What is Abstract Expressionism?

What is Abstract Expressionism? 

In order to validate abstract art by legitimizing its expressiveness of human emotion, a new movement emerging in the 1940s in New York City developed the nomer “Abstract Expressionism.” They were also referred to as the New York School. As a movement of painters, Abstract Expressionists found themselves grouped into two general categories: the color field painters and the action painters. Both groups painted with spontaneous and random motions, allowing their hand to freely float over the canvas and express the thoughts and feelings taking up space in their unconscious. They used unconventional means of painting, such as using house paint or taking the canvas off the easel. 

Color field painters included the likes of Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman. These artists were known for their sublime paintings that included simple, large swaths of bright color fields. Action painters included Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, who established their style with experimental painting methods such as spilling paint on the canvas and painting in random motions. They–especially de Kooning–also exhibited strong Cubist influences in their artworks. Both movements, as well as Surrealism, revolved around the expression of the unconscious mind, so naturally some of the paintings overlapped in style and form.

When did the Abstract Expressionist Movement begin?

The role of war–specifically World War II–cannot be understated in the founding and historical roots of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Many Abstract Expressionist artists were disturbed by the war and the darkness exhibited by man, and their paintings became an expression of the emotions dominating their unconscious minds. They could not continue to paint figures, people, or nice-looking depictions of life, as their feelings toward humanity shifted negatively after witnessing a war with such horrors. Abstract art became their way of expressing the unthinkable, as well as things they could not put into words or a neat painting.

Similarly to the automatic drawings and paintings that were a signature part of the Surrealist movement, Abstract Expressionism relied on an expression of the unconscious mind through random, freeform techniques without planning. The point was to excavate the mind to reveal the artist’s truest thoughts and feelings. 

Where did the Abstract Expressionist Movement originate?

While the movement was started in New York City, it rose from a European post-war collective trauma, as well as the Surrealist and Cubist movements, both of which started in Europe. Several of the key members of the Abstract Expressionist movement were originally from Europe but moved to the U.S. due to political and societal instability, and were part of the movement’s founding across the pond. This shifted the art world’s attention away from Paris and towards New York as the new flourishing artistic capital of the world. 

While Surrealism was primarily influenced by Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytic theory, Abstract Expressionism drew heavily on Carl Jung, the founder of analytic psychology and one of Freud’s own inspirations. Jung’s ideas mainly revolved around self-individuation or differentiation from the collective consciousness of society. He also theorized that as humans, we fit under general archetypes, four of which he emphasized as the most important: the Self, the Persona, the Shadow and the Anima/Animus. Abstract Expressionists explored these archetypes in their paintings as they tried to make sense of the world around them, which was in shambles.

In addition to a post-WWII collective trauma, the United States and Europe were also suffering from the day-to-day realities and challenges of the Cold War, which by nature greatly stifled freedom of expression. In the U.S. at the time, the government’s rhetoric was anti-communist. They expressed their intentions to hunt down communist sympathizers, causing society-wide paranoia and fear. The Abstract Expressionist movement happening in the art world at the time was therefore that much more impactful, as the abstractness became a way for people to finally express their deepest emotions and thoughts freely. 

What influenced Abstract Expressionism? 

The music of the time influenced visual artists and vice versa. In the 1950s, jazz was the most popular music genre, and its free form nature served as inspiration for Abstract Expressionists in New York. The East Village was the cultural epicenter of any and all artistic, literary, musical, or intellectual movements of the time. It was a melting pot of talent and inspiration, where one could walk into several buildings on the same block and learn something new about art. Abstract Expressionists listened to music like jazz while they painted, which was the way it was able to directly inspire their artistic output. Jazz was happening in Harlem in upper manhattan, and the Abstract Expressionists brought it downtown. 

The proliferation of Abstract Expressionism became a complicated matter. The U.S. government began to use it as a way to advance its political agenda overseas, promoting it as an example of free thought. Interestingly, in the years after the heyday of the original Abstract Expressionists, artists who tried to progress the movement found it hard to continue to produce works that fit neatly into the genre. This was because Abstract Expressionism was very specific and particular to the time period in which it originated; the abstract forms and uses of paint were as a result of the impact of world events of the 1940s and 50s, and as time progressed, these techniques could not continue to be used in the same way. It therefore lost its authenticity, becoming very hard to reproduce.

Additionally, as American society became exponentially more focused on consumerism and materialism, artists found it hard to continue to convey the metaphysical aspects and ideas backing Abstract Expressionist artworks. 

Abstract Expressionism at Eden Gallery 

There are artists over time who have explored the genre in their own ways, even into the present day. Yet they cannot be called Abstract Expressionists, for their artworks are of a different time period than the originals. At Eden Gallery, contemporary fine artist Calman Shemi creates artworks in the Abstract Expressionist family, especially in the style of his works called “Notes.” These are abstract paintings with tightly compact brush strokes painted in each color of the rainbow, next to each other, and then covered in lacquer. They resemble Abstract Expressionism in that they feature abstract shapes that are a clear result of using a paintbrush. They do not have a clear meaning or purpose, and seem to be a free flowing expression of feelings in Shemi’s head.

Check out Calman Shemi’s paintings at Eden Gallery online or your nearest gallery location.