Amanda Dhillon

1. http://art.blox.pl/resource/pollock1.jpg

Jackson Pollock’s arguably most popular piece, No. 5, is a good example of the type of American Abstract Expressionist artwork that could spark varied, fiery responses. It is somewhat easy to recognize what makes this piece creative and representative of freedom. The style of painting is signature to Pollock, which automatically attributes to the work the idea of individuality, the individuality of the artist and the idea of individuality that transcends the canvas to the viewer, awakening the feeling of being an individual apart from the crowd. Additionally, it is a piece that was made through tapping into emotion and spontaneously painting the results. It threw the rules of art and the previously popular style of realism out the window. This “artistic freedom” then came to represent the democratic freedoms that the US promoted during the Cold War, so much so that the CIA and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) came to the aid of the international policies that worked to spread this art into Europe to inspire these same democratic ideals that they propagated in the US. As both authors, Cockcroft and de Hart Matthews, explain, the Cold War era that artists such as Pollock painted in was riddled with fear of Communism, and thus anything that could be remotely connected to the Soviet Union was subject to attack. Some of the most frightened Americans and conservative government officials (namely Michigan representative George Dondero) tried to use this fear to vilify the art movement. Dondero argued that the pieces were created by left-wing artists who had, at one point, associated with a Communist front and thus were connected to Communist beliefs. This Pollock piece, therefore, is also arguably dangerous to the American public because it lacks any of the comforting, familiar form or structure that is in realist paintings by conservative, right-wing artists, and it is difficult for the people in general to understand. Without understanding, the art takes on very different and sometimes frightening meanings to the public audience, which opens the floor to threatening or Communist interpretation.

2. http://webexhibits.org/colorart/i/abstract/Rothko,-Untitled,-Seagra-01.jpg

Untitled (Seagram Mural) by Mark Rothko also exemplifies the artistic freedom that characterizes American Abstract Expressionism. In this piece, the usage of warm reds and browns arranged in squares on the canvas is primarily meant to stir emotion in the viewer through the color alone, a repeated theme that lends individuality and creativity to Rothko’s work and allows it to represent the creativity that is central to the abstract expressionist movement (and thus also demonstrating individuality.) When creating his art, Rothko plumbs his own mind and feelings to bring out and create a certain mood for the audience with the paint. Due to its lack of distinguishable dimensions and subject matter, the painting parts with conventional, conservative art of the time and comes to symbolize the artistic freedom and democracy that those in support of modern art have attributed to his paintings. On the other hand, these same features, as well as, perhaps, the color red itself, make the piece vulnerable to conservative assaults. Red is the communists’ color, representing the Soviet Union and its ideals, a characteristic of the painting which, if one believed it, would make this piece a threat because it covertly promotes communism. Though it may be a stretch, this type of analysis could very well have played on the fears already stirring among the conservative portion of the public. Additionally, the same lack of visible subject matter that makes the piece artistically free also makes it a target for those outspoken against the movement. A follower of this belief would claim the painting to be not only confusing but also missing the images that stand for American ideals, images like those found in regionalist and social realist paintings that depict social justice or the average farmer. Because of this, the painting would be quite un-American and thus decadent where conservative values are concerned.

3. http://www.albertkotin.com/image%20kotin1938musician.jpg

The abstract expressionist painting The Musicians by Albert Kotin presents the concepts of American democratic freedom through geometrically influenced, almost cubist depictions of human figures. By portraying people in this distorted way while other artists were producing more realistic human images, Kotin displays his own artistic freedom apart from the average artist and practices the principle of democracy and free creativity. The impact of this utilization of creative freedom is then apparent since realism of the time, according to Cockcroft, is associated with totalitarian regimes. Therefore, to create art that counters the realistic, mimetic human figure as Kotin does is a democratic gesture. However, some would argue that this makes the piece not democratic or individual, but rather spoiled and disgusting. Dondero is especially outspoken about this and becomes particularly reminiscent of Hitler in his lambasting of modern art because of its “ugliness,” an ugliness that stems from his inability to understand the point of the painting. This incomprehension and apparent repulsiveness of such types of art would then make this piece considerably threatening in the eyes of the conservatives, who would not like to see this kind of work displayed to the public or representing the nation in overseas exhibitions.

4. http://images.artnet.com/artwork_images%5C95678%5C215861.jpg

The David Alfaro Siqueiros painting Despues De La Grand Tormenta can be used as an example for the conflicting responses that result from the abstract expressionist movement. The painting is a visual representation of tumulus emotion, an image crafted from feeling and not meant to represent anything literal. Promoters of this style of art would claim that this freedom to create something totally radical and new, capturing emotions and not likenesses, is very anti-communistic in that it is a shining example of parting from the norm and freely expressing oneself. Thus, it should represent the democracy of America through artistic freedom. Despite the freedom that the creative process of the artist represents, in general, Siqueiros’s paintings can be quite intimidating, and are easily seen by those who do not know what to make of them as dangerous for the public. However, another, less clear reason for the arguments against these works is Siqueiros’s tie to communism, as he was found to have communist beliefs. Very right-wing, conservative anti-communists will therefore only see that the artist had once been a communist supporter and assume that, since they cannot clearly understand the real meaning behind the abstract work, it is promoting communism in some form or another. Because of this, then, Siqueiros’s painting is also representative of the danger or decadence that can be found in American Abstract Expressionist works.

5. http://www.kemperart.org/images/permanent/Hoffmanlarge.jpg

The two arguments over American Abstract Expressionist art can be applied to Hans Hofmann’s Rising Sun. With its use of simple splashes of color that look like a finger-painting rather than a reflection of the sunrise, Hofmann dares to reject the realism of traditional art, creating something highly individual in that it is the only piece like this to be made by a professional artist. The subject or style may not be original, but the concept certainly is. This is a great example, then, of the freedom to create whatever one wants to, a great piece that exists because of the artistic freedom that the artist has to make such a piece. As the authors de Hart Matthews and Cockcroft inform, this freedom that Hofmann has used in creating this painting represents the key American value of democracy over totalitarianism that those most powerful people in the US, such as the Rockefellers, want to send them overseas through MoMA’s international programs to show European nations threatened by communism democracy through art. The artwork show that, in the midst of the realism required in communist states, the US has the freedom of expression in art. Of course, there are those such as Dondero who want to be rid of such works because they “destroy the high standards and priceless tradition of academic art” (de Hart Matthews 162.) Dondero especially denounces paintings such as Hofmann’s because of their simplistic nature. It is very easy to recognize how this paining can be accused of “destroying” traditional art practices. The piece has the appearance that it was painted with the hands of a child, and so what makes it unique and democratic also makes it ugly and unworthy (in the eyes of the conservatives) to be publicly displayed in top-quality museums within the US, no less be taken outside the country to represent the people of its homeland.