Abstract Expressionism has always seemed fairly incohesive and subjective. I’m familiar with it’s attempts to convey powerful emotions and its representation of rebellion against American society in the 1940s, but it often appears juvenile and strangely simple. I was curious to see how this gallery talk would affect my preset opinion of abstract expressionism, whether it would reassure my feelings about it or whether it would shed a new life on the controversial painting style.
Our gallery talk speaker was Midori Yoshimoto. She was clearly well-educated in the history and quirks of the artistic style to which the exhibit was dedicated, as well as in the layout of the exhibit itself. She focused mainly on two painters, Barnett Newman and Jackson Pollock. Barnett Newman’s work definitely encouraged my initial opinion of Abstract Expressionism. It appeared incredibly simple and mundane. Most of his paintings consisted of simple squares, lines, and geometric figures arranged in a plain fashion. None of these paintings were creative, in my opinion. They were, instead, very impersonal, because their meaning was hard to perceive, if they had any meaning at all. I feel that such paintings are exponentially more significant to the painter as opposed to the viewers. Although his color palette is vibrant and piercing, it is nothing without a visibly interesting context behind it. Also, his biblical works did not resemble biblical works at all, because they were simple, darkly painted rectangles.
Jackson Pollock, on the other hand, made me think twice about the irrationality of Abstract Expressionism. Majority of his paintings were very pleasing to the eye and contained figures and people placed side by side or among other objects, but that you could still make out. One that comes to mind is “The She-Wolf” by him, in which you can make out what looks like a bull or a cow among all the lines and squiggles of color that surround it. Pollock’s drip paintings, the ones he is most known for, appear intimidating and convoluted at first. On the contrary, they are very interesting to simply observe and figure out. The use of color reveals specific emotions in each painting. For instance Pollock’s paintings titled “Number 1A” and “One” appear to be very similar. However, they contain different shades of white, gray, and beige that are placed in different amounts in the two drawings. If you squint, you can make out people and buildings, most of which come to you as a result of your imagination, but I feel that that is the beauty of his paintings. Pollock’s method of painting seems very freeing and natural, in my opinion.
-Polina Mikhelzon
