Neue Sachlichkeit, Bauhaus, and Degenerate Art
De Stijl and Surrealism
U.S. and Mexico 1930-45 and Modernist Sculpture
European Postwar Expressionism and Abstract Expressionism (Painting and Sculpture)
Post Painterly Abstraction and Pop Art
100

Neue Sachlichkeit

New Objectivity

100

De Stijl

The Style

100

Direct Carving

Working directly with the material, rather than through making a model

100

Art Informel

French term describing a variety of approaches to abstract painting in 1940s and 50s (mainly in Europe) that included Tachisme, Matter painting, and Lyrical abstraction.

100

Color Field

The work of abstract painters working in the 1950s and 60s with large areas of flat color

200

Entarte Kunst

Degenerate Art

200

Biomorphic Surrealism

Dominated by automatism, largely abstract compositions with imagery that suggests organisms or natural forms

200
Harlem Renaissance

Intellectual, social, and artistic blossoming in which African Americans promoted their cultural accomplishments.

200

Existentialism

A philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre that asserts the absurdity of human existence and the impossibility of achieving certitude.

200

Hard Edge 

Characterized by areas of flat color with clear, sharp edges.

300

The Bauhaus

An art school founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany, which combined fine art and design.

300

Neoplasticism

The new “pure plastic art” expression of universal reality

300
Mobile

Sculpture with moving parts

300

Drip Style

Paint dripped or splattered using sticks, trowels, or knives, and paint is poured directly from the can

300

Combines

Series of works by Robert Rauschenberg mixing artmaking materials with ordinary objects

400

Why was “Degenerate” art so offensive to the Nazis?


- Nazis saw Modernist tendencies as an indication of society’s moral decline and genetic inferiority

- Also sometimes critiqued or undermined their authority

- Degenerate art was not created in a government approved style

400
Decalcomania

A semi-automatic technique in which paint is applied with a sheet of glass or paper to create unexpected textures

400

How does Alexander Calder’s work reflect a different approach to sculpture? What does this do for the viewer?

  • By developing the mobile, which involves sculpture with moving pieces, the sculptural work interacts with the environment in a new way
  • Viewer also interacts with the sculpture
400

What is action painting? Explain and give an example of a work of art that displays this in your explanation.

  • Action painting is when the gesture or movement of a painter becomes the focus of the artwork
  • The resulting art records that gesture
  • The canvas becomes a stage on which the painter “acts”
  • We see this in Lavender Mist by Jackson Pollock – from the drips and splatters we see the motion and movement of his hand
  • Also know that he walked all over the canvas to create the artwork
400

Happenings

Performance art about collaboration, interaction, and risk-taking

500

What commonality do the Neue Sachleichkeit artists share?

  • All reacting to WWI in some way, whether it’s the war, German society, or the government
  • Their art aims to present a clear-eyed view of the world through their Realist works


500

How does the work of Surrealists represent the intersection between art and life? Give a specific example of a work of art in your discussion.

  • Naturalistic Surrealists base their works off of common scenes that are then transformed into dreamlike or nightmarish scenes
  • Some Surrealists combine different everyday objects
  • Ex: The Persistence of Memory, Aphrodisiac Telephone, Object
500

What similarities do you see between the American Regionalists? Compare and contrast their methods of telling a story in their painting and/or printmaking with specific examples.

  • American Regionalists all expressing the landscape and culture of a specific region or of America as a whole and its folklore and landscape
  • For example, in the work of Benton, he makes art that documents the reality of society across America in his mural America Today, whereas Curry’s work Kansas Cornfield focuses specifically on a common landscape scene in Kansas
500

How do Tápies and Burri use non-art materials in their work? Why do they use these materials?

  • Tápies uses non-art materials like stone, detritus, or marble dust mixed with art materials to create compositions that looked like worn walls (in some cases)
  • Burri used sacking and plastic to create compositions with a lot of texture
  • Both find beauty and value in materials not traditionally valued
  • Also show history through the use of the materials
  • Focus on the materials and composition rather than a subject matter
500

Joiners

David Hockney’s photo collages

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