Post-War Art: Aesthetic Strategies and Cultural Shifts

Introduction: The Global Impact of World War II on Art

The global impact of World War II on society, politics, culture, and technology was reflected in how art produced after 1945 changed 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 of personal and national identity, gender and race issues, and the emergence and growth of media and mass culture. Works of art also responded to 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, resulting in the use of new materials and techniques. Post-war social, political, economic, and cultural needs contributed to changes in the strategies used by artists, in art production, and in how artists express themselves.

Aesthetic Strategies Used by Artists

Prior to the Second World War, European artists were taken more seriously than their American counterparts, who 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 American society (Perdew, p. 80). During this period, artists used different types of aesthetic strategies to communicate their ideas, experimenting with nearly anything and everything available to them. Some types of aesthetic strategies that artists have used 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. Artists were mostly influenced by feelings, symbols, and memories, since the war had shaken belief in logic and science and left many feeling that life was 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 immediate 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 — a form of abstract expressionism characterized by a violent, frenzied appearance.

Bridget Riley, by contrast, 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 as part of her broader effort to challenge the definition of art. Her painting Current, produced in 1964, created an optical illusion of depth and movement on a flat surface, incorporating geometric shapes as well as patterns of lines and colors (Perdew, p. 87). Like other artists of her time, Riley's paintings focused on disorienting the viewer rather than creating representations of people, objects, or places.

Needs That Prompted Changes in Art Production

Art production, definition, and experience during the post-World War II period were influenced by the political, social, economic, and cultural needs that emerged during this time. One of the greatest influences on post-war art was the emergence of the United States as the new center of Western art, displacing Europe. This generated an economic need that transformed art, given that the United States was preferred because of its increased prosperity, development, and growing consumer culture (Perdew, p. 80). From a social perspective, the United States provided a suitable environment for redefining art, particularly through New York City's emergence as the center of world art (Day & Hurwitz, p. 232). New York City came to rival Paris, Rome, and Florence in terms of its attractiveness to artists in the aftermath of the Second World War.

During the period between the 1940s and 1970s, artists were looking for a safe environment in which to create their works, given the political uncertainty that characterized the war years. Consequently, several influential European artists immigrated to the United States as New York City grew in prominence as a global art center. Art was also redefined by the emergence of pop culture in the 1960s, which sought to challenge modernism. Andy Warhol's artistic expression explored the celebrity culture and advertising that characterized this period. Warhol painted 100 Soup Cans in November 1962 — which included his famous 32 Campbell's Soup Cans — to consciously evoke popular advertising images. His works were influenced by the observation that Americans valued fame and popularity above almost any other achievement during this period. Art style during this time was largely shaped by commercial illustration, as America was enjoying an economic boom brought about by a sudden increase in personal wealth (Ciment, p. 81).

Conclusion

In conclusion, post-war art was influenced by the political, social, cultural, and economic factors that emerged after World War II. Since then, artists have continued to create aesthetic strategies and practices in response to issues in society and societal needs. The use of different art practices and aesthetic strategies has in turn contributed to different forms of art that play an important part in the history of contemporary art, including abstract expressionism and modernism. In essence, post-war social, political, economic, and cultural needs contributed to lasting changes in the strategies used by artists, in art production, and in how artists express themselves.

Works Cited

Alberro, Alexander, and Blake Stimson. Conceptual Art: A Critical Anthology. Boston, MA: MIT, 1999. Print.

Ciment, James. Postwar America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History. Vol. 14. New York: Routledge, 2015. Print.

Davies, Stephen, Kathleen M. Higgins, Robert Hopkins, Robert Stecker, and David E. Cooper. A Companion to Aesthetics. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2009. Print.

Day, Michael, and Al Hurwitz. Children and Their Art: Art Education for Elementary and Middle Schools. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

Perdew, Laura. A History of Art. North Mankato, MN: Abdo Publishing Ltd., 2015. Print.