Abstract Expressionism and the Modern Experience [Paperback]

Stephen Polcari (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 26, 1993

A major revisionist study of the art and artists who participated in what is now regarded as the first American style of international consequence. Based on examinations of new archival material and many unknown paintings, this study relates Abstract Expressionism to the actual historical circumstances, as well as intellectual and cultural milieu, of America from the 1930s to the 1950s. Stephen Polcari reverses the traditional perspective of Abstract Expressionism as an abstract art inspired by issues of the postwar period. Examining its roots in the art of the 1930s and 1940s, he contends that Abstract Expressionism emerges as a public art that actively engaged in the social, economic, and political crises of the 1930s, and, more significantly, the experience of World War II. Polcari provides an account of the contemporary artistic, intellectual and cultural history to establish a macro-history of human beings under the pressures of war, fear, torment, and hope. Within this context, he convincingly presents Abstract Expressionism as a mode of modern, metaphysical 'history' painting that uses the forms and devices of modern art to come to terms with the brutality of contemporary history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Polcari makes a passionate case for abstract expressionism as "a historical and public art" that consciously grapples with the spiritual crises of our times, the brutality, violence and losses of modern history. Rejecting the "big bang" theory of abstract expressionism which posits a post-WW II explosion of works laden with musings on existentialism, alienation and individuality, he charts an artistic continuum from the late 1930s through the early '50s, when "a unique Anglo-American view" underpinning abstract expressionism was born out of the interaction of Jungian psychology, surrealism, Joyce and Eliot, anthropological concepts of world culture, and the perceived collapse of much of the political and social order. With 322 plates (32 in color), individual chapters cover Rothko, de Kooning, Pollock, Baziotes, et al. Director of the Archives of American Art in New York, Polcari has produced a challenging, revolutionary reassessment of the abstract expressionist project, its history, goals and future.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Scholarship on Abstract Expressionism, the first American style of international importance and still highly controversial, tends to concentrate on individual artists or on a single theme or element. These two new surveys help to place the movement in its broader cultural and historical context. Polcari refutes the traditional view of Abstract Expressionism as an abstract art inspired by issues of the postwar period, arguing instead that it emerged as a public art actively engaged in the social, economic, and political turmoil of the 1930s and, more significantly, with the experience of World War II. A lengthy examination of historical and intellectual roots in the 1930s and 1940s is followed by chapter-length essays on several major artists--Still, Rothko, Gottlieb, Newman, Baziotes, Pollock, de Kooning, and Motherwell. Thirty-two color plates and 290 black-and-white prints illustrate the work. Polcari's emphatic persistence in challenging fundamental formalist premises enlivens this revisionist study. Artists and critics speak for themselves in editor Ross's anthology. The core of this book consists of writings, letters, speeches, essays, and interviews by individual artists as well as group statements and dialogs. The texts cover criticism, history, process, and politics, with the last category including cheerleading, in-fighting, and occasional slander. Artists represented include those on Polcari's list as well as Guston, Hoffman, Kline, Reinhardt, and Smith. A shorter section contains contemporary criticism from 1946 to 1961. Although largely extracted from readily available published sources, this book can be appreciated for its convenience--it draws together many primary texts into one volume. The book includes a chronology, a dozen color plates, and 52 black-and-white illustrations. General research collections will benefit from adding Polcari's study, and specialized collections will want to have Abstract Expressionism : Creators and Critics along with that book.
- Russell T. Clement, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, Ut.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (March 26, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521448263
• ISBN-13: 978-0521448260
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #717,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3.0 out of 5 stars rating the top artists of new york art, July 18, 2006

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Winston hough "klee fan" (Glenview, Il. United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Abstract Expressionism and the Modern Experience (Paperback)

Polcari's estimate of the blanket: abstract expressionism. Doesn't do service to many of the painters that interest me the most.He gives too much praise to Hoffman and Gottleib. Gottleib was an out and out commercial fine art painter.His last work became handsome stereotypes of modern art.Drawing is important in A.E and Hoffamn and Gottleib aren't that great as draftsman. Some of Adolph's work was taking Klee to a bigger scale. Few of the A.E. boys followed Klee.Hoffman is over-rated and his reputation has been built up by his many archly loyal students.He taught nothing more than basic design. Rothko when he was at Brooklyn College states that he was against design.Baziotes,Reinhardt deserve more attention. Miro thought Baziotes was the best of the lot. I find William Seitz's work on Abstract Expressionism more interesting . It is more thoroughly researched.Seitz shows the unity of subject matter of the New York painters. Motherwell was an important source of the intellectual ideas and roots of A.E..The book includes a chart of the roots of the movement according to Robert Motherwell. Recent monographs of Rothko and DeKooning are important to read.No one has bothered to talk to some of the minor artists who were influenced by the group.I was told that Joseph Stella's( Brooklyn bridge, MOMA) (Delaunay's The City, Guggenheim New York ) and Mondrian's presence in NYC: were important influences on these painters. One major theme is the urban landscape.Polcari has done a very good job . The book doesn't have as many color repros as the Seitz book on A.E..Both,deal effectively with the technique of automatism of these painters. There are fundamental differences in the perception of the philosophy of the group. Polcari sees mysticism in these painters. Because of Motherwell the Seitz book emphasis is on ethics. Fundamental differences in understanding the painters.