the american art before and after world war 2

The primary goal of this paper is to compose an article on American art before and after World War II. This war took place mostly between the years 1939 and 1945. The United States was involved in the conflict for only four years. To conclude this article, at least three artists and their types of art must be discussed. This paper would also address the artwork's contribution and intent, as well as its message and relationship to the Great Depression. Lastly, this paper will give a detailed analysis of how abstract expressionism emerged after World War II and how it differed from different forms of art work that were made in the 1930s.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Basically, in the World of art, Abstract expressionism refers to the period after World War II where there was a great change in the American art (Arnason & Mansfield, 2013). This period was characterized by a strong movement that started in New York in the year 1946. Some of the main artists that are associated with this period are Mark Rothko, Williem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline (Armengol, 2014). In order to complete on this paper, Franz Kline and his works of art are going to be discussed in detail. Abstract expressionism developed in a slow but sure process, one of the main reasons that led to its development is the fact that there was political instability in Europe (Armengol, 2014). Due to the instability, several surrealists opted to move to New York and from here they started influencing different forms of art.

Generally, most of the abstract expressionists were influenced by Surrealism’s focus when it comes to mining the unconscious. Secondly, abstract expressionism emerged as a result of influence from the leftist politics (Cockroft, 2013). Based on this scenario, it is safe to state the fact that abstract expressionism developed as result of the political reforms and activities by the leftist politicians. Lastly, this movement developed as a result of the involvement of artists who grew at a time where America suffered greatly. Most of this artists grew at a time where the American economy was not doing great and the Citizens were isolated culturally and provincially (Cockroft, 2013). As a result of their exposure to such an environment, most of the expressionist’s forms of art work were seen to champion the American spirit. Some of the ways through which abstract art differed from other forms of art that were made in the 1930s is the fact that most of it was drawn out of fun and it did not represent a particular thing (Cockroft, 2013). Secondly, most of the abstract art was not purposely created nor did it have a point of interest as compared art in the 1930s. Lastly, abstract art differed in that in that it did not reflect the status or nature of environment it covered.

Franz Kline (Abstract Expressionism)

Franz Kline is one of the most significant artists that America has ever seen. He was a very famous painter and an active member of the Abstract Expressionist Movement. He was born on 1910, May 23rd and died on 1962, May 13th. He was an American whose arts have been preserved in different Museums throughout the U.S. He is widely known for paintings that are black and white in color (Arnason & Mansfield, 2013). Secondly, his paintings were drawn on stringent confidence. During the abstract era, it was quite easy to recognize Franz Kline’s paintings since he used two primary colors that no one else used. Some of Kline’s famous artistic works include; Chief (1950), Blueberry eyes (1960) and the Orange Outline (1955). Basically, it is important to note the fact that most of his paintings were based or linked with New York’s land and city scape (Arnason & Mansfield, 2013). The main reason why Frank was attached and interested in this kind/style of abstraction is the fact that he could draw different kinds of paintings that did not have a meaning. He also loved this style since he did not have to disclose the real meaning of most of his portraits.

The Great Depression Artists

Just like the Abstract expressionist movement, the Great Depression can be linked with several artists. Some of the main artists that can be associated with the Great depression are Dorothea Lange, Daniel Celentano, Isaac Soyer and Walker Bruce. This paper will discuss only two of these artists.

Dorothea Lange

Dorothea Lange is an American artist who was best known as photojournalist and a documentary photographer. She was born on 1895, May 26th and died on 1965, October 11th. According to different sources, she said to be the best documentary photographer, this earned her a job at FSA (King, 2014). As mentioned earlier, most of the artists who are associated with the Great depression had artistic works that had a relative meaning. Some of Dorothea’s main artistic works include; The Migrant Mother, Six Lettuce Pickers and the Six Tenant Farmers without Farms (King, 2014). Dorothea’s style of Photography was very unique in the sense that she only took photographs of different Farmers that were affected during the Great Depression. A good example is the photograph “Six Tenant Farmers without Farms.” This photo was taken in 1937 and was about farmers who cultivated in Lands they did not own. The main message of this photo was to explain the effect of the Great depression and how it impacted on the lives of average American Citizens. Lastly, this photo also depicts the hardship that people undergo through so that they can earn a Living.



Isaac Soyer

Isaac Soyer is one of the most prominent artists associated with the Great Depression. He was born in the year 1902, April 26th and died in 1981, July 8th. He is well known for a number of paintings such as The Art Beauty Shop, Rebecca, Portrait of My Father and Employment Agency (Armengol, 2014). Unlike Dorothy Lange, most of his paintings portrayed the working class of people who lived in New York. This painting is currently stored in the Dallas Museum. Basically, this painting is about several people both men and women at a beauty shop having their hair and nails made. This painting was drawn in the year 1934 (Armengol, 2014). The main purpose of this artwork was to show how the working class/group of people looked like, it was also meant to show how New York was diverse when it comes to work occupations. In conclusion, it is safe to state the fact that the main difference between Artistic works of the 1930s and that of the abstract period is the fact that a majority of works made in the Great depression had a meaning and were not drawn for fun.

















References

Armengol, J. M. (2014). Gendering the Great Depression: rethinking the male body in 1930s American culture and literature. Journal of Gender Studies, 23(1), 59-68.

Arnason, H. H., & Mansfield, E. (2013). History of modern art: painting, sculpture, architecture, photography. Pearson.

Cockroft, E. (2013). Abstract expressionism, weapon of the Cold War.

King, D. C. (2014). Dorothea Lange: Photographer of the People. Routledge.