952–53, Oil on canvas, 76 1 ⁄ 2 x 49 in. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
The female form once again is changing from the traditional views we once knew. She is bold, bright, out there and fractured into many pieces and appears a bit disjoined.
River Bathers
Grace Hartigan, 1953, Oil on canvas, 69 3 ⁄ 8 x 88 3 ⁄ 4 in. The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Painting figures during this abstract period could be considered by her peers as being a betrayal to the art and the direction it was moving in. Her canvas has bold shapes depicting bathers and is almost autobiographical with her other bathing scenes.
Flag
Jasper Johns, 1954–55, Encaustic, oil and collage on fabric mounted on plywood, 42 1 ⁄ 4 x 60 5 ⁄ 8 in. The Museum of Modern Art, New York
The texture and size of such a patriotic image is representative of a symbol of freedom in this county. The time it was painted reflects Jasper Johns fear of the witch-hunt of the McCarthy Era and his own personal protest.
Bed
Robert Rauschenberg, 1955, Combine painting, oil and pencil on pillow, quilt and sheet on wood supports, 65 3 ⁄ 4 x 31 1 ⁄ 2 x 8 in. The Museum of Modern Art, New York
The turmoil seen in a piece of furniture that most people find comforting is anything but in this. This visual representation is quite disturbing by painted and added-on elements to this varied textured canvas.
Hemlock
Joan Mitchell, 1956, Oil on canvas, 91 x 80 in. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
I like the variations of short and long brushstrokes, as well as the changes between flashes of blue or green paint. The much larger areas of milky white creates a sense of rhythm and movement.
Essex
John Chamberlain, 1960, Automobile body parts and other metal, relief, 108 x 80 x 43 in. The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Available junk is used in a very interesting manner 50 years before artists decided to recycle materials to create art. The overall bending of the metal, joining of the pieces and use of color makes this relief sculpture really pop.
