Hints Exam The following are ideas, artists, concepts, and specific artworks, that I would suggest you familiarize your self with. If there is a term (artist, artwork or concept, etc.) in bold I would find out what that term (artist, artwork or concept, etc.) means. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------The period of the late 14th to early 15th centuries is one of significant change in the daily life of most Europeans and in the intellectual life of those who created such change. Gothic elements continued to be expressed in the religious subject and content of art during this period. Religious content is primary in most of the works from this period and artwork is primarily financed by the Catholic Church. The most important issue at this time was the significance of the individual- as seen in the creative genius of Leonardo da Vinci, the social/political power of Lorenzo Medici, the literary eloquence of Dante', and the intellectual pursuits of Galileo. Humanism and the Italian Renaissance are two concepts most associated with the 15th century. Humanism is a celebration of the individual. The Italian Renaissance was an intellectual distinction, attributed to 14th c. humanist and poet Petrarch, who saw the Renaissance as his own era as a 'modern' era of human creativity. The Renaissance (French for 'rebirth') is a 19th century term used to designate the revival of classical learning and literature. Late Gothic (or Early Renaissance) art presents the human figure more realistically. Early Renaissance art was dramatically changed by Giotto. Giotto di Bondone is considered the "Father of Painting." Giotto used buon fresco and fresco secco techniques in painting in wet (or fresco) plaster. Grey statues were actually painted in grisaille (shades of grey.) One Point Perspective, also called linear perspective, allowed artists to create illusions of reality and naturalism with the use of devices such as a fixed view, a vanishing point (or points), and a related grid of diminishing spaces. Filippo Brunelleschi, in 1420 developed the concept of linear perspective (from the work of Abul Hassam.) Visual imagery was expressed in a variety of media and materials such as painting in wet plaster (fresco), watercolor on parchment and paper and oil on canvas or wood panels; fabric tapestries; wood, marble and bronze sculpture; printed by woodcut blocks, and metal engravings Jan van Eyck and other Flemish artists developed oil painting on canvass in the early 15th century. Wood Block Printing created inexpensive images that were popular during this period and made art affordable to most people because images on paper could be inexpensively reproduced. Semiotics, or secular and religious symbols are used to convey information metaphorically. That is, the image of a single lit candle represents the presence of Christ or red represents the blood of Christ, or the thorns on a plant his suffering. For an
illiterate society, images carry the message words don't. In van Eyck's "Wedding Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini" elements such as the dog symbolizes fidelity, the man near the window symbolizes the exterior world of business, the woman near the bedhome, the woman's dress held to suggest pregnancy- fertility, the round mirro- the eye of God, St. Margeret carved on the back of the chair- protector of women in childbirth, the oranges- the fragility of life. Women are educated in convents, but are not allowed formal apprenticeship in any guilds. The 1348 bubonic plague (The Black Death) killed more than 40% of the population of Europe (perhaps 25 million worldwide) and weakened the feudal system. Epidemic plagues, which derive from animal diseases and are increasingly a factor of concentrations of population, are a part of the human condition from the earliest record of human society. The Dance of Death is a common theme in art of this period. The modern children's song "Ring Around the Rosies," comes from the medieval time when epidemic death was a common factor of life. The RenaissanceIN ARCHITECTURE: Ghiberti created the "Gates of Paradise" (so called by Michelangelo.) These bronze doors took Ghiberti 24 years to complete. The door panels are a narrative or story. Brunelleschi created the dome for the Florence Cathedral and the Florence Church of San Lorenzo. IN SCULPTURE: Donatello shaped the whole artistic expression of the Italian Renaissance. Donatello was unique for his time in that he explored emotions (refer to his Mary Magdalena statue.) His "David" is the first life-sized male nude statue since antiquity. David is a "free standing" stature that can be seen from all sides. It is believed to commemorate the victory of the city of Florence over its foes, it's said to extol Florentine heroism and virtue. Andrea del Verrocchio's Equestrian monument of Bartolommeo Colleoni conveys vitality and brutal energy and was in contrast to Donatello's tragic overtones of his monument to Erasmo da Narni. IN PAINTING: Giovanni Bellini is said to be the transitional artist from the Early Renaissance to the High Renaissance. Giovanni Bellini's painting "Saint Francis in Ecstasy," describes the observation of nature more than any religious dogma in spite of the stigmata on his hands. Semiotics are represented in the tree that symbolizes the 'burning bush", the stream, the miraculous spring brought forth by Moses. Roger Van Der Weyden reverted to a medieval emotional device called lamentation in his painting "The Depositon." Sandro Botticelli under the patronage of the Medici and a student of Verrocchio, produced secular paintings of mythological subjects. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The High Renaissance or the classical phase of the Renaissance, saw many geniuses in Italy. The individual artist as genius was established during this period. The first great three were: Leonardo da Vinci, Rapheal, and Michelangelo Buonarroti. The 16th c. interest in in classical mythology had many consequences, one in particular was making paintings of female nudes socially acceptable. Leonardo da Vinci, a student of Verrocchio, became the epitome of the Renaissance man, a polymath or multiple genius of science, art, poetry, music, and architecture. da Vinci described himself as a "scientific artist" or one who is analytical as well as creative. Very few paintings can be attributed to da Vinci, but hundreds of drawing s in notebooks showed his skill as an architect, engineer and designer of military weapons and machines. da Vinci used atmospheric perspective or variations of color caused by looking through the medium of air; the greater the distance the more 'grey' or dull the color of the object. He also used then, transparent glazes. To protect the information and himself from accusations of heresy, his notebooks were written backwards and in Latin, a mirror was used to read the text. Rapheal (Raffaello Santi or Sanzio) was known for his images of the Madonna and "The School of Athens." Michelangelo Buonarroti was the other side of the Renaissance character from the analytic detachment of da Vinci. Emotional, spiritually driven, romantic, and mannered, Michelangelo spanned the 15th to 16th centuries at a time art and religious fervor energized the arts. He was a renowned architect, sculptor and painter of the dome of St. Peters Cathedral, of Moses and Pieta and the Sistine Chapel. His sculpture of "David" embodies the athletic ideal of antiquity. Unlike Donatello's statue of "David," Miichelangelo's version is not a triumphant hero, but preparing himself for the approaching Goliath. Sixteenth-century Venetian painters developed a style and technique distinctly different from other European centers. They concerned themselves with color, light and expressively loose brushstrokes, as opposed to the cool, formal and technical perfection sought by the Mannerists. Venitian style was initiated by Giorgione and Titian. IN ARCHITECTURE: Palladio dominated architecture during the second half of the 16th century. His classic style will influence Neo-Classic architecture o f the early 19th century. Example= Villa Rotunda ECONOMICS: During the Renaissance, feudalism is gradually replaced by an increased free market. Double entry book keeping and coinage allowed business to flourish, especially in Northern Italy. Global exploration expanded European trade. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Baroque (Portugese for "a large, irregularly shaped pearl") is the final phase of the Renaissance. The time frame was from 1600 to 1750 and was largely supported by the Pope and the Church. Baroque art is different from the art of the Renaissance. It's artistic creations are dynamic and express a tension between what is natural and classic, and what is more energetic, spiritual and emotional. The role of the Protestant Reformation was firmly established by the seventeenth century. The Catholic Counter-Reformation pushed emotionally charged visual elements as in: Bernini's sculpture of "Saint Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy," presents Teresa's body language and facial expression as narrative information; and in Bernini's "David." Bernini focused on the gathering of strength just before the final expulsion of energy. Dutch Baroque still-life genre still life paintings (or vanitas) are a direct reminder that life is fleeting and death can appear anytime. Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) elaborated on the painting techniques known as tenebrisim (the use of strong chiariscuro or strong lights and darks.) and was quickly absorbed by other Baroque artists, particularly the female artist Artemisia Gentileschi. Diego Valazquesquez's painting of "Los Meninas," demonstrates the emphasis of many artists in social 'up-ward mobility.' His desire to be part of the aristocracy may be seen in the red cross on the artist's coat in "Las Meninas." Artists used the painting technique of tomp l'oeil (French for 'fool the eye') to create images that looked extremely real and three-dimensional. The camera obscura was the ancestor to our modern camera and was used to project and transfer images from life on to a canvas. Flemish artist Jan Vemeer is said to have used a camera obscura to project the subjects of his art on to the canvas. American 17th century art reflected European culture. The untrained immigrant craftsmen and artists created charming, if far from skilled, renditions of European style. American 17th century portraitists or limners, have a charm and sincerity that appeal to the modern eye. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------The period of the 18th century marked a distinctive change in European history. Often called The Age of Enlightenment, this period presented new ideas in philosophy, politics, economics, technology and science. Industrial wealth greatly changed the power structure by developing a rising middle class. This occurred through the means of industrial manufacturing. The period of Enlightenment expressed the hopes and dreams for humanity (also called Positivism), as written by such philosophers and thinkers as Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Compte' and Voltaire. The styles of art, the end of the 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries were both Neo-Classic and Romantic in style, including: Rococo- a 'light hearted' style with curving forms (arabesques), pastel colors frivolous subject matter and dainty figures. As seen in Watteau's "Le Pelerinage a lille de
Cithere," described as fete galante in which Rococo painting depicts well-dressed people at leisure in a park or country setting. Romanticism- as seen in Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People," and "Napolean Crossing the Saint-Bernard," which was popular due to new interest in democracy and citizenship. Romanticism also included Gericault's "Raft of the Medusa," and Goya's "Third of May." Neo-Classicism- as seen in David's "Oath of the Horatii," the style was a revival of classical motifs having its roots in antiquity (classical Greece.); as seen in Architecture (and referring to 16th century architect Palladio, called Palladian Style) in the use of column order, pediments, entablature, friezes and classical ornamental motifs, found in the Chiswick House and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello; as seen in sculpture as with Jean-Antione Houdon. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe and the United States in the 19th century saw great advances in manufacturing, transportation and communication. The iconic image of this age may be seen in Paris's Eiffel Tower that towers 1039 feet, was engineered by Gustav Eiffel, which was built for the Centennial Exposition of 1889 in Paris, France. Another important technological development for artists was the 1840 innovation of photographic plates. There was an immediate involvement of photography in the process of art and vice versa. An early (1839) photographic process that makes a print on a copper plate called daguerreotype, developed by Jacques-Mande' Daguerre. Realism- The art of the second half of the 19th century was labeled Realism. Realist art was no longer political, but came to be synonymous with naturalism, as seen in the art of Rosa Bonheur, Jean-Francois Millet, John Constable and Gustav Courbet. The period of the 18th century marked a distinctive change in European history. Often called The Age of Enlightenment, this period presented new ideas in philosophy, politics, economics, technology and science. Industrial wealth greatly changed the power structure by developing a rising middle class. This occurred through the means of industrial manufacturing. The late 18th c. produced art that reflected social commentary such as the work of William Hogarth, whose moralizing tales criticized the excesses of the upper-middle class and aristocracy. Josiah Wedgewood, who founded the famous Wedgewood ceramics factory, was also involved in the movement to abolish slavery. The period of Enlightenment expressed the hopes and dreams for humanity (also called Positivism), as written by such philosophers and thinkers as Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Compte' and Voltaire. The styles of art, the end of the 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries were both Neo-Classic and Romantic in style, including: Rococo- a 'light hearted' style with curving forms (arabesques), pastel colors frivolous subject matter and dainty figures. As seen in Watteau's "Le Pelerinage a lille de Cithere," described as fete galante in which Rococo painting depicts well-dressed people at leisure in a park or country setting.
Romanticism- as seen in Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People," and "Napolean Crossing the Saint-Bernard," which was popular due to new interest in democracy and citizenship. Romanticism also included Gericault's "Raft of the Medusa," and Goya's "Third of May." Both Gericault and Delacroix were the inspirational leaders of the Romantic movement. Though Goya was the court painter for the Spanish king, his other work was a criticism of Spanish morals and manners, he felt that Humanity was violent, greedy and foolish, as seen in his work "Los Caprichos." Neo-Classicism- as seen in David's "Oath of the Horatii," the style was a revival of classical motifs having its roots in antiquity (classical Greece.) the painting became an emblem of the French Revolution. David's most talented student was Ingres who maintained the classic tradition, especially its emphasis on line rather than color. In Architecture (and referring to 16th century architect Palladio, called Palladian Style) in the use of column order, pediments, entablature, friezes and classical ornamental motifs, found in the Chiswick House and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello; as seen in sculpture as with Jean-Antione Houdon. John Singleton Copley, in America, painted naturalistic scenes of rural stability. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Europe and the United States in the 19th century saw great advances in manufacturing, transportation and communication. The iconic image of this age may be seen in Paris's Eiffel Tower that towers 1039 feet, was engineered by Gustav Eiffel, which was built for the Centennial Exposition of 1889 in Paris, France. Another important technological development for artists was the 1840 innovation of photographic plates. There was an immediate involvement of photography in the process of art and vice versa. An early (1839) photographic process that makes a print on a copper plate called daguerreotype, developed by Jacques-Mande' Daguerre. Realism- The art of the second half of the 19th century was labeled Realism. Realist art was no longer political, but came to be synonymous with naturalism, as seen in the art of Rosa Bonheur, Jean-Francois Millet, John Constable and Gustav Courbet. FINAL REVIEW The period of the 18th century marked a distinctive change in European history. Often called The Age of Enlightenment, this period presented new ideas in philosophy, politics, economics, technology and science. Industrial wealth greatly changed the power structure by developing a rising middle class. This occurred through the means of industrial manufacturing. The period of Enlightenment expressed the hopes and dreams for humanity (also called Positivism), as written by such philosophers and thinkers as Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Compte' and Voltaire. The styles of art, the end of the 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries were both Neo-Classic and Romantic in style, including:
Romanticism- as seen in Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People," and "Napolean Crossing the Saint-Bernard," which was popular due to new interest in democracy and citizenship. Romanticism also included Gericault's "Raft of the Medusa," and Goya's "Third of May." Neo-Classicism- as seen in David's "Oath of the Horatii," the style was a revival of classical motifs having its roots in antiquity Greece.); (classical as seen in Architecture (and referring to 16th century architect Palladio, called Palladian Style) in the use of column order, pediments, entablature, friezes and classical ornamental motifs, found in the Chiswick House and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello; as seen in sculpture as with Jean-Antione Houdon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Europe and the United States in the 19th century saw great advances in manufacturing, transportation and communication. The iconic image of this age may be seen in Paris's Eiffel Tower that towers 1039 feet at the time the tallest structure in the world, was engineered by Gustav Eiffel, which was built for the Paris universal Exposition of 1889 in Paris, France. Another important technological development for artists was the 1840 innovation of photographic plates. There was an immediate involvement of photography in the process of art and vice versa. An early (1839) photographic process that makes a print on a copper plate called daguerreotype, developed by Jacques-Mande' Daguerre. An early photographic process, dagurreotype, was a positive print made on a lightsensitized copper plate using iodine fumes, mercury vapors, and a salt water bath.Some historians believe that French Neo-classic artist Ingres used a 'camera obscura' to facilitate his intensely detailed paintings. The 'camera obscura' or "dark chamber" was a large box with a lens, that the artist could get into and trace the scene to be painted that was projected onto the back wall of the box. Julia Margaret Cameron, a photographer of famous British scholars, sought to make photography an art form in its own right. The work of J. M. W. Turner was a transitional expression that was both natural and mystical. His work may be seen as a precursor to the Impressionist movement. Yet, at the time, most academic artists saw his work as unfinished. Realism- The art of the second half of the 19th century was labeled Realism. Realist art was no longer political, but came to be synonymous with naturalism, as seen in the art of Rosa Bonheur, Jean-Francois Millet, John Constable and Gustav Courbet. As an interesting aside that shows the moral issues of the time, Rosa Bonheur had to get police permission in order to wear men's clothing when she painted. Impressionism- evolved as a style in Paris in the 1860's and continued into the early 20th century. The development of Impressionism in art coincided with the development of European middle-class society. The Impressionists were identified with the French bourgeoisie or middle-class. Generally, the Impressionists were concerned with the natural properties of light and shadow. Their art was rarely political, genre (scenes of everyday life), influenced by Japanese art (Japonisme), and painted on location, outside (plein air) or 'in the open air'.
The Impressionists first called themselves the Independents. They formed this group because their paintings were rejected from the state sponsored Salon, which was connected with the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (the school of arts in Paris.) As a reaction to their being denied membership in the Salon exhibitions, the Impressionists rented space accross the street from the Salon, and created their own gallery of art. The most important Impressionists were: Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Mary Cassatt- known for her paintings of mother and child, Edgar Degas- known for his paintings of ballet scenes, and an early transitional figure, Edouard Manet. The most recognizable Impressionists artist was Monet, who painted a famous series of paintings and who introduced Impressionist paintings to wealthy American patrons of the arts. Monet's painting, "Sunrise: an impression" gave the movement, unintentionally, its name- Impressionsim. In another reaction against the academy and established aesthetics of the mid-19th c., the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood sought what they felt was the integrity of morality in nature and symbolism as found in medieval art. William Morris created the Arts and Crafts Movement in support of the Pre-Raphaelite ideals. Post-Impressionism- is used to designate the work of late 19th century artists and their reaction against Impressionism, such as: Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, George Seurat, Paul Gauguin and Edvard Munch. The distinction of this group from the Impressionists is that where the Impressionists strove to present the sensation of natural light and color, the Post-Impressionists sought to convey the experience of emotion by their choice of color and other devices, retaining the Impressionist's bright palette. Suerat created a unique method of painting, called pointalism, that used discrete dots of paint. Paul Cezanne is credited with the development of 20th c. abstraction. Paul Gauguin describe his process of combing feelings with observation as "synthetism." Van Gogh was the artist who most significantly created the emergence of Expressionism. Toulouse-Lautrec showed a particularly strong influence of japonisme in works such as his "Jane Avril." In America, Thomas Eakins used light in his painting, "The Gross Clinic" to imply that science is the light of knowledge. Early Modernist tendancies in Europe included the Vienna Secessionist movement. Gustav Klimt, a major Secessionist figure, painted richly decorative art in an effort to escapte the drab, ordinary world. Klimt referred to his art as his "golden style." Another movement at this time was Art Nouveau, which was characterized by fluid linear arabesques and organic forms. In architecture, Antoni Gaudi created the "organic principle" that utilized Art Nouveau principles in buildings. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------The art of the 20th century was created against a backdrop of war, politics and technological advances. Early 20th century art was an era of 'isms," such as: Cubism, Fauvism Dadaism Surrealism and Constructivism. The overall label is Modernism. Modern Art may be seen as "an emphasis on an art work's visual elements rather than its subject," "rejecting illusionism and exploring the properties of the medium." Additionally, there is an embrace of the avant-garde, the spirit of rebellion, a disdain for conventions , preparing people for social change and "ahead of its time." As a result, the distance between progressive artists and the public widened. Rejecting the past, it
endured until the 1970's. The primary agenda of modern art is to carry on a critical dialogue. These dialogues were supported by written declarations of their artistic principles called a manifesto. A transition from 19th century art sensibilities to 20th century modernism may be seen in Fauvism (French for "wild beasts") in which Henri Matisse and Andre Derain used "explosive color and impulsive brushwork" to convey artistic energy and the pure sensuality of color. German Expressionism, as seen in the Die Brucke (the bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (the Blue Rider) groups, extended the emotionally expressive attitudes the PostImpressionists such as Van Gogh and Munch, the power of color, and suggesting a bridge to imaginary primitive origins. There is also a concern for social criticism. Kathe Kollwitz felt art should be "a political tool, to reach as many people as possible." Her art primarily used printmaking as a media of expression. Cubism may arguably be described as the door to a Modern Art ethic. Cubism's innovator and best-known artist is Pablo Picasso. He along with George Braque, developed Analytic Cubism and Synthetic Cubism. Cubism created an image from multiple perspectives (much like a motion picture does) seeing an object from more than one point of view. With Analytic Cubism shapes are merged and there is an abstraction or simplification of forms. Synthetic Cubism incorporated non-traditional elements into the composition, such as collage and assemblage in which elements are glued on to the surface of the canvas. In Italy, the Italian Futurists aimed to attack "everything old, dull. feminine, and safe, preferring all things masculine including warfare and speed." The avant-garde artistic explorations of the early 20th century expressed a concern for the spiritual, the primitive, the irrational, and the individual. Another direction of creative thought was directed to rational, analytic, technological and social theories. An important result of this thinking was the Bau Haus movement. The Bau Haus was a German invention of architect Water Gropius. He created a 'building guild' reminiscent of medieval organization of craftsmen. Gropius designed Bau Haus building in Dessau presents the structures materials openly and honestlyconcrete, glass and steel. The Bau Haus ethic continues into the 21st century. It is concerned with the integrity of processes, of the honesty of materials and the integration of reason and design. Their signature phrase is "Form Follows Function," that is the look of an object is determined by its use. There was a concern for efficient manufacturing processes and the elimination of ornamentation. Because of Nazi antagonism, many of the Bau Haus artists, designers and architectts emigrated to the U. S. Architecture in the U. S. in the early 20th c. became identified with the development of the 'skyscraper' was developed in Chicago. The ideas of Le Corbusier formed the basis of the International Style, particularly in architecture. The Seagram Building in New York is one of the finest examples of the International Style. In sculpture, Henry Moore emphasised the relationship of solid and void. He wrote "A hole can itself have as much shape-meaning as a solid mass." Alexander Calder questioned why sculpture has always been seen as inert. Calder invented sculpture that moved- mobiles or kinetic sculpture.
The U. S. at the turn of the 20th c. was seen as provincial and reflective of European standards. Photography in the U. S. was a new area of aesthetic issues. The gallery, 291, tried to elevate photography to the level of other visual arts. Dadaism was a movement after World War I. The Dadaists sought a different direction for artistic endeavors. Their thesis was that art had become too serious, too rational, and too systematic. Their solution was to ridicule organized thinking, celebrate the way children think, create irrational artistic explanations, and engage an intellectual dialogue with the avant-garde. Leading French Dadaist Marcel Duchamp used what he called readymades or found objects "which were manufactured objects transformed into art works simple through the decision of the artist. As an example, Duchamp hung a common urinal on an art gallery wall and titled it "Fountain" and signed it with the pseudonym "R. Mutt," a play on the name of the fixture's manufacturer, the J. L. Mott Iron Works. Duchamp's "Fountain" was a work of art because an artist chose it. Surrealism, was an off-shoot or successor to Dada, was embraced enthusiastically by America as opposed to the more rarified intellectual abstracts of Dadaism appreciated by the intellectuals and artists of Europe. The movement was founded by Andre' Breton. Surrealism is characterized by Freudian psychoanalysis and the subconscious. Surrealism utilized methods such as Freud's dream analysis, free association, word games, hypnotic trances, automatism, frottage, and automatic writing. The artist most associated with Surrealism is Salvador Dali. In Mexico, Frida Khalo developed a personal narrative using Surrealist ideas. Her personal disclosures included the painting "The Two Fridas," which metaphorically descrived her pain with her divorce from her husband, Diego Rivera. Between World War I and II, the world suffered an unprecidented economic depression. The result was that support for the arts was minimized. What resulted in the U. S. was a movement called Regional Art meaning art particular to various geographic locations. One of the most identifiable artist of this era was Grant Wood and his iconic work "American Gothic." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------As we approach our own era, any effort at definition, explanation and clarification becomes more argumentative and less definitive. That is, qualifying creative expression of our own time is too invested with our own experience. Who's an artistic genius? The Coen Brothers, The Chemical Brothers, Dr. Joyce Brothers, or Brothers in Crime? Who's a cultural charlatan? Dr. Phil, Phish, Regis Phibin, or Harry Potter? It's hard to distinguish when you are a part of the process. After World War II the shift of cultural power moved from Europe to the United States. The first of the new ideas in modern art was called Abstract Expressionism that had its origins in the subjective search of the spiritual, unconscious and irrational in the early 20th century. These early explorations gave credibility to the idea of the artist as a unique guide to the subjective intangibles of modern aesthetics. The primary agent of this new art form was Jackson Pollack. Pollack's art was variously described as "action painting," "automatic writing," and New York School. His art was nonfigurative or non-objective. That is it was concerned with the media of paint and the process of painting. This form of art is said to communicate without an recognizable
subject, relying exclusively through formal means such as line, shape, color, and texture, also described as Non-Representational or Non-Objective Art. The modern art movement was transformed from an embattled fringe movement to being a component of "high culture" by state supported museums of modern art. The first artist to produced the first truly non-representational work of art was Kasimir Malevish, a Russian Constructionist. After the dominance of Abstract Expressionism, from the 1940 to 1960, modern art both stumbled to find a new direction and responded directly to Popular Culture. The result was an indulgence in the consumer culture of the 1960's. Pop Art emerged as a reaction to Abstract Expressionism. Everyday objects were transformed into aesthetic objects. Pop Art's focus on celebrity and fame was expressed by Andy Warhol and his satire of American materialism and homage' to the mediocrity of American diet in the form of his gridded and repeated images of "Campbell's Soup." He also focused on pop icons such as movie stars in the ("Marylin ") diptychs, iconic social issues ( "Execution Chair"), and world events ("Kennedy Assasination".) Jasper Johns used Pop Art motifs to express a unique personal vision. Pop Art's source of imagery came from comic books, advertisements, movies, and television. Another side of Pop Art's vision was the vulgar, bad, or uneducated taste of Kitsch. Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein's work uses imagery found in cartoons and advertisements. Claus Oldenberg created monumental scaled objects from popular culture, such as giant hamburgers, monolithic clothespins, "soft sculpture" immense bags of french fries. At the same time other artists sought an esoteric experience or communicated their own cryptically sparse metaphysical experiences. As a reaction to the strutting bravado and expressive angst of Abstract Expressionism and the social commentary of Pop Art, Minimalist artists emerged from the domination of Abstract Expressionism seeking simplicity and clarity, Op Art and Pop Art. The Minimalists eliminated the subjective gestures and personal feelings; focusing instead on the physical facts of the issues at hand. Op Art uses precisely structured patterns of lines and colors. Post War photography was documentary, rejecting the concept of elegant photography. After the 1970's art became decorative or an economic commodity. To fill this gap, artists began to explore a number of non-traditional media, methods and philosophies. Central in artistic consciousness at the time was Conceptual Art. Conceptual Artists sought to eliminate the 'art object.' What dominated was the idea. What followed in the Conceptual Art wake was a plethora of uniquely individual art expressions, identified "isms" as varied as there are artists. What followed was called: happenings, performance art, photo-realist art, video art, site-specific art, neo-expressionist art, body art, environmental art, documentation art, environmental art, neo-geo art, etc. Happenings were an art form that developed in the 1960's that incorporated performance, theater and visual images in a loosely scripted multimedia event. Some contemporary critics have described a new art aesthetic, or perhaps, a new philosophy of expression, naming it Post-Modernism. More aligned with French Literary Criticism than any visual expression of aesthetics, Post-Modernism considered the issue of conceptual relativism, conceptual irony, appropriation, deconstruction of conceptual myth or cannons of aesthetics. French philosopher Jacques Derrida's deconstructionist theory called that texts have unstable meanings that change
depending on the context. In a challenge to traditional originality, artists such as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, believe their art is best as a collaboration, the more people involved the better the expression. Photographer Cindy Sherman made a variety of photographs of herself in assumed roles. 21st c. art addresses the variety of artistic intensions and styles coexisting in the same social structure, described as pluralism. Architecture that is complex, contradictory and borrows from "high" and "low" architechture and from the past is described as Post-Modern. Post-modernist ideas may be seen clearly in contemporary architecture. Some architecture changed form Modernism as that seen in Maya Ying Lin's "Viet Nam Verterans Memorial," to the irony of Post-Modern such as seen in Piano and Roger's Pompidou Center in Paris, with its 'inside-out' construction or as seen in Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum that was made of limes tone blocks and titanium "fish scale" panels.