Kelly post 5

Dictatorial regimes are based on rightist conservative traditionalism. Whether you’re talking about Nazi Germany or the USSR, the government was always strongly centralized and existed with a strict rule of governance. There were rules, they were abided by, and they built their country’s culture and society within those walls. Traditional art has the same idea about it as dictatorial regimes. Traditional art requires conservative technique, strict boundaries and discipline, and strong self-control. American Abstract Expressionist art breaks all of those rules. There are no boundaries, but instead, Abstract Expressionism suggests that art is created outside the traditional laws of art. It is nowhere near conservative, and it disregards all other techniques in order to express different emotions and enable the audience to view art in a new and different way. Abstract Expressionism’s exact purpose is to provide people with various opportunities to interpret the art in their own manner. This explains why different groups of people provided varied responses to the Abstract Expressionist Movement. One response was that of dictatorial regimes: the art was degenerate and had no meaning or purpose. A second response was more liberal and exactly the opposite of those dictatorial regimes: the art was revolutionary and provided and whole new way of looking at the world.

1. http://www.wfu.edu/art/ac_johns_flags.jpg

Jasper Johns began a series of paintings of the American flag using Abstract Expressionism. This painting might anger someone of a more rigid and tyrannous disposition because he took something that represents the pride of a country and altered its image. The American flag is representative of the American people and here it is painted not as it truly appears but as he chooses to see it. Anyone can look at this picture and agree that it is the American flag, but it is not a direct mimesis of the flag. Many conservatives think that portraying the flag in any light other than how it is actually depicted is unpatriotic. Others believe while looking at Jasper John’s portrayal of the American flag that he is elaborating on the versatility, openness, and freedom that America practices. Some people might see this painting and comment that Jasper really understood that the American people were able to depict their pride in any shape or form that they chose. This is, essentially, the main advantage of being American, freedom of expression.

2. http://www.brooklynrail.org/article_image/image/156/04_Minutiae__1954.jpg

Robert Rauschenberg broke down more barriers than most Abstract Expressionists; he bridged medias and combined sculpting with painting. In Satellite, a fan of Abstract Expressionism would be able to appreciate that Robert takes various pieces of media from different aspects of his life and combines them as a form of self-expression. Literally, Robert used comics, paint, cloth, and other such common items to create his masterpieces. A rigid traditionalist would view his work as a collage of garbage, but if you look at Satellite with an open mind, it almost tells a story of Robert’s life. Each piece of material is chosen with delicate care and with a purpose. What that purpose is isn’t always shared, but we are meant to understand that his work has meaning not only to him, but is meant to convey continuity between past and present events in the audience and the artist’s lives.

3. http://www.thecityreview.com/hartley2.gif

Marsden Hartley’s Musical Symphony shows the layering of all the different instruments, staccatos, beats, and rhythms that are found in an orchestra. The boxes in the painting are almost thrown together into a mess. When you look at the top of the painting, you see that there is one piece crowning out of the mess that must be the source of the delicate noise that the symphony provides. This is a symbolic painting of what an orchestra does: instruments and different notes are thrown together to eventually make the perfect tune for the audiences’ ears. However, the music doesn’t make sense until it is al put together, just as the crown of the painting depicts. If a traditionalist looked at this painting he would view a series of shapes strewn upon a canvas in no particular order. A traditionalist would prefer a proper painting of an orchestra during its performance if an artist wished to depict the complex elements of what makes that beautiful noise.

4. http://images.artnet.com/artwork_images%5C325%5C6066.jpg

Robert Motherwell’s Summertime in Italy looks nothing like a summer that someone might spend in Italy. Traditionalists would probably argue that this is a poorly painted white triangle as opposed to a recollection of a summer spent basking in the sun near the Mediterranean. I, myself, am becoming angered, trying to find any hint that this painting is in fact a depiction of a memory from Italy. If not for the title, I never could’ve guessed that this was supposed to depict anything other than a white blob. Still, in abstract expressionism, it is more about what feelings the author means to convey and how it appears to him. An advocate of Abstract Expressionism might see Robert in a sailboat on the Mediterranean, enjoying his summer with friends. They might even suggest that his use of white indicates the innocence of his journey on the water; it might be related to the idea that water-logged voyages almost always result in the voyager becoming a new person through the baptism of the water. To me, this is stretching it, but I cannot judge what Robert meant to convey. With Abstract Expressionism, I can only manage a guess.

5. http://www.poster.net/rothko-mark/rothko-mark-red-on-maroon-2634052.jpg

Mark Rothko provides a very challenging task. How do you determine the message he is attempting to send through this collection of vibrant colors and vertical shapes? A traditionalist would see this painting and suggest that a kindergartener might be able to accomplish it. Thus, how can it possibly be art? There is no traditional technique, human figures, nor any clear message. Instead the painting stresses color, shape, and juxtaposition. Perhaps the two vertical columns are the gates of hell. Or maybe they’re meant to depict a window to another world. Looking at a painting this abstract really requires some form of art history experience. I look at this painting, see pretty colors, and that’s about it, but I don’t believe that it is an insult to the art world, I just simply think that it takes a lot of knowledge about the artist and his intentions before appreciation for the artwork can be gained.

Professor O’Sullivan recently mentioned a famous quote in my Shakespeare class: “The past doesn’t influence me, I influence it.” The famous Abstract Artist, Willem de Kooning, made this statement not out of arrogance but out of common sense. How can we take an art history course and then look at a crucifix without noting and recognizing the stigmata on his hands? Because of that same reason, after Abstract Impressionism gained popularity, it became impossible for the masses to look at traditional art with the same eye. Da Vinvi may now appear “stuffy” or “lacking in creativity” in comparison to Rothko’s crazy paintings. Would you rather have the Mona Lisa on your bedroom wall or one of Rothko’s bright images? This is an interesting theory to ponder while studying why people interpret art so differently—some very liberally and others very conservatively. Perhaps if we were all more educated about art, we would not only be