|
|
American Innovations: The New Art
Richard Diebenkorn
There is no question that the Second World War was the most dramatic
instrument of social change of the 20th century. This change was
particularly profound for American soldiers and the artists among them
returning from the marvels and widespread destruction in Europe and in
the Pacific. The lyrics of a popular song of the day, How you
going to
keep them down on the farm after they've seen Paree? summarized the
restlessness of spirit and the determination of many to be more than
they had been before the war. The overwhelming realization that the
world would never be the same was felt most strongly, perhaps, by
American artists and stimulated a sense that art itself had to find new
form and meaning.
On the home front, the America our soldiers returned to had changed as
well. The wives, sweethearts, and mothers they left behind were now the
workforce of a nation. Women in general and women artists in particular
were liberated, eager to take their rightful place side by side with
men. Although fair consideration would take decades, they were
confident and bold, anxious to express themselves in an environment ripe
for innovation.
These artists of the post-war era set the tone for the rest of the
century, questioning the very essence of aesthetic and cultural
conventions. They rejected realism in particular and challenged the
function of art and artists in modern society. They invented a New
Art — complex expressions of vitality and new ideas. Led by the
Abstract
Expressionists for a generation, the art world shed its skin repeatedly
for fifty years, ushering in an era of plurality that exists into the
21st century.
Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Op Art, Color Field, Minimal Art,
Conceptual Art, New Realism, Neo Expressionism, and other movements
exploded onto the scene at a breathtaking pace.
This exhibition, from the University of Arizona Museum of Art's
permanent collections, examines aspects of this New Art. It includes
many stylistic examples and showcases the extraordinary vitality of the
art of the second half of the 20th Century.
Visit our Exhibition History page for information
on past exhibitions at UAMA.
UAMA: (520) 621-7567
|
|
