Abstract Expressionism For Beginners

by Richard Klin, Lily Prince (Illustrator), Steven Zucker (Foreword by)

Overview

Abstract Expressionism was the defining movement in American art during the years following World War II, making New York City the center of the international art scene. But what the heck did it mean! The drips, the spills, the splashes, the blotches of color, the wild spontaneous energy—signifying what?

Abstract Expressionism For Beginners will not only help you understand, but also appreciate the art of some of the most iconic figures in modern art—Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler, and others. Explore their lives and artistic roots, the heady world of Greenwich Village in the 1940s and 1950s, the influence of jazz, the voices of critics, and the enduring legacy of a uniquely inspired group of artists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781939994622
Publisher:	For Beginners
Publication date:	08/09/2016
Series:	For Beginners
Pages:	178
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Richard Klin is a freelance writer and editor and the author of Something to Say: Thoughts on Art and Politics in America (2011).

Lily Prince is a widely exhibited, commissioned, and published artist and illustrator and an Associate Professor of Art at William Paterson University. www.lilyprince.com

Table of Contents

Foreword Steven Zucker xi

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 What Abstract Expressionism Isn't 5

Chapter 2 So… What Exactly (More or Less) Is Abstract Expressionism? 9

Chapter 3 Artistic License 17

Chapter 4 Worldwide Web 25

Chapter 5 Let's Make a (New) Deal 31

Chapter 6 Tales of Hofmann 35

Chapter 7 Birth of the Cool 41

Chapter 8 Jackson Pollock: The Icebreaker 49

Profile Ad Reinhardt

Profile Arshile Gorky

Profile Wiilem de Kooning

Profile Elaine de Kooning

Chapter 9 Made in New York 75

Profile Joan Mitchell

Profile Bamett Newman

Profile Grace Hartigan

Chapter 10 Infinite Jest 93

Profile Helen Frankenthaler

Profile Philip Guston

Profile Franz Kline

Profile Richard Pousette-Dart

Profile Clyfford Still

Chapter 11 All That Jazz 125

Profile Lee Krasner

Profile Mark Rothko

Profile Robert Motherwell

Chapter 12 Aiding and Abetting 145

Poem: "At the Museum of Modern Art" May Swenson

Profile Larry Rivers

Chapter 13 Artful Dodging 161

Glossary 167

Further Reading 169

Other Resources 171

About the Author and Illustrator 175