MODERNISM 1880 - 1945 AD (CE)
Abstract Expressionism (1940's) - For a brief time, America had the unusually pleasure of forming a serious art movement. The Abstract Expressionist movement marked an era in American history as the first major movement to originate in the U.S..
Jackson Pollock
Autumn Rhythm, 1950
Oil on canvas, 105 x 207 inches
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
International Style 1920s - 1940's AD
In architecture, the principal trend of the 1920s and 1930s. Characterized by geometric forms, asymmetry, and such modern materials as concrete, steel, and glass, the style was a reaction against tradition. Architects wanted to design simple, unadorned, functional buildings, particularly skyscrapers, factories, and public housing. The International Exhibition of Modern Architecture in 1932 (Museum of Modern Art, New York City) publicized the style. The style's leading architects included Germans Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Swiss-French Le Corbusier.
Pop Art (1961-1968) - Pop Art was a movement that departed from the clichés of boldness so often portrayed in modern art. The Pop artists disconnected themselves from the idea that art must contain meaning in the abstract.
Andy Warhol 1960's
Marilyn (Red)
Op Art (1964-1967) - The birth of Op Art began with Time Magazine. In 1964, Time Magazine published an article featuring a new art wave that involved optical illusions.
"Reality is more than the thing itself. I look always for its super reality. Reality lies in how you see things." - Pablo Picasso
The Op Art movement remains relatively short when compared to other movements like Cubism or Surrealism. The movement officially lasted only three years, and followed the Pop Art movement.
Op Art began with the desire to involve a correlation between seeing and understanding. The art movement involved manipulating the eyes or creating an optical illusion. Similar to other movements, the Op Art artists did not use conventional paint and brush techniques. Instead, the artists used a limited color scheme, and a limited style to draw shapes and objects. Each painting or design had its own way of alluding the human eye. Although this movement was relatively short, the artistry they displayed was important to all art movements and art lovers.
Kinetic Art (1950's-1960's) - Kinetic Art was essentially an art movement that explored the artistic sides of motion. The movement itself contained many overtones including those of artistic, naturalistic, and technological backgrounds.
Minimalism (1966-1970) - Minimalism received much criticism from the public, who found it difficult to consider that a row of cubes, two rectangles sitting side by side, or five box-like objects hanging from a wall, could be called art.
The Minimal movement set out to re-capture sculpture in a state of independence. That is, independence from the tremendous overuse of nature portrayed in sculptures.
The Minimalist painters rejected sculpture as a form of self-expression. The movement received much criticism from the public, who found it difficult to consider how a row of cubes, or how two rectangles sitting side by side could be considered an artistic accomplishment.
Most people at the time felt that art should have some presence of artistic achievement, but unlike public desire, the Minimal artists left no trace of art in their work. They used only the simplest of design and material to portray their sculpture in a clear and unmistakable manner.
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