Imagination At Work
Abstract expressionism is an art form that often misunderstood. The people that don’t understand it usually give it much criticism. Whatever the controversy might me, it still holds its name as a modern and unique form of art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art featured an abstract expressionism exhibit that exemplified the great works of art from the ‘50s and ‘60s. The small showroom sure had a lot of meaning in itself.
Mark Rothko’s “No.3,” from 1953, was profound work of art that was disguised as the product of a seven year old. To the untrained eye, it looks like nothing more that a few rectangles painted different colors. But to Rothko, the color itself was an abstraction. It takes much skill to paint like Rothko, breaking things apart and combining colors to create almost a glowing radiance.
Not only were there paintings, but also there were some statues on display. Theodore J. Roszack’s “Firebird,” 1950-’51, was a sculpture made of iron and brass. It was a phoenix-like object that had long wings and what seemed like the grim-reaper’s blade. I believe that there was a majestic feeling to the shape of the object. The blade and bones seemed to represent death while the image of the phoenix represents freedom and rebirth.
The painting by Philip Guston, titled “Painting,” 1952, was my personal favorite. This was a truly abstract painting with no concrete meaning behind it. When creating this painting, I believe that Guston had the mentality of believing what you want and simply seeing what you see. Each person can interpret the painting differently and no one is right or wrong. To me, the painting resembled a city-like portrait with hundreds of tiny buildings scattered about the canvas. I particularly enjoyed his style of painting blots of many colors with varying intensities around a large canvas.
Robert Motherwell’s “Elegy to the Spanish Republic, No. 35,” 1954-’58, was the most powerful painting in the exhibit. At first glance, one instantly feels a sense of death and darkness. The shapes resemble gravestones and depict a sense of mourning and loss. The effect of the painting would have been very different without the use of black. In my opinion, the color was absolutely crucial to Motherwell’s interpretation of the lost souls of the Spanish people.
The Muriel Kallis Steinberg Newman Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art has brought together some of the best abstract expressionist art of the mid 1900s. Among them are painters such as Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko. The exhibit was put together well. As one walked around the room, the paintings were shown in chronological order. This was a great idea because one was able to see the evolution of abstract expressionist art as the person walked around the room. As I was walking around looking the paintings, I felt as if I was looking into the mind of each artist. Each person had a unique quality and style that was unlike any other. Each stroke of the paintbrush was filled with secrets and emotion – not unlike the human brain. The exhibit was more than a showcase of paintings; it was a gallery of the human imagination.
