Contemporary art history in the post-war period

¶ … Art History: Post War

The global impact of the Second World War II on the society, politics, culture and technology was reflected how art produced after 1945 was changing in appearance and feeling. The rapid significant changes were a reflection of the intense and sometimes radical responses made by artists. Artists' works during this period responded to or questioned the nature personal and national identity, gender/race issues, the emergence and growth of media and/or mass culture. Works of art also responded to the existing definitions of art and its relationship to the environment. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the core of Western Art shifted from Europe to the United States and resulted in the use of new materials and techniques. Post war social, political, economic and cultural needs contributed to changes in strategies used by artists, art production, and how artists express themselves.

Aesthetic Strategies used by Artists

Prior to the Second World War, European artists were taken more seriously than American artists mostly created work for themselves and one another. The aftermath of World War II generated significant changes as the United States slowly became the center of Western art. This shift was fueled by prosperity, development, and the emerging consumer culture that characterized the American society (Perdew, p.80). During this period, artists used different types of aesthetic strategies to communicate their ideas. Artists started to use nearly anything and everything to create their work as they tried different things. Some types of aesthetic strategies that artists have used to date to communicate their ideas include exploration of the collective unconscious, illusion, imagery, action painting, performance, and concepts.

After World War II, abstract expressionism took center stage in American art as artists built on themes explored in the period before the war. Exploration of the collective unconscious was used as the basis of art. In this case, artists were mostly influenced by the idea of feelings, symbols and memories since the war had affected belief in logic and science and left many thinking life is out of control. Jackson Pollock is one of the abstract expressionists who utilized a unique style of drip painting to explore the collective unconscious. Through pouring and dripping paint, Pollock achieved a more instant technique of creating art and introduced a new dimension of viewing and applying paint to canvas. Pollock's work, particularly Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) of 1950 demonstrated action painting, which is a form of abstract expressionism that is characterized by a more violent, frenzied appearance. Bridget Riley, on the contrary, is an op artist whose aesthetic strategies were influenced by illusion in the 1960s. Throughout her works, Riley sought to challenge simple truths about perception in her attempts to challenge the definition of art. Riley's Painting, Current, which she produced in 1964, was an optical illusion of depth and movement that were created on a flat surface and incorporated geometric shapes as well as patterns of lines and colors (Perdew, p.87). Similar to other artists, Riley's paintings focused on disorienting the viewer instead of creating representations of people, objects or places.

Needs that Prompted Changes in Art Production

Art production, definition and experience during post World War II period was influenced by the political, social, economic or cultural needs that emerged during this period. One of the greatest influences of post war art was the emergence of the United States as the center stage for Western art rather than Europe. This generated an economic need that changed art given that the United States was preferred because of its increased prosperity, development, and budding consumer culture (Perdew, p.80). From a social perspective, United States provided a suitable place for redefining art because of New York City's emergence as the center of world art (Day & Hurwitz, p.232). New York City rivaled Paris, Rome and Florence in terms of attractiveness for artists in the aftermath of the Second World War. During the period between 1940s and 1970s, artists were looking for a safe environment to create their works given the political uncertainty that characterized the war. Consequently, several influential European artists immigrated to the United States as New York City grew in popularity as a center for global art. Art was also redefined by the emergence of pop culture in the 1960s, which sought to challenge modernism. Andy Warhol's artistic expression explored celebrity culture and advertisement that characterized this period. Warhol painted 100 Soup Cans in November 1962 that included 32 Campbell's Soup Cans to consciously evoke popular advertising images. His works were influenced by the fact that Americans loved fame and popularity more than any other accomplishments during this period. Art style during this period was mostly commercial illustration because America was enjoying economic boom, which was brought by a somewhat sudden increase in personal wealth (Ciment, p.81).

Paradigm Shift in Art Production

Art production has shifted from making "unique objects" based on "authenticity" toward using "artistic strategies" that challenge the modernist notion of originality. The shift has been fueled by the emergence of conceptual art, which involved complex procedures of selecting, combining, and rejecting antecedent forms and strategies (Alberro & Stimson, p.xvi). Conceptual art questioned two important aspects of art i.e. its power of illusion and reality as object (Ciment, p.82). Through re-examining art's reality as an object, artists challenged the modernist notion of originality in their artistic strategies by holding on to the belief that the concept and procedure of creating a piece of art is more important than the subsequent work of art. Moreover, artists evaluated the relationship between visual arts and language, which generated a shift in art production. For instance, Walter De Maria created Dirt Room in 1968, which was a three-part room that was full of dirt, indicated by the arrival of earthworks (Ciment, p.82). This painting brings stones, earth and other components from nature to galleries and museums while taking art outdoors. Robert Smithson created Spiral Jetty in 1970, which was an extensive earth-and-rock classical work that changed the shoreline of Great Salt Lake in Utah.

Conception of an Audience