Episode 93: Abstract Expressionism “I Could Have Done That! (But you didn’t)”

Abstract Expressionism is an art movement that developed after World War II in the United States and is considered the first American art movement to become an international art movement. 

According the Oxford University Press, Abstract Expressionism is, “interpreted as an especially ‘American’ style because of its attention to the physical immediacy of paint; it has also been seen as a continuation of the Romantic tradition of the Sublime". 

During this time, in the 1940's and 1950's, science and psychology are changing. Quantum Mechanics and psychoanalysis begin to change people's perceptions of the world. How a person feels is important, and this is something that is very evident in Abstract Expressionism.

Pollock, One: Number 31, 1950, MoMA

Franz Kline, Black Reflections, 1959

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/64.146

Paul Klee, Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black, 1925

Seon-Jeong Kim, Abstract Art 221

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/seonjeong-kim.html

Seon-Jeong Kim said:

“I start my day from wondering what I painted on the previous day.

I end up my day feeling alive and achieved.

I paint my frustration, illusions, former existence, and transience of life.

I do not know where my mind is going.

I do not know what my painting will be.

Later, I see a path and it begins to shape my feelings.

Today, I go on this lonely journey to simplify my spirit.

I paint to free myself. I paint what I like.

If anybody feels the same way I do through my art, I will feel fulfilled. “

Come back next Wednesday to listen to our Valentine's Day episode on Arts & Facts Top 10 Smooches with Julia and Jo!

Have a great week everyone, and please, let us know what you think of Abstract Expressionism!