Worksheet #35

Later 20^th Century (first third of Chapter 34)

          WW II led to the liquidation of the colonial empires built by Europe in all parts of the world.  In Winston Churchill’s words, the ‘cold war,’ was a ‘tragedy.’  The two superpowers, USA and USSR regularly intervened politically, economically, and militarily where they considered their interests to be at stake.  Throughout the world, disruption and dislocation were taking place. The world is full of wars, with no simple alignment and confrontation of great powers.

          Acculturation began slowly.  In the 20^th century it has greatly accelerated.  Collisions of ethnically diverse peoples in war and exchanges of cultures through communication and commerce go on at the same time.  In the 1960’s and ‘70’s, in the US and sometimes mirrored in Europe, young people ‘dropped out’ of regulated society, read mystical literature and despised the irrelevancy of ‘Western” university curricula.  At the same time Feminists argued the right of women to freedom from a male-dominated culture and minorities struggled against discrimination.  Their answer was political power that would remedy the inequality and discrimination.  The central issue is power. 

All cultures, as equivalent, should be recognized and respected.  This is multiculturalism.  Egalitarianism, the theory within the theory of multiculturalism, demands political equality as well as economic opportunity and equal social access.  This ideology is the most widespread and significant of those ideologies that comprise Postmodernist thinking.

     1. How did Clement Greenburg, a Modernist critic, feel about art? What did Postmodernists say about this? 

     2. What is the attitude of Existentialists toward human existence? 

     3. Two artists who worked in the years right after WWII were________________________________and _____________________________________.   Describe the images of each and how they fit the post-Modernism definition. 

     4. Jean Dubuffet coined the term Art Brut.  What is Art Brut? 

     5. Another artist, Alberto Giacometti, sculpts figures.  How are these figures described by Gardner? 

Abstract Expressionism

     6. Explain what the Abstract Expressionist turned inward to create?

     7. What two directions did Abstract Expressionism take and explain them. 

     8.  What did Pollock say about his painting style?

     9. Describe the process of Pollock’s painting style.

     10. What subject matter is Willem DeKooning most noted for? Describe it.

     11. Barnett Newman is noted as a chromatic abstractionist.  Define the style of Newman’s paintings.

     12. What was Mark Rothko’s belief about his work? 

     13. Describe the material and equipment David Smith uses to create his sculptures.

          How does he render the stainless steel to give it an unusual surface texture? 

Post-Painterly Abstraction

     14. Who coined the term and how was it defined? 

     15. Two artists using essential elements, producing spare and hard edge images were _____________________________________and_______________________________________________________       

     16. Other color field painting was created by Helen Frankenthaler and Louis Morris.  Explain their techniques. 

Minimal Art

     17.  What is Minimalist art and what is the premise that Minimalist sculptors insist upon?

     18.  How do the intentions of the artworks of Tony Smith and Donald Judd differ?

     19. In another minimalist art structure, Maya Ying Lin created the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.  What was her statement about this work? 

Diverse Sculptural Directions

     20.  What is the type of art Louise Nevelson created and why did she only use a monochromatic color scheme? 

     21. How does the work of Louise Bourgeois relate to that of Kurt Schwitters Mertz (33-26)?

     22. In contrast to the geometric quality of Nevelson’s sculptures, Louise Bourgeois creates sensual organic forms.  Explain. 

     23. What is Post-Minimalist Art as described by Eva Hesse?

Performance Art

     24. How is Performance Art defined? 

     25. How did John Cage contribute to performance art? 

     26. Allen Kaprow defines Happening how?

     27. How are Events defined? 

     28.  The act of painting even became a central theme for performance art, especially the idea of action painting as Jackson Pollock was noted for. Where did this begin?______________ Explain. 

     29. What inspired the works of Jean Tinguely and what sort of materials did he use?

Conceptual Art

     30. Based on what you have read, what is the definition of Conceptual Art?