Jackson Pollock: Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist)

Jackson Pollock, Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist)

• Jackson Pollock was the artist
• The art movement is Abstract Expressionism
• Pollock was a key figure in Abstract Expressionism in the U.S. in the late 1940s/early 1950s
• Abstract Expressionism emphasizes color and gesture
• Clement Greenberg considered Abstract Expressionism a continuation towards pure abstraction

Meaning and Style of Number One, 1950 (Lavender Mist)

• Embodies Pollock's breakthrough period of 1947-1950
• Pollock transitioned from easel painting to laying large canvases on the floor
• He dripped, poured, and flung house paint from brushes and sticks while walking around the canvas
• Pollock stated this method was his way of being "in" his work
• Pollock saw this method as an act of ritual inspired by American Indian sand painting
• This aimed to create balanced, complete webs of color
• The painting transformed looking "at" art to being immersed in its fullness
• Pollock's mastery of chance, intuition, and control elevated Abstract Expressionism.

Historical Context of Number One, 1950 (Lavender Mist)

• Pollock's prominence rose after World War II
• Pollock had left-wing sympathies and benefited from the Federal Art Project in the 1930s
• Pollock and Rothko had internationalist outlooks and admired European avant-garde movements
• The European avant-garde movements combined artistic innovation with radical social/political visions
• Greenberg insisted that Pollock's work represented an authentic American art
• Greenberg suggested the title Lavender Mist due to the mauve glow of the industrial paints used
• The paints included: black, white, russet, orange, silver, and stone blue
• Pollock lived and worked in barn-turned-studio on Long Island from 1945
• Pollock was inspired by the natural environment on Long Island

Helen Frankenthaler, Mountains and Sea, 1952

• Helen Frankenthaler was the artist

Art Movement of Mountains and Sea

• Frankenthaler developed a distinct approach within post-war abstraction influencing Color Field painting
• While associated with Abstract Expressionism, her staining technique differed from gestural work
• Her staining technique was unique compared to artists like Pollock

Meaning and Style of Mountains and Sea

• Mountains and Sea exemplifies Frankenthaler's "staining" technique
• She poured thinned paint onto raw, unprimed canvas
• The technique resulted in transparent fields of color that float in the canvas and emphasized the flatness of the image
• Frankenthaler's arrangements often evoke the natural environment
• This creates unique visual spaces and atmospheres.
• Unlike Pollock's emphasis on an artist's presence through gestural marks, Frankenthaler's technique removes authorship

Interpretations of Mountains and Sea

• The work incorporates biomorphic forms reminiscent of Surrealist artists
• This allowed for fluid interpretations of nature
• Frankenthaler's work was a personal, intuitive response to the landscape
• Greenberg theorized about painting purity

Historical Context of Mountains and Sea

• Abstract art emerged in the U.S. in the late 1940s and early 1950s
• Frankenthaler's work responded to the landscape of Cape Breton
• Showcased a departure from traditional Abstract Expressionism
• Her technique would later influence artists like Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland

Barnett Newman, Vir Heroicus Sublimis, 1950–1951

• Barnett Newman was the artist
• The art movement is Abstract Expressionism

Meaning and Style of Vir Heroicus Sublimis

• Presents a stark contrast to figurative painting
• This was achieved by abandoning conventional subject matter
• Contains a large (15-foot wide) field of solid red broken only by "zips" of color
• This resolute elimination of traditional composition has affinities with Pollock's drip paintings
• Newman believed his works had a public address despite the abstract nature
• Newman stated his works "read properly" to signify "the end of all state capitalism and totalitarianism"
• Newman's concern with metaphysics and the "exalted" connects to French painting of the period

Historical Context of Vir Heroicus Sublimis

• Recalling the early political sympathies of Abstract Expressionists
• Newman developed anarchist sympathies
• Newman saw his works as implicitly negating American cultural values
• Greenberg noted the paradox of Abstract Expressionist work: more private in relation to art but destined for a more public scale
• Greenberg focused on formal innovations and seemed to lose track of the political undercurrents in the artists' practice

Frank Stella, Hyena Stomp, 1962

• Frank Stella was the artist
• The art movement is associated with Minimalism and Hard-Edge painting

Meaning and Style of Hyena Stomp

• Hyena Stomp reflects on Stella's love for jazz, especially Jelly Roll Morton's syncopated rhythms
• Dynamic, colorful stripes that abruptly change mimic jazz music's unexpected beats
• The work uses diagonal white lines and offbeat compositions
• Early work was characterized by strict geometric forms and a lack of expressive brushstrokes
• He used bright acrylic paints and raw, untreated canvases
• Which gave the works a bold and industrial look
• He experimented with shaped canvases, moving away from traditional rectangular formats

Historical Context of Hyena Stomp

• Abstract Expressionism's dominance was waning by 1962 when Minimalism emerged
• Stella gained recognition for his Black Paintings
• He became known as a minimalist painter after being born in 1936
• Hyena Stomp demonstrates a shift towards more complex compositions while retaining a focus on non-representational forms

Robert Rauschenberg, Erased de Kooning Drawing, 1953

• Robert Rauschenberg was the artist
• The art movement is Neo-Dada, a precursor to Pop Art
• Neo-Dada artists experimented with unconventional materials and challenged traditional notions of art under Dada's influence

Meaning and Style of Erased de Kooning Drawing

• Rauschenberg explored if an artwork could be created entirely through erasure
• Rauschenberg asked Willem de Kooning for a drawing to erase and sought one that was significant
• The laborious erasure was then labeled, matted, and framed
• Jasper Johns inscribed words below the obliterated drawing
• The work extends Duchamp's concept of the artist as a creator of ideas
• Challenges the definition of art by focusing on removal rather than accumulation

Historical Context of Erased de Kooning Drawing

• Rauschenberg explored art limits from 1951-1953
• It is a reaction against Abstract Expressionism's expressive intensity
• Embraces a conceptual approach, which aligned with the Neo-Dada spirit of challenging artistic norms
• Rauschenberg was labeled a Neo-Dadaist with Johns
• Rauschenberg was later recognized as a precursor of Pop art

Robert Rauschenberg, Bed, 1955

• Robert Rauschenberg was the artist
• Neo-Dada, Combine art movement and a precursor to Pop Art

Meaning and Style of Bed Art Piece

• An example of Rauschenberg's "Combines," where he incorporated everyday objects into his artwork
• Included a pillow, quilt, and sheet on wood supports, oil paint, and pencil application
• Blurred the lines between traditional art media and the everyday world.
• Echoed Duchamp's readymades
• Challenged the notion of what constituted art and how it should be made

Historical Context of Bed Art Piece

• Rauschenberg continued to push the boundaries of artistic creation after Erased de Kooning Drawing
• The piece reflects Neo-Dada's interest in unconventional materials
• Incorporated real life into art
• This paved the way for the Pop Art movement's engagement with popular culture and mass-produced objects

Jasper Johns, Target with Four Faces, 1955

• Jasper Johns was the artist
• The art movement is Neo-Dada, which acted as a precursor to Pop Art

Meaning and Style of Target with Four Faces

• Work made with encaustic on newspaper and cloth over canvas
• Surmounted by four tinted-plaster faces in a wood box with a hinged front
• The target is read as both image and object
• Similar to his flag paintings
• The newspaper collage underneath the encaustic suggests concealed meanings
• The plaster faces across the top, eyeless and juxtaposed with the target, evoke the image of blindfolded men before a firing squad
• Intended to show gay people avoiding scrutiny
• Banal subject matter
• Deadpan tone, and careful execution perceived as an attack on Abstract Expressionism

Historical Context of Target with Four Faces

• John had his first solo exhibition in 1958 jarring the New York art world
• Both he and Rauschenberg were represented by Leo Castelli
• They were initially labeled Neo-Dadaists
• They became recognized precursors of Pop art in the 1960s
• Use of everyday, recognizable imagery marked a significant departure from abstract art

Richard Hamilton, Just What is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, so Appealing?, 1956

• Richard Hamilton was the artist
• British Pop Art' and is considered the seminal work of the movement

Meaning and Style of Just What is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, so Appealing?

• The collage uses imagery from American glossy magazines and Hollywood films
• Depicted a modern interior filled with consumer goods
• Reflected the post-World War II yearning of the British people
• Member of the Independent Group
• Believed visual imagery and popular arts were worthy of consideration
• The work combines advertising elements and more
• Domesticity and technology questioned traditional artistic hierarchies and celebrated language of mass culture

Historical Context of Just What is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, so Appealing?

• Created for the exhibition "This is Tomorrow" in London
• Considered a foundational work of Pop art
• Britain rationed more intensely
• Alluring American media
• Independent Group met at the Institute of Contemporary Arts
• Explored many aspects of technology's relation to art.

Eduardo Paolozzi, I was a Rich Man's Plaything, 1947

• Eduardo Paolozzi was the artist
• Considered a prototypical work of Pop art and a key figure in the Independent Group

Meaning and Style of I was a Rich Man's Plaything

• The collage used cutouts from American Magazines
• Combinations in the work include consumer goods and sex symbols
• Used an non-pictorial format
• Contrasted with Paolozzi's other collages that referenced pre-War Surrealism
• Featured crude cutting and pasting
• Questions if it was meant to be finished
• Used the word "Pop"

Historical Context of I was a Rich Man's Plaything

• Paolozzi did in Paris and London (1947-1952)
• Not immediately recognized as pop art
• Important precursor to the movement
• Contemporary media imagery
• Bunk gained recognition later

Peter Blake, Self-Portrait with Badges, 1961

• Peter Blake was the artist
• A part of the British Pop Art Movement

Meaning and Style of Self-Portrait with Badges

• The self-portrait plays with traditional conventions of portraiture, like Jeans and denim
• Used a Magazine with Elis Presley
• Often involves imagery.
• Incorporates recognizable imagery

Historical Context of Self-Portrait with Badges

• By 1961, pop art was a coherent movement in Britain
• Exploration themes
• With Younger artists at Royal College of Art
• American culture

Richard Smith, Gift Wrap, 1963

• Richard Smith was the artist
• The art movement is British Pop Art

Meaning and Style of Gift Wrap

• Spanning over five meters
• Includes canvas box and constructions
• Blurring between painting and sculpture
• Advertising
• hint at commercial

Historical Context of Gift Wrap

• In Venice
• By the artist's time British Pop Art was established
• Inspired modern culture in work

David Hockney, We Two Boys Together Clinging, 1961

• David Hockney was the artist
• Pop Art

Meaning and Style of We Two Boys Together Clinging

• The painting was completed close to Hockney's time at the Royal College of Art
• Homosexuality was still illegal n England
• Poem of Walt Whitman
• Also references a newspaper clipping about. climbing accident
• Portrays two men kissing
• Crude vigor like art of Jean Debuffet
• Subject matter and themes in legal restrictions

Historical Context of We Two Boys Together Clinging

• Hockney part of. a student at RCA
• Reflects a personal issue of the early 60s

R. B. Kitaj, Walter Lippmann, 1966

• R.B. Kitaj was the artist

Art Movement & Meaning/Style of Walter Lippmann

• Associated with British Pop Art with some intellectual leanings
• Depicts Walter Lippmann, an American writer/political commentator
• Explains how it pushes the boundaries of the picture plane
• Colorful line guide viewers eye
• Metaphor for physical fragmentation

Historical Context of Walter Lippmann

• Kitaj studied at the Royal College of Art alongside Hockney
• Focused on contemporary imagery
• His work often incorporates literary and historical references
• Set him apart from more contemporary of Pop art

Derek Boshier, Special K, 1961

• Derek Boshier was the artist
• Part of British Pop Art

Meaning and Style of Special K

• Embraces iconography culture. British and American
• Collage uses images from packaging
• Often has narrative or political

Historical Context of Special K

• Boschier a contemporary student
• Recognition due to a BBC documentary

Gerald Laing, Souvenir, 1962

• Gerald Laing was the artist
• Part of the movement of Laing

Meaning and Style of Souvenir

• Souvenir created during Cold War
• Painted on wooden slats so its changing
• One sides shows a leader on an American face
• Clear images represent poster are
• Engaged. in political event

Historical Context of Souvenir

• Created this alone
• Unlike others he worked with only one
• Fragmented of early artist Pop art
• Darker politically,

Peter Phillips, For Men Only, 1961

• Peter Phillips was the artist
• A part of British Pop Art that was most severe

Meaning and Style of For Men Only

• Collage, oil and
• Methods were created by Phillips' teenage years
• Technical terms in title reference Marilyn Monroe
• Playful objects gaze and explore gender
• Influenced stylized

Historical Context of For Men Only

• Part of a Collage of Art group
• Expressed direct engagement to culture
• Technical skills intermixed

Gerald Laing, Bridget Bardot, 1963

• Gerald Laing was the artist
• British Pop Art

Meaning of Bridget Bardot

• Focuses on an. actresses' look
• Mass media
• Celebrated beauty and masculinity
• Characteristic in color and presentation

Historical Context of Bridget Bardot

• Was in many other distinguished phases

Pauline Boty, The Only Blonde in the World, 1963

• Pauline Boty was the artist
• The only Pop artist
• British Pop Art Movement

Meaning and Style of The Only Blonde in the World

• Monroe photo is redefined
• Iconic figure of culture
• Dynamic resonance painting rep
• Expresses faithful image

Historical Context of The Only Blonde in the World

• Painted a series of photos
• Gave a unique perspective of woman figures
• Work was short due death

Patrick Caulfield, Greece Expiring on the Ruins of Missolonghi, 1963

• Patrick Caulfield was the artist
• Art Movement: British Pop Art

Meaning and Style of Greece Expiring on the Ruins of Missolonghi

• Caulfield transformed art
• Used design decoratively
• Displayed self facing, artistic gestures

Historical Context of Greece Expiring on the Ruins of Missolonghi

• Caulfield studies at the RCA in the 1960s
• Contribute to landscape

Roy Lichtenstein, “Look, Mickey", 1961

• The artist was Roy Lichtenstein
• The art movement was American Pop Art

Meaning and Style of “Look, Mickey"

• An early example of art later moving towards romance comics
• Style imitates images using shades

Historical Context of “Look, Mickey"

• In 1961, American pop increased
• Commercial and cartoon imagery
• Signed a departure

Roy Lichtenstein, Whaam!, 1963

• Roy Lichtenstein was the artist
• Art Movement: American Pop Art

Meaning/Style of Roy Lichtenstein Comic Art

• This two canvas painting based on strip
• Depicts fighter plane using missiles
• Intimates printing with thick ink

Historical Context of Roy Lichtenstein

• Made in 1963
• At a height of movement
• Reflects mass imagery.

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup Cans 1962

• Andy Warhol was the artist
• Art Movement: American Pop Art

Meaning/Style for Andy Warhol

• Consists of 32 almost identical
• Each depicts an identity
• Emphasizes mechanical reproduction
• Munda
• Taste
• Anybody collaboration

Historical Context for Andy Warhol

• pivotal year of pop art
• Coca-Cola bottles also
• Reflects. the increasing dominance

Andy Warhol, Marilyn Diptych, 1962

• Andy Warhol was the artist
• American Pop Art

Marilyn Diptych Meaning and Style

• Features repeated images of the film star
• rather appropriating created imagery.
• The silkscreen and flattens

Precursors and Influences:

• Duchamp questioned art
• Creating objects
• Schwitters
• Material
• Paoiozzi proto pop
• Smithson explored photo by method. Hamilton - extends human potential

The Emergence of Pop Art

• Rauschenberg challenges creation
• John challenges new objects status
• Hamilton embodies movements

American Pop Art Takes Shape

• Creates affectional vitality
• Jhons painted with a new focus
• Allan had events synthesiszed
• Sharp linear

Lichtenstein Details

• Turn to image primary source
• Detachment made subjects

Duchamp/Schwitters Details

• Duchamp mocks traditional culture
• schwitters expriementd with unconventional Pollock/Krasner details
• Pollock developed between pouring to aim immerison in fullness
• Karsner an example of express

Cage/Rauschenberg Details

• Presentation of Various was used to encourage people
• Rauschenberg explored

Paolozzi early art

• Were often Considered a protopop
• Blake sometimes more or critical mess

Hamilton Early art show

• Were expressing to america Rauchesteen was working to make a difference

Works in New York/Roy's Inspiration

• Warhol created in New York
• Roy Lichtenstein's - drawn expression with detached

Wessiiman Details

• Has mixed media works within settings

dine Detials

• domestic interior of
• Homade look differentiated from other artist
• Arcangelno and manilyn and other work

Rosenquist Details

• utilized and conveyed heavy

Phillips Details

• synthesized more
• Wall further developed stype

Laing Details

• Gender identification in
• Political theme of cold war

Boty Details

• Botly engaging to more figures

Caulfield Details

• tend to react imagery

Kitaj Details

• Gave his points later