Oct. 11
12:00- Intro-
Artists of the movements
History at time- US moving into the forefront of the art worldAmerica in the 1950
Abstract Expressionism emerged in a climate of Cold War politics and social and cultural conservatism. World War II had positioned the United States as a global power, and in the years following the conflict, many Americans enjoyed the benefits of unprecedented economic growth. But by the mid-1950s the spirit of optimism had morphed into a potent mix of power and paranoia. Fueled by the fear of Communist infiltration, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin unleashed a series of “witch-hunts” against alleged Communist sympathizers. Any hint of subversion could make an individual suspect. One scholar later reflected: “It is ironic but not contradictory that in a society…in which political repression weighed as heavily as it did in the United States, abstract expressionism was for many the expression of freedom: the freedom to creative controversial works of art, the freedom symbolized by action painting, by the unbridled expressionism of artists completely without fetters.”1
http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/abstract-expressionism#
Abstract Expressionism and Jazz
Many artists are influenced by the music of their time. Jazz was improvisational and expressive, and several Abstract Expressionists, including Jackson Pollock, cite listening to the music while painting. Norman Lewis worked in Harlem, a predominantly African American neighborhood in New York City known for its artistic, musical, and literary accomplishments, and he often depicted Harlem jazz clubs in his early figurative works. His later abstract paintings seem to integrate the lyricism and spontaneity of jazz. Comparing his technique with that of a legendary trumpeter, Willem de Kooning once wrote: “Miles Davis bends the notes. He doesn’t play them, he bends them. I bend the paint.”
http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/abstract-expressionism
Charcoal draw to Miles Davis King of Blue
1:00-
Build a canvas
Cut stretchers
Stretch canvas
2:00-5:00
Colorfield piece
Unsized canvas
pour, brush, roll on watered down paint back of canvas.
Respond to what bled through on the front.
Set up
Get the materials.
Go!
Franz Kline movements.
Adam gets it!
Pause for a constructive critique.
Right back to attack!
Access.
Aftermath.
