Rothko

POLLOCK, ROTHKO AND ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

In 1945, suddenly 12 American artists enter the world scenery of painting. They will dominate the art world until 1980. American art becomes abstract and monumental. It is mainly a reaction against totalitarianism, the horrors of the 2nd world war and the holocaust. Artists such as Pollock and Rothko inspire themselves in American landscapes of the Mid-West and in ethnical American-Indian art. Yet they also are influenced by European surrealism. Indeed, many surrealists live in NY from 1939 till 1945, where they continue the movement, focussing on the sub-conscience and its expression in art. Finally, excellent museums such as the MOMA and the Guggenheim Foundation show the best collections of European avant-garde art, which were non-existent in European museums. American artists show great dynamism, vitality and spontaneity. Behind the scenery, the CIA plays a capital role in promoting Abstract Expressionism as a counter weight and expression of individual freedom against the political art of the USSR. As of 1960, Pop-art will be a very accessible art, replacing Abstract Expressionism.

A story of how N.Y. became the new world capital of art in 1945 instead of Paris.

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