Abstract Expressionism, Op Art, Pop Art, and Minimal Art
Abstract Expressionism (Late 1940's - early 1960's)
Abstract Expressionism is an art movement originating in New York City in the 1940’s. This was the
first American movement to gain worldwide recognition, and put New York at the center of the art
world; an achievement formerly awarded to Paris. Robert Coates coined the term ‘abstract
expressionism in 1946 in one of his critiques of the new artwork. The most important predecessor of
abstract expressionism is Surrealism, which also emphasizes spontaneous and subconscious
creation. The name of this period reflects the combination of unique self-expression with emotional
intensity, and contrasts the ideas or Futurism and Cubism. Abstract expressionism is a form of art
where the artist expresses himself through the use of form and color, with no objective
representations. The movement can be divided into two groups: the Action Painting expressed by
artists like Pollock and De Kooning; and Color Field Painting practiced by Rothko and Noland.
Famous artists of this movement include Pollock, Gorky, Rothko, de Kooning, Motherwell, and Kline;
their works possess very different moods and subjects, yet share qualities such as sizable
canvasses, flat compositions, and the fact that all areas of the piece are filled with movement and
paint (instead of creating a focal point, or an area of the most interest).
Op Art
The Op Art, or Optical Art movement was at its peak in the 1960’s and is represented by paintings
and sculptures that seem to move and vibrate through the use of optical effects. The leading artists of
the Op Art movement included Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely who use colors and patterns in their
works to create an effect that disorientates the viewer. Sculptors such as Eric Olsen and Francisco
Sobrino achieved a similar effect in their sculptures by using layers of different colors. Op Art artists
used ideas from perceptive psychology and coupled them with maximum precision to achieve the
results of illusion and distortion. Op Art is a type of abstract art that is closely related to the Kinetic
and Constructivist art movements. Originally the Op Art movement was criticized by skeptics but
gained instant popularity with people all over the United States and Europe. After the ‘Responsive
Eye’ exhibition in New York in 1965 the term Op Art became a critically acclaimed art form, and the
term not only became popular, but the style infiltrated a variety of canvas types ranging from paintings
to high fashion. Famous Op Art artists include Bridget Riley, Victor Vasarely, and Heinz Mack.
Pop Art
The Pop Art movement sprung up as a result of a fascination with popular culture, and affluent post
war society. Pop Art appeared in the 1950’s and endured through to the 1960’s. The movement
originally grew out of America but quickly spread to Britain. Pop Art celebrated simple every day
objects such as soup cans, soap, washing powder, pop bottles, and comic strips, and in effect, turned
commonplace items into icons. Pop Art was directly influenced by Dadaism in that it pokes fun at the
traditional art world by using images from the streets and supermarkets, and suggesting that they are
art forms in themselves. Pop Art encompasses definitions of the popular, the expendable, the mass
produced, the young, witty and sexy, and the glamorous. Andy Warhol is Pop Art’s most notable artist
in that he brought the art form to the public eye. He created numerous screen prints of Coke bottles,
Campbell’s soup tins, and film stars such as Marilyn Monroe. This in effect contributed to the
iconography of the 20th century. Pop Art embraced commercial techniques by creating machine
produced art, which set artists apart from the previous introspective styles of the Abstract
Expressionists. Famous Pop Artists include Richard Hamilton, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Jeff
Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Tom Wesselmann, and Robert Rauschenberg.
Minimalism
The Minimalist movement began in the 1950’s and continued through to the 60’s and 70’s. Minimal
art is characterized by its simplicity in both form and content, where personal expression is removed
in order to achieve this. The intention of minimalist artists is to allow the audience to view a
composition more intensely because the distractions of theme etc. have been removed. Minimalism
can be detected as early as the 18th century where the artist Goethe constructed an Alatar of Good
Fortune that consisted of a stone sphere and a cube. In addition, in the 1920’s artists such as
Malevich and Duchamp created works that suggested at minimalist intentions. The Minimalist
movement is similar to Conceptual Art in that the outcome is used to express a theory. Minimalism is
also similar to Pop Art because of the impersonal attitude, and Land Art because of the use of simple
forms. Minimalist artists of the time reacted against Abstract Expressionism, which is demonstrated
by the stark canvases, simple installations, and minimalist sculptures. Some of the most famous
minimalist artists include Dan Flavin, Carl Andre, Donald Judd, and Ellsworth.