Aaron Post 5

In viewing art, as with most things in life, everyone has a different perspective on things. Two people can view the exact same work of art and see two completely different things because of the experiences and beliefs that they bring to the table. This is what happened with art during the Cold War in America. During this time Abstract Expressionism burst on to the scene and caused a huge controversy. Some people were frightened by the progressive foreign elements of this new style of art and because of these characteristics labeled the art as “Communist” or “Un-American”. As Jane de Hart Mathews puts it, “the assumption was that rejection of traditional ways of seeing form and space inherent in vanguard style of painting implied rejection of traditional world views” (Mathews, p.156). Others viewed the same artistic style as an expression of democracy. They argued that the freedom of interpretation that abstract art gives is a symbol of the freedom and democracy that can only flourish in the US. This controversy was heightened by the amount of government “witch-hunting” that was going on because of the threat of communism and artists were not exempt from suspicion.

The street by Philip Guston

This painting is a very abstract and unclear view of what the title suggests is a street. The title seems to be the only clue that this work of art portrays a street, though. I can see how this painting would be scary to a culture that is defined by its paranoia towards communism because the color red is featured very prominently. The red splotches in the center of the painting are the first thing that catches your eye and because red is the representative color of communism, some suspicion may be warranted. Guston was known for his use of red and black, and red is the prominent color in many of his paintings. Though this does not necessarily prove that Guston was trying to promote Communism, in the culture in which he lived, this might be widely assumed.

On the other hand, this painting contains nothing overtly Communism, and to an objective viewer the thought would probably never cross their mind. They would see the art as an abstract expression of some emotion Guston was feeling, and wouldn’t look at the art from a political point of view at all. The problem is that Communism was talked about so much by the government that people were almost assumed to be Communists until proven not to be. This “objective” viewing which is already made virtually impossible by all the baggage people bring with them when viewing art was further complicated by all the Communist suspicion that was being thrown around.

Conjurer by Hans Hofmann

When I first looked at this picture it looked like a vague representation of an old lady who I would assume is the Conjurer that the painting is titled after. The background seems to be filled with ambiguous shapes that could easily be interpreted as the spirits that the conjurer is conjuring. During the Cold War anything frightening or out of the ordinary could be and often was linked with Communism. Subconsciously people could be put off by the supernatural elements of this painting and then dismiss it as Communist. Mathews talks about this association on p.172 when she says, “communism itself had become for many a symbolic issue that had less to do with a foreign ideology or even the realities of international politics than with the forces of change.”

Others who see this painting could see it as a uniquely American work of art. The supernatural elements that this painting portrays would not be looked upon with favor in most Communist countries where religion (or anything supernatural) was either closely monitored or outlawed altogether. This painting could be seen as portraying the spirit of American freedom.

My Landscape II by Joan Mitchell

This painting is entitled “my landscape” but all the figures in the work of art are so ambiguous that they are basically unrecognizable. Many people would see this as a work that lent a hand in, as George Dondero put it, the “denial of reason” that was promoted by this sort of art. They would take a quick glance at the painting and dismiss it as childish nonsense that defied the orderly beauty that they are used to.

As mentioned earlier, defenders of Abstract art would see this art as a way for Americans to express their freedoms. This country is built on freedom of expression and that is what makes it unique. We should embrace this difference and uphold it by allowing people to speak and create freely. Our freedom is what separates us from the Communists.

Alter by Adolph Gottlieb

While some may see this picture as a harmless work of art, others may see it as a blasphemous attack on religion. The artwork contains lots of figures that almost seem like separate pictures. Many of the pictures seem to be very primitive or even barbaric or animalistic human figures. While we as viewers do not know the artists true intentions in creating this work of art (as is often the case) it could definitely be interpreted as a negative commentary on religion because of the religious title contrasted with the primitive and “unreasonable” figures.

Night Glow by Adolph Gottlieb

This is another painting by Adolph Gottlieb but is extremely different from his work entitled “Alter” that was mentioned above. “Night Glow” is a color painting of a night scene. The most prominent image is a large red dot towards the top of the painting. As mentioned earlier with Philip Guston’s painting, the red could be seen as representative of Communism. In this painting the red dot is the only thing that you can see in the darkness and this could possibly be interpreted as portraying Communism as the way out of the dark.

While those who are against Abstract Expressionist art would say that it is an inherently Communist form of art, supporters of this kind of art would say just the opposite. They would point out that abstract art was made illegal in Russia during the Cold War and say that this abstract art is inherently American. This is because of the aforementioned connection between freedom of expression and abstract art but also because it was in New York City that this art was made popular. It was the Abstract Expressionists that shifted the unofficial art capital of the world from Paris to New York.