Abstract expressionism

According to Kandinsky’s book Concerning the Spiritual in Art written in 1912, “music and art are the first and most sensitive spheres in which this spiritual revolution makes itself felt.” (Kandinsky, part 1, Section 3) Kandinsky correlates specific colors with definite emotions, such as blue, a heavenly color, while black is the color of grief that is hardly human (Fineberg, 94). Kandinsky links color and music in his book by saying, “Generally speaking, color is a power which directly…

followed it, was created in a rush of emotion (L44). In 1889, Van Gogh painted The Starry Night. Kloss states: it is “majestic, expressionistic and unexpected. It is often cited as one of the most important precursors of German and Nordic Expressionism.” “At least one art historian has observed that it is more powerful, and more imaginative, than anything in later Expressionistic art, which proceeded from a similar charged vision of Nature (L44). Van Gogh’s work around this time was full…

While not as famous as Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, or Mark Rothko, artist and painter Morris Louis was kndown to be instrumental in developing the Color Field movement, which is an abstract painting style that was commonplace during the 1940s and 1950s. The movement is largely described as large fields of solid and flat color stained into or spread across a canvas; thus, creating unbroken surface areas and picture planes that are flat. Such examples of Louis’ paintings in the Color Field…

The minimalist movement was started in the early 1960’s in the heart of New York. This movement stemmed as a reaction to the Abstract Expressionism movement. Many temporary names were used before the name Minimalist stuck. When the movement first appeared to the world, names such as “A.B.C. Art”, “Reductive Art”, “Literalism”, “Systematic Painting”, and “Art of the Real” were used to try and describe such an indescribable piece of work. We can only theorize why the current name stuck around, but…

The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh is a traditional symbol of the Post-Impressionist movement. It depicts a landscape that is flushed with luminescent stars, swirling clouds and a radiant crescent moon. The composition of The Starry Night is characterized by exaggerated and surrealistic brushstrokes. For example, interwoven lines are featured in lieu of a silhouette. Contoured shadows are also highlighted to convey the emotional state of Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh features precisely…

father Vasily Kandinsky on December 16, 1866 in Moscow, Russia and at the age of five him and his family moved to Odessa. Kandinsky was educated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany. He is best known for his abstract paintings and was part of the expressionism and abstract art movement in his lifetime. Kandinsky did not, however, just create art. As a young boy, he learned to play the cello and piano, and also wrote poetry. In school, Wassily did not just study art; he also studied…

of industrialism and revolution. In response to this change in society, artists were more and more influenced to produce art that coursed intense emotion through the veins of the viewer’s body. Right before the 20th century, the period of Early Expressionism, art contained symbolism, where subjects…

Vincent van Gogh, born on March 30th 1853, became an influential contributor to the Post-Impressionist art movement and impacted the development of 20th century art. Through his “impulsive, gestural technique and symbolic colours” (Callow, 1990), he encouraged artists after him to interpreted the world through their eyes, mind, and heart. By challenging the natural representation of his subjects, incorporating themes of deeper symbolism and emotional content into his works, as well as his bold…

Alwin Nikolais: Visual Artist Extraordinaire Alwin Nikolais was a modern dance genius whose contributions to dance as an art form are numerous. Known for his innovative dance works and performances, he was a master of all trades who wanted to encompass a variety of visual and auditory art forms to create one large spectacle. Many considered him to be a pioneer of modern dance, and Anna Kisselgoff, a journalist and dance critic, was quoted in The New York Times obituary for Nikolais as saying:…

fellowship. She's not only a painter, but a professor and author as well. In 2011, when she released her painting "Full Bloom", she was set to accomplish abstract nature in it's best forms and that's precisely what she did. Taking a look back at the historical value of the painting, the techniques she used gave a greater perception of abstract reality. By gracefully placing each stroke of paint it allows the eye to feel emotion from up-close and even more from afar. Using a 74 by 110 sized…