Art at Its Best
When first reading about the concept of abstract expressionism, I was very bewildered by the idea. It was a very difficult concept to understand by merely reading about it. However, visiting the Abstract Expressionism exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art made the theme a whole lot more comprehensible. I realized abstract expressionism is a form of art that needs to be experienced to be fully understood.
Abstract expressionism can be defined in many ways. It is a type of art that has no boundaries and no rules; therefore, the artist is free to create whatever he or she desires. Abstract expressionist artwork is always open to interpretation because the artworks are often very random and the objects in the artwork are indistinguishable. For example Jack Twokor’s painting Athene. It is a painting with a palate of blue, orange, brown, and black. The artwork depicts a very mixed up scene, and there is no clear distinction for what is exactly occurring in the painting. However, the blue and white concentrations in the top of the artwork could represent the sky and clouds, and the brown and black concentrations on the bottom could symbolizes the earth and ground.
Another aspect of abstract expressionism is how each artist has their own distinct style and palate of colors. Just by looking at an artwork, a knowledgeable observer can determine who created it. For example, Morris Louis has an excellent technique to staining his canvases that can be seen in his artworks, such as his untitled artwork at the MET. He uses a very vibrant palate of colors and acrylic paint. Also, he created many artworks that are rivulets of colors from the top corner to the middle of the bottom. The combination of colors, canvas staining, and style allow one to distinguish Louis’ artwork from other abstract expressionists.
In the same way that different artists have different abstract styles, abstract expressionism artworks can be divided into two periods, the 1950s and 1960s. The 1950s abstract expressionist artworks can be classified as shapeless, dark, complex and random while abstract expressionism in the 1960s was more geometric, simple, and utilized more lively colors. Also, abstract expressionism was more influential in the 1950s; consequently, more abstract expressionist artworks were created in the 1950s than in the 1960s. The Abstract Expressionism exhibit was displayed chronologically beginning with the 1950s and ending with the 1960s. Artworks from the 1950s occupied most of the exhibit, and there was a point where one can clearly distinguish the transition in artworks from the 1950s to the 1960s according to the classifications.
Abstract expressionism is an exciting form of artwork that allows the artist to create based on what he or she feels and thinks about. The MET displayed these artworks in an excellent manner by offering artworks from the both periods of abstract expressionism and by the different artists. The exhibit allowed someone to grasp the concept of abstract expressionism and become interested in it.