Table of ContentsSummaryIntroductionRomanticismAction PaintingColor FieldHelen FrankenthalerContemporary PaintingsHeather DayLandscapeConclusionsSummaryThis report gives a brief analysis of the factors that have constructed contemporary art today. Looking more closely at the Abstract Expressionism movement, I want to study the main attributes of the artists' works and techniques in relation to my own thought process when creating a work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayIntroductionThe art world is constantly changing and adapting the way we perceive art. This allows us to consider different ideas of inventiveness and expand our thoughts about art. Ever since cave paintings, we have been intrigued by our creative limits. I want to explore how different characteristics and thoughts within the art world have evolved into the way we perceive contemporary art today. This report examines the evolution of the art world and shows the evolution of movements that have shaped current perception, including the trends and techniques that artists have depicted through painting. This report will give a brief overview of some pictorial movements, but it will give an in-depth analysis of particular artworks and artists who have had a substantial impact on the art world and my practice to date. It will take a closer look at the Abstract Expressionism movement in relation to my current studio practice. It will also consider the landscape and environment as a source of inspiration and its impact on the work, making it one of the main contributing factors to my work. This report will also study the impact of color when creating a work and the importance of color and line texture to the viewer. The most important sources for this report have been books, galleries, the internet with my own personal experiences in experimentation. Romanticism To understand why part of the thought process of Abstract Expressionism arose, you need to understand the beginning of the rebellion against some of the traditional schools of thought. artistic “rules”. It was only with the evolution of human philosophy in literature during the Romantic era that artists began to show their thought processes through artistic experimentation. The Romantic movement marked an important turning point in the development of the perception of art. Founded in the early 1800s by literary critics, the idea of ​​Romanticism developed as an artistic movement in the early 19th century and flourished until the mid-19th century. Characteristics of Romanticism lie in their belief in intuition rather than deduction, with thoughts of evolution and human psychology having dominated those of spirituality. This leads to some factors of romanticism such as the ability to express feelings, appreciation of nature and landscapes, and the importance of imagination. An early example of these ideas can be suggested in Caspar David Friedrich's "Monk by the Sea, 1809", in which this dark painting was simplified into land and sea. This suggests a metaphor for Friedrich's imagination as the solitary character gazes into the abyss, imagining the immensity of the universe. Friedrich's color palette and painting technique is something to consider when referring to the characteristics of art in Romanticism, the close brushstrokes of complementary deep shades of blue and green suggest mystery and thedepth. Also take a closer look at visible brushstrokes, suggesting energy and imagination. To assess the findings of certain attributes of this particular movement, I found that the minimal approach to painting via color, composition and features was bold and required artistic courage, it was something that had been adopted in the abstract expressionism movement. Obviously, many important movements took place in the development of art world history such as "Impressionism" (art movement, 1865-1885) and "Cubism" (art movement, 1907-1914) . These can be understood by how the world changes and our knowledge grows, but it is worth noting in Romanticism the beginning of a change of thinking in the art world that will take us to where we are Today. Since Romanticism focused heavily on aesthetic experience, emotion, and nature, it allowed us to begin to see art differently, which took away its seriousness and allowed it to become more playful. Again, relating to this Romantic movement, Abstract Expressionist paintings were not trying to create images of things that existed in the world. Having a better understanding of where different techniques and thought processes come from, I am able to begin to understand why I create works the way I do. There are two types of abstract expressionism. Action painting Action paintings allowed the artist to consider the physical part of the process as the main factor in painting. This type of painting tends to be identified with spontaneous flowing and the gestural techniques reflect the amount of energy given to the painting. An example of this would be “Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), 1950” by Jackson Pollock. This work shows the woven paint splashed with different layers of color. Pollock in this painting and throughout his career used a lot of domestic painting in his practice. This can give the panting a lot of extra texture, like cracks and depth. Experimenting with enamel paint in my own practice is something I have engaged in because of its versatility and inexpensive quantity. Color Field Field painting tended to be much calmer with flat, soft blocks of poured color. Mark Rothko is a good comparison to see where the characteristics of Abstract Expressionism originate from some of the ideas of the 18th and early 19th centuries, when Romanticism existed. Rothko’s “Purple, White and Red, 1953” Compared to Friedrich’s “Monk by the Sea, 1809”, they exhibit similar attributes of abstraction. Rothko's painting features three simplified panels in dark, mysterious colors. Although Rothko never considered himself part of the Abstract Expressionism movement, he clearly fit the qualities that contributed to this era of art driven by experimentation, mystery, and emotion. Morris Louis' approach to color field technique is also worth considering, as his brilliant rainbow colors in "Alpha-Phi" (1960) are cast on canvas, with the negative space being equally important for the subject, which shows the risk of the technique but once again the courage of the artist. Helen FrankenthalerFrankenthaler played an important role in the Abstract Expressionism movement as she followed Pollock's ground-based method of creating. “Working on the ground allows for more privacy and control of the surface of the canvas” (Frankenthaler, 1984) This is something I can relate to in my own practice as I have found more control with painting because a bird’s eye viewbird allows me to use my whole body to create marks rather than just my hand. Understanding Frankenthaler's vision of Abstract Expressionism is the concept of painting through instinctive feeling, but the shapes, space and colors of his work suggest those of an abstract landscape. The idea that the medium is the message is something intriguing because Frankenthaler subconsciously thinks back to a particular landscape or the feeling of being in a landscape when creating his work. “I see most of my paintings as landscapes or views. By changing my point of view, capturing movement, I find some ideas by doing outdoor studies or simply noticing the designs and complications in nature.” Color has always been a consideration in Frankenthaler's work, many complementary hazy pastel colors, usually struck by a series of bold contrasting colors. . Achieving a balance between these factors proves difficult, as Frankenthaler acknowledges: “It's a question of how you resolve your doubts. This shows that since the process of using abstract expressionism painting techniques is a creation of gestural marks, you must have the ability to allow room for mistakes that give your work the factor of being accidentally deliberate. This is something I have been able to embrace in my practice by discovering the importance of space, line and color in my own work. Frankenthaler’s “Nature Abhors a Void” (1973) is a large, witty piece with its warm colors. palette. This work shows much of Frankenthaler's dip coloring technique with large areas soaked in bright colors. This piece again reflects a landscape as the shapes curve and look like hills, but it's not so obvious with the color choices she used, i.e. pinks and oranges. For me, this relates back to my studio practice as it feels like recreating the emotional attachment one feels when one is in a certain landscape and wanting to represent that in the painting. Contemporary Paintings Heather Day Heather Day has found success in her practice as she has many followers on Instagram. , this contemporary approach to art is something to consider in my own practice, as using Instagram as a blog is the fastest way to gain followers. Day's work shows much of the same methods and processes as Frankenthaler in the Abstract Expressionism movement. However, she uses the landscape as her main source of inspiration. Day's process begins outdoors, where she can quickly convey the feeling of being in a landscape by jotting down some of the ideas about the landscape's texture and emotions in her sketchbook. This is something I would like to experiment with more in relation to my practice as I think it will give a small suggestion of landscape that I can take with me and respond to when I paint larger works. In the studio, Day took up some of the methods of the Abstract Expressionism movement, particularly certain techniques adopted by Frankenthaler such as dip coloring. “Deference #2” (2019) shows an effective use of layering to express the energy of the landscape. Day's use of blue suggests the sea or sky in the abstract, against grays and orange suggesting stone or brick. This symbolization of the landscape is simple but effective because you can really imagine nature in abstraction. LandscapeLandscape painting in art has generally depicted composition in a very traditional way, e.g. ? ».