Understanding Art in a New Light
Europe had been the center of art for all of art history with many influential artists. After World War II, Americans wanted their own movement to call their own. The Armory Show held in New York in 1913 featured the best European artist and only had a small section of American artwork. Threatened by the ratio, American artists were influenced to explore a new form of art. They wanted to create the impossible, which surpassed all that preceded it. New York would soon become the new center of the art world as abstract expressionism began. Artists Frank Stella and Barnett Newman are two examples of many great American artists to encourage viewers to experience their art and its individuality. There are many similarities and differences between these two artists.
Abstract expressionism isn't easily categorized within one style, but rather offers a new direction and shifted focus on the art world. Moving away from the traditional approach and subject matter, the New York School made non-objective and vast works of art. Focusing on the experience, process, and impulse; resulting in abstract pieces of art. Frank Stella (b.1936) is known for his minimal style of abstract expressionism during his early career. Barnett Newman (1905-1970) was a color field painter making work with flat areas of solid color and thin vertical lines.
Frank Stella, born in Malden, Massachusetts often visited art galleries in New York City encouraging his development in art. He was influenced by the work of Pollock and Kline. Stella created Agbatana II in 1968 after his series of Black Paintings in 1950. Hopkins states, “Stella's Black Painting of 1958-60, which set his career in motion” (pg 133) which was his first major series just one year after graduating college, gaining him much attention. Experimenting with shaped canvas and color was a turning point, leading to his massive colorful protractor paintings. Agbatana II features four geometric figures in the foreground, linked by colorful curves in the background of the composition; the contact of these elements is in relation to the tile, translating to a place of gathering. This is very different from his early work of Black Paintings; which gained him attention in the late 50s. Stellas Die Fahne Hoch!, 1959 is a minimalist painting in black and thin geometric shapes of unpainted canvas. These paintings are similar in form, he uses formal shapes, lines, and vast scale; but are different with the use of color and geometric canvas.
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Stella's philosophy of art takes away external meaning and symbolism, leaving his art for what it is and giving it its own individuality. Stella stated, “What you see is what you see.” Abandoning the idea of deeper meaning and art to be deciphered. He encourages these ideas with a type of metallic paint, not letting the viewer penetrate the surface as the metallic paint sits on the surface. Further proving this point Stella states, “You have bits of canvas that are unpainted and thick stretcher bars. So you see a painting is an object...not a window into something” (frank stella quotes) In Agbatana II he leaves unpainted canvas in between each colorful curve. By focusing on form, instead of subjects or content, his early work helped shape the upcoming Minimalist movement.
Barnet Newman (1905-1970) was associated with the New York School and founders of color field painting; which was the first style to reject a subject or form emerging from the background marking a major turning point in abstract painting. Well known for his huge paintings of saturated color and “zips” which were vertical stripes in his canvases. Kedmey states “It was in this work that he hit upon what would become the signature motif that defined all of his paintings to come.” His most famous work Onement I, 1948 a dark red color and a strip of light red, his very first canvas that features the “zip” of color which would be later featured in the rest of his artworks. In conjunction with the large fields of color, he used the zips to help connect with the viewer. Museyon confidently states “the thin vertical line he used to separate fields of bold color on the canvas” (p.110) but this is not true, Newman explains in the Painters Painting video that “I feel that my zip does not divide my painting, I feel it does the exact opposite...it unites the thing it creates a totality” (3.40). This draws the viewers to experience the work physically and emotionally. He wanted to create a sense of space for the viewers that would allow them to be present at a specific time and place. Many of his paintings were similar in their form as they all had large fields of bold colors and bands of color within them; although after working on his paintings he did a few sculptures.
Frank Stella and Barnett Newman have a similar approach to form. Stella was inspired by Newman for his simplicity and the sublime[greatness that inspires awe and wonder]. Newman was a part of the Irascibles in New York City He and other members shared common elements in their artwork. Their artwork was huge in scale, contained no subject, or gestural style, and possessed an “all over” characteristic which meant the whole canvas was filled and contained no holes (unpainted canvas) and most importantly it was flat. Stella possessed many abstract expressionist characteristics but his work was more considered post-painterly abstraction and minimalism. Given these characteristics of abstract expressionism, they shared many of the same painterly qualities. Stella and Newman both worked on massive canvases, embodying the idea that the painting filled its own space and had its own individuality. They both had similar ideas that their canvas wasn’t an invitation or window to something else, if the viewer saw it or not, it stood as itself. Newman had a more emotional approach to his artwork, he offered his viewers to feel the artwork with the viewer's feelings and emotions and let it speak for itself.
Post-World War II was a turning point in American art, with the abstract expressionist movement and its development in the 1940s and 1950s. From this moment came a lot of successful artists and many more movements inspired by this one. These artists were self-expressive and developed control of the art world against Europe. Stella and Newman along with many great American artists encouraged viewers to experience art in a new way with its non-subjectivity and flat planes of color. They made art for themselves and their personal experiences, symbolizing America's individual freedom. Although artists had their own style it still embodied american expressionism and its characteristics.
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