AP History of Art
Unit Eleven:
ART OF THE
MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY
Prepared by: D. Darracott
Plano West Senior High School
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Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
DADA
Marcel Duchamp. Nude Descending
a Staircase No. 2, 1912, oil on canvas
•
Marcel Duchamp
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Armory Show
•
humorous attack on
Futurist proscriptions against
the Academic nude
Marcel Duchamp. Bicycle Wheel,
1951 (third version, after lost
original of 1913) assemblage
•
readymade (or assemblage)
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Dada art movement
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raising questions of historic value and originality
Marcel Duchamp. The Bride Stripped
Bare by her Bachelors (or Large Glass)
1915-23, oil, lead wire, foil, dust, and varnish on glass
•
machine aesthetic
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sexual metaphors
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broken while in transit
Marcel Duchamp. L.H.O.O.Q., 1919,
color reproduction with pencil
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Dada art as “anti-art” (Nihilist philosophy)
•
element of humor
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fine line between creation and destruction
Kurt Schwitters. Merz 19, 1920, paper collage
•
Kurt Schwitters
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collage
•
Merz
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Giorgio de Chirico. The Soothsayer’s
Recompense, 1913, oil on canvas
•
Giorgio de Chirico
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metaphysical painting and Nietzsche
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anachronistic elements
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melancholy theme of departure
Marc Chagall. I and the Village, 1911,
oil on canvas
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Marc Chagall
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elements of Expressionism,
Cubism, and Fauvism
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simple pleasures of folk life
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integrating circular shapes
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nature vs. civilization
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varied proportions used to suggest memory
SURREALISM
Max Ernst. Two Children are
Threatened by a Nightingale, 1924,
oil on wood
•
Max Ernst
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increased sense of absurdity
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a strange title
•
Andre Breton and “le merveilleux”
Max Ernst. The Elephant Celebes, 1921, oil on canvas
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Surrealistic satire on machine aesthetic
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influence of assemblage art
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Paul Klee. Twittering Machine,
1922, watercolor and pen and ink
•
Paul Klee
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attachment to the Bauhaus
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metaphorical mechanized birds
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exploring the collective unconscious
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strong appreciation of children’s art
Salvador Dali. The Persistence of Memory,
1931, oil on panel
•
Salvador Dali
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technique of fifteenth century
Flemish painting employed
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limp watches, ants, and a fly
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infinite space
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“paranoic-critical method”
Meret Oppenheim. Object (Luncheon in Fur), 1936
•
Meret Oppenheim
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“convulsive beauty”
Rene Magritte. The Treason of Images,
1928-9, oil on canvas
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dislocation of image and meaning
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interest in the ordinary
Rene Magritte. The Castle of
the Pyrenees, 1959, oil on canvas
•
Rene Magritte
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real space vs. spatial illusion
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painting technique used to suspend belief
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power of juxtapositioning
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Joan Miro. The Harlequin’s Carnival,
1924-5, oil on canvas
•
Joan Miro
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automatism
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lugubrious (gloomy) human (with mustache)
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whimsical, floating biomorphic shapes
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adolescent humor
Frida Kahlo. Self-Portrait with Thorny Necklace,
1940, oil on canvas
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Frida Kahlo
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Diego Rivera
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a life of pain and illness
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a wreath of thorns with a dead hummingbird
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a cat and a monkey
TWENTIETH CENTURY REALISM
Robert Henri. Salome, 1909
•
Robert Henri
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Ash Can School
Charles Sheeler. American Landscape,
1930, oil on canvas
•
Charles Sheeler
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Precisionism
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status of the human figure
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influence of photography
Thomas Hart Benton. Pioneer Days and
Early Settlers, 1936, State Capitol of
Missouri mural
•
Thomas Hart Benton
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
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Regionalism
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stylistic conventions reminiscent of
Mannerism
Grant Wood. American Gothic, 1930,
oil on beaverboard
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Grant Wood
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miniaturist style reminiscent of
fifteenth century Flemish painting
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Great Depression
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austere American icon
Edward Hopper. Nighthawks, 1942, oil on canvas
•
Edward Hopper
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asymmetrical composition of an urban landscape
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solitary strangers
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artificial light
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protestations against abstract art
Andrew Wyeth. Christina’s World,
1948, tempera on panel
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Andrew Wyeth
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painstaking tempera technique
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reactionary or traditional
David Hockney. A Bigger Splash,
1967, acrylic on canvas
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David Hockney
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an American suburban Utopia
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use of acrylic paint
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controlled hard edges vs. a painted splash
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Wayne Thiebaud. Cakes, 1963, oil on canvas
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Wayne Thiebaud
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sensuous application of paint
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deadpan composition with rich, vibrant color
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celebration of consumerism
Richard Estes. Nedick’s. 1970, oil on canvas
•
Richard Estes
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Photo-Realism
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a lonely street recalling the
work of Edward Hopper
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use of multiple photos to create
one painted image
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interest in reflections
Audrey Flack. Marilyn, 1977, oil over
acrylic on canvas
•
Audrey Flack
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Marilyn Monroe
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return to the theme of the “Vanitas” still life
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glossy effects achieved with the use of an airbrush
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affection for kitsch
Chuck Close. Phil, 1969, synthetic polymer on canvas
•
Chuck Close
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Philip Glass
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use of a grid format
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monumental Photo-Realism
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factual presence and impersonal surface
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Duane Hanson. The Tourists. 1970,
polyvinyl, polychromed in oil with accessories
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Duane Hanson
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a remarkable sense of verisimilitude
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casting from live humans
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use of fiberglass-reinforced polyester resin
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a portrait of consumers
Alice Neel. Mother and Child (Nancy and Olivia),
1967, oil on canvas
•
Alice Neel
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a blend of expressionism and realism
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refusal to flatter
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lack of finish
Lucian Freud. Large Interior W11
(After Watteau), 1981-3, oil on canvas
•
Lucian Freud
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an homage of malaise to Watteau
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interest in varied surfaced textures
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a return to the domain of the artist’s studio
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a renewed interest in working from life
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
Arshile Gorky. The Liver is the Cock’s Comb,
1944, oil on canvas
•
Arshile Gorky
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a life fraught with anxiety
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influence of Surrealism
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blurred contours and biomorphic shapes
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Jackson Pollock. Autumn Rhythm, 1950
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Jackson Pollock
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Action Painting
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Clement Greenberg
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Karl Jung
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Lee Krasner
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all-over, holistic quality
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controlled spontaneity
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New York as a new artistic center
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Influence of Navajo Indian sand painting
Willem de Kooning. Woman and Bicycle,
1952-3, oil on canvas
•
Willem de Kooning
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exploration of the overpowering female figure
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lack of purity in abstract painting
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art as an act of both creation and destruction
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a huge, double smile
Franz Kline. Chief, 1950, oil on canvas
•
Franz Kline
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enlargement of black and white drawings
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a painting of heroic strokes and gestures
Robert Motherwell. Elegy to the Spanish Republic,
1953-54, oil on canvas
•
Robert Motherwell
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a tragic sense of the history of the
Spanish Civil War suggested in painting
•
influence of collage
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Mark Rothko. Ochre and Red on Red,
1954, oil on canvas
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Mark Rothko
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floating fields of color (Color Field Painting)
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meant to engulf the viewer with color
David Smith. Cubi XVII, 1963, polished stainless steel
•
David Smith
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industrial techniques (welding) and materials (stainless steel)
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equilibrium of strength and buoyancy (defying gravity)
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expressionistic surface combined with geometric forms
POP ART
Richard Hamilton. Just what is it that makes today’s
homes so different, so appealing? 1956, collage on paper
•
Richard Hamilton
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Laurence Alloway and the birth of Pop
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influence of Duchamp
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products of mass culture
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low brow, middle brow, and high brow
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a traditional portrait next to a comic strip
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The Jazz Singer
Jasper Johns. Target with Four Faces, 1955,
assemblage, encaustic and collage on
canvas with objects
•
Jasper Johns
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encaustic paint
•
element of impersonality
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twentieth century anxiety
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Jasper Johns. Flag, 1954-55,
encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric,
mounted on plywood
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exploring the painting process
using a well-known symbol (object vs. image)
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an “anti-art” aesthetic
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an art of neutrality and impersonality
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absence of the artist’s identity
Jasper Johns. Painted Bronze II: Ale Cans,
1964, painted bronze
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influence of Duchamp
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Leo Castelli
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use of banality and lack of
expression in sculpture
Robert Rauschenberg. Monogram,
1955-59, combine painting
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Robert Rauschenberg
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combines
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John Cage
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influence of Dada and Abstract Expressionism
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a sexual pun
Robert Rauschenberg. Bed, 1955, combine painting
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nihilistic “anti-art” approach
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utilizing the ‘fake gesture’ of Abstract Expressionism
Andy Warhol. 200 Campbell Soup Cans, 1962
•
Andy Warhol
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banality and American consumer culture
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desire to eliminate the personal signature style of the artist
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repetitive routines of modern life
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Andy Warhol. Marilyn Diptych, 1962,
oil, acrylic, and silkscreen enamel on canvas
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cult of American celebrity
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silkscreening process
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fascination with death
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famous for fifteen minutes
Roy Lichtenstein. Drowning Girl, 1963,
oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas
•
Roy Lichtenstein
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enlarged printer’s dots
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appropriated comic imagery
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en media res
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emotional narrative depicted with detachment
Claes Oldenburg. Clothespin, 1976, cor-ten and
stainless steel
•
Claes Oldenburg
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The Store
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magnifying the scale of ordinary objects
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debt to Duchamp’s readymades
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a monument to consumer culture
Edward Kienholz. The Portable War
Memorial, 1968, mixed media
•
Edward Kienholz
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Vietnam War
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Kate Smith singing God Bless America
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a war mentality seen as “normal”
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a Coke machine and a hot dog stand
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
TWENTIETH CENTURY PHOTOGRAPHY
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. Photogram, 1939,
gelatin silver print
•
Lazlo-Moholy Nagy
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photogram
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inventing a “New Vision”
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influence of the Bauhaus
Alfred Stieglitz. The Steerage,
1907, photogravure
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Alfred Stieglitz
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Photo-Secessionists
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aesthetics vs. social concerns
Lewis Wickes Hine. Power House Mechanic,
1920, gelatin silver print
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Lewis Hine
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in praise of the industrial worker
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role of the documentary photography
as a social reformer
Margaret Bourke-White. At the Time of the
Louisville Flood, 1937, gelatin silver print
•
Margaret Bourke-White
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hunger and poverty in the country
with the “world’s highest standard of living”
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white and black America
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LIFE Magazine
Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother, Nipomo,
California, 1936, gelatin silver print
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Dorothea Lange
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Great Depression
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
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putting a human face on economic statistics
Robert Frank. Parade: Hoboken, New Jersey,
from the series The Americans, 1953-57,
gelatin silver print
•
Robert Frank
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The Americans
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slice-of-life realism
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off-center casual framing
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the Beat generation
Andy Warhol. Big Electric Chair, 1967,
synthetic polymer and silkscreen
ink on canvas
•
Andy Warhol
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photography vs. fine art
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social activism or banality?
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photography and authenticity
Irving Penn. Large Sleeve (Sunny Harnett),
New York, 1951, gelatin silver print
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Irving Penn
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fashion photography
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elegance defined by austerity
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emphasis on craft
Robert Adams. Pikes Peak Park, Colorado
Springs, 1970, gelatin silver print
•
Robert Adams
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man and his creations in the American West
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frank photography lacking in embellishments
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Diane Arbus. Child with Toy Hand Grenade,
New York, 1962, gelatin-silver print
•
Diane Arbus
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rejection of elegance
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a confrontational portrait
COLOR FIELD AND MINIMALISM
Barnett Newman. Vir Heroicus Sublimis.
1950-51, oil on canvas
•
Barnett Newman
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belief in the spiritual content of abstract art
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use of “zips” placed against a void
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continued use of an overwhelming large scale format
Frank Stella. Jill, 1959, enamel on canvas
•
Frank Stella
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methodical repetition
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removed from the inspired
action of the Abstract Expressionists
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“What you see is what you see”
Richard Diebenkorn. Ocean Park #105,
1978, oil and charcoal on canvas
•
Richard Diebenkorn
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Ocean Park Series
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Move from representational
painting to abstraction
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Fields of color suggesting both structure and process
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Carl Andre. Equivalent VIII, 1978, mixed media
•
Carl Andre
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Minimalism
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importance of the museum or gallery setting
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impersonal act of creating art
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preference for the machine made
object over the hand made object
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intrinsic vs. extrinsic value
Richard Serra. Tilted Arc, 1981, installed in
Federal Plaza, New York, cor-ten steel
•
Richard Serra
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physical self-awareness of the viewer
in relation to the art object
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rusted steel surface
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Minimalism as a “public” art form
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controversial removal
Eva Hesse. Hang-Up, 1965-66, acrylic
on cloth over wood and steel
•
Eva Hesse
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humanizing of Minimalism
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introduction of the sexual and the anthromorphic
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an empty container
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“nonlogical” art
Donald Judd. Untitled, 1967, green lacquer on galvanized iron
•
Donald Judd
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artless repetition
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interest in spatial relationship between modules
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Marfa, Texas
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Agnes Martin. Friendship, 1963, incised
gold leaf and gesso on canvas
•
Agnes Martin
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use of a grid
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delicate hand-drawn lines
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a sense of infinite space
Robert Ryman. Institute, 1981, oil on
linen with metal fasteners
•
Robert Ryman
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working only with white
•
sensitive to qualities of surface and touch
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hanging devices as an integral part of the work
•
restricted square format
•
references to Malevich
MID CENTURY ARCHITECTURE
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson.
Seagram Building (New York) 1954-58
•
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
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“less is more”
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spread of the International Style
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set back from the street
•
curtain wall of glass
•
image of streamlined efficiency
Louis Kahn. Salt Institute (La Jolla, California) 1965
•
Louis Kahn
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Brutalism
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Spartan surfaces and monastic spaces
•
modular design
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STUDENT NOTES
Unit ELEVEN: Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century
Jorn Utzon and Hall, Todd, and Littleton.
Sydney Opera House, 1972
•
Jorn Utzon
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Sail-like, roof shells
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use of “served” and “servant” spaces
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concept of “additive architecture”
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STUDENT NOTES