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Chris has a master's degree in history and teaches at the University of Northern Colorado.
Why does art have to be so confusing? Today, we're talking about Abstract and Minimalist art, so, yeah, that should be a piece of cake. What happened to those nice paintings from the Renaissance, you know, back when art had recognizable subjects?
Well, around the end of the 19th century, artists began realizing that we don't only experience this world through sight; we experience it through emotion, memories, dreams, and sensations. We each perceive the world differently and, wouldn't you know it, these artists decided that they could represent all of these ideas through art.
So, then the 20th century rolls by and art becomes steadily more obsessed with the abstract. And here we are, somewhere between the 1950s and 1970s. Nearly a century of exploring the use of art to document varied nuances of our existence all leads here - to the rise of America's first unique style of abstract art and the reactions it created. So, are you ready to get abstract? And… minimalist? Yeah, we got this.
Welcome to the world of Abstract Expressionism. This movement is focused on the subconscious act of creation and the personal relationship between the artist and canvas. Let's just get that confusing intellectual stuff out of the way. So what does that really mean? Well, the goal of Abstract Expressionism was to create images that were purely dedicated to emotion. That's why there's no recognizable objects being depicted. There's no need to disguise the emotional nature of painting with metaphors hidden in realistic objects.
In Abstract Expressionism, the painters try to let their subconscious guide the painting, which is the idea behind the rough, expressive brushstrokes. In fact, many Abstract Expressionists believe in action painting, in which the paint is dripped, slung, or smeared onto a canvas as a way to reduce conscious control. To the painters, these techniques are what transfers the emotion of the artist onto the canvas. What this really means is that the physical action of painting is as important as the finished product. That's a really important aspect of Abstract Expressionism. So important, in fact, that I'm going to say it again: the physical action of painting is as important as the finished product. Need to hear it a third time? Nah, I didn't think so.
So, as you can guess, Abstract Expressionism caused quite a stir in the artistic community. This was unlike anything being done before and really cemented America's dedication to abstract art. Abstract Expressionism influenced several styles over the next decades. Some built upon the ideas of the Abstract Expressionists and some rejected them.
One of the movements to reject Abstract Expressionism was Minimalism, a movement aimed at eliminating all excess in order to expose the most basic essence of art. Now, let's start by looking at what these two styles have in common. For one, there's that desire to strip away naturalist representations in order to find some element of truth. Also, the reduction of a painting into flat colors was something being explored by Abstract Expressionists like Mark Rothko.
Alright, so now that we've covered that, let's go into why they're different. One of the keys to understanding modern art is to remember that the significance goes beyond the visual aspects. So while there may be visual similarities between the styles, what matters is the 'why'. Why did Minimalists tend to paint flat scenes of a single color? While the Abstract Expressionists embraced personal emotion, the Minimalists wanted to completely remove themselves from their art. That's a big difference. Abstract Expressionists put themselves into their art; Minimalists take themselves out of it.
In the effort to strip away all the excess, they realized that this meant themselves as well. The painting needed to be pure and uncontaminated with personal emotions or subjectivity. This idea actually translated very easily into sculpture and architecture as well, which is one reason that Minimalist art is found in more media than Abstract Expressionism, which is generally limited to painting, with a few exceptions. For something so minimal, this style sure made a major impact.
Modern art went through an explosion after World War II, when new ideas and styles emerged to challenge the way we saw art.
The first major movement was Abstract Expressionism, which was stylistically expressive and focused on the subconscious act of creation and the personal relationship between artist and canvas. This meant that the act of painting was very important, since this is how the painter transfers emotions into the artwork. This style made quite a splash, and many other movements emerged to either embrace or reject these ideas.
Minimalism rejected the idea that the artist should put themselves into their art and focused on stripping away all excess from a design, leaving only the most objective, honest image. It can be hard to appreciate art sometimes when there is so much that goes into just understanding a flat blue rectangle, but hey, sometimes we could all stand to be just a bit more abstract.
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Art 101: Art of the Western World23 chapters | 278 lessons
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