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Although post-war European artists maintained
their interest in abstract art through the Salon des Realites Nouvelles
in Paris, by 1945 the centre of modern art had shifted to New York, where
the major new force was Abstract Expressionism. Arising from the uncertainty
of the Great Depression and World War II, this movement, never associated
with a coherent program as such, was led by Mark
Rothko (1903-70), Clyfford Still (1904-80), and Adolph
Gottlieb (1903-74). Its name was coined by Robert Coates, art critic
of the New Yorker. Offshoots include 'Action Painting' founded
by Jackson Pollock
and Rothko's 'Colour Field Painting'. In Europe Abstract Expressionism
was paralleled by the Art Informel movement (formless art) under such
artists as Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908-92).
Abstract Expressionism remains a vague
term - often confusingly applied to artists who are neither truly abstract,
nor expressionist - which describes a form of abstract painting (non-figurative,
non-naturalistic) in which colour takes precedence over form; the latter
being no longer geometric. Early works in this style typically filled
large scale canvases, whose size was designed to overwhelm spectators
and draw them into another world. The preoccupation of abstract expressionists
with visual effects, especially the impact of colour, was a reflection
of their main goal to involve and explore basic human emotions. Thus an
abstract expressionist painting is best felt intuitively rather than understood:
the question posed being typically: 'what does it make you feel?' - rather
than, 'what is it saying?'
It must be emphasized that this was a wide
movement, encompassing differing styles, including (as mentioned) works
that were either semi- or non-abstract, as well as those characterized
by the way paint was applied, such as Jackson Pollock's method of 'Action
Painting.' The fact that it was the first major art movement born in the
USA, gave it added weight and significance: at least in the minds of critics.
Recent Developments in Abstract Art
Modern art from the 1960s onwards was less
enamoured with abstraction, preferring to experiment with new imagery
(eg. Pop-Art), materials (eg. IKB blue developed by Yves Kein 1928-62),
and production methods (eg. silkscreen printing). In addition, new theories
of art were propounded (eg. Conceptual art,
which rejected the idea of a stand-alone work of art), and contemporary
forms of art were developed, such as Installation,
Assemblage, Performance, Happenings and
Land Art.
Op-Art
The only distinct style of abstract art
to emerge in the post-1960 era, was the Op-Art movement (an abbreviation
of 'optical art') whose hallmark was the engagement of the eye, by means
of complex, often monochromatic, geometric patterns, to cause it to see
colours and shapes that were not actually there. Leading members included
the Hungarian Victor Vasarely (1908-97), and the English painter
Bridget Riley (b.1931). The movement disappeared by the early 1970s.
Other Abstract Artists
Since then, in the absence of any defined
programatic movement, abstract art has developed through the works of
individual painters. Two interesting individuals are Frank Stella (b.1936)
whose large scale paintings involve interlocking clusters of shape and
colours, and Sean Scully
(b.1945) the Irish-American whose rectangular shapes of colour seem to
imitate the monumental forms of prehistoric structures. In Ireland, abstract
art is exemplified by the complex works of Anne
Madden (b.1932), the vivid acrylic paintings of Francis
Tansey (b.1959), the colourful canvases of Tony
O'Malley (1913-2003), the expressionism of Barrie
Cooke (b.1931), the contemporary abstract landscapes of John
Kingerlee (b.1936), the expressionist colourist landscapes of
William Crozier
(b.1930), and the abstract still life paintings of William
Scott (1913-89), and the steel sculptures of Alexandra
Wejchert (1921-1995).
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