Mid 20th Century Art is characterized by:

A lot of collages, simplistic designs, repetition,

statement pieces, messiness, boldness, color;

both bright and muted tones, intellectual and

political guises and consumerism

New York School  

Influenced by Expressionism, Cubism, European Modernism, Surrealism, Zen Buddhism and Jungian

Psychoanalysis

Abstract Expressionism was the result of this mélange

The community culture of Greenwich Village influenced the tone of the art produced

There was an inherent freedom and looseness present in

the art of this generation

The Second Generation of the New York School

The second generation was more academic in their artistic pursuits

Univerity and Art Academy experiences colored their

productions

This resulted in more concise lines, cohesion and precision

It was more about execution than meaningful substance

Focus on the Color FieldGiant canvases covered with color and simple lines and

shape

Meant to be a consuming experience as if the viewer were actually IN the piece of art

Focus on the Figure

 Much of the art depicting people from this era is sobering and

inspiring

The artists attempt to invite us to face our own humanity and morality

There was also a lot of distortion and playfulness with the human figure and

faces

Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon was an Irish-born British painter who was known for his sadistic, dreary and often shocking paintings

A lot of Bacon's work was inspired by a screaming nurse in the silent film Battleship Potemkin and he became obsessed with portraying people screaming

Another of Bacon's most notable pieces was a rendition of Diego Velasquez's Portrait of Pope

Innocent X done in the 17th century

Another painting of Bacon's features the Pope with slabs of

beef as regal columns in the background; titled Figure With Meat

Joan Miro was a Spanish surrealist who moved to France to escape the Civil War

He most revered Van Gogh and Cezanne

He shunned conventional painting methods and a main goal of his was to upset rich society

 

Another premiere artist of this time was Jackson Pollock

Here is a picture of him and his

wife Lee Krasner who also enjoyed some popularity as an artist

 

Pollock began to study painting in 1929 at the Art Students' League in New York under the Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton

Regionalism depicted a lot of good ol' American scenery and bridged the gap between abstract art and realist art

Pollock's "drip technique painting" was inspired by exercises he learned in Benton's class while he was a student

Minimal Art - Nonobjective, pure and simple

Main focus is the space, shape and materials used

Often executed by skilled workers and not the artist who came up with the idea

Op Art (Optical Painting)

Uses line, light and color to distort the image and tricks the eyes of the viewer

The Op Art scene popularity was shortlived but the "busy" and crazy patterns also inspired fashion of the 60s

Conceptual ArtAlso known as "idea art"

Dada is an example of conceptualism

The artist's thought is more important than the actual materialization

Sometimes the "art" merely was just a thought or concept

Masterpiece Concepteual Art by Me: Go to a buffet and spill all of the containers upside

down. Voila! genius.

Pop Art

Although it'd been heavily Americanized, Pop Art originated in England

The term "pop" was coined by an English critic named Lawrence Alloway in 1954, referencing universal images of "popular

culture" on billboards, movie posters, advertisements and in periodicals

One of the creators, British artist Richard Hamilton, was influenced by Marcel Duchamp's rebellious ideals of art

Pop Art was often used in advertising and generally featured mundane, everyday objects or popular public figures

It spoke for advertisers or society, highly unpersonalized, lacking the artist's heart or soul

 

Andy Warhol was perhaps the most renowned pop artist

Many regard him as a brilliant artistic genius but he eventually became a bit of a tool solely creating commercial art

Pop Art in Propaganda and Pinup Art

Pop Art was heavily featured in advertising and also propaganda to

persuade the public to do what those in charge wanted

Female figures were used in a lot of advertising but also for purely aesthetic or unmentionable purposes in Pinup Art