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Abstract Expressionistic work produced from the late 1940s came to be represented as a style that was fundamentally apolitical but some critics found it impossible to separate abstract expressionism from the cold war. Abstract expressionism exploded onto the art scene after World War II with characteristic messiness and energetic applications of paint. It was meant to encompass not only the work of the painters who filled their canvases with fields of colour and abstract forms, but also those who attached their canvas with vigorous gestural abstraction (Remer, A. 2010). The work elicits anxiety and instability of postwar life and the constructive nature of consensus culture. It focused on individualism and social alienation. Abstract expressionism was imperilled by its success; even the government covertly embraced it and promoted it as a testament to freedom of expression in America in contrast to the representations of the Stalinist Eastern Bloc (Foster, SC. 1975). During the 1940s, the Cold War and the American politics became significant and highly influential on abstract expressionism and what it was to become. It essentially was a revolt against the mass media imagery and the constant news coverage of the brutalities of the war at the time. Abstract art became a new kind of art making aesthetic as well as movement in artistic history which was ironic because abstract art was not trying to become anything, it was simply as a means of creating art for arts sake (Rosenberg, H. 1952). This new art movement in America emphasised the independence from European trends and allowed the movement to replace Paris as the centre of the art world (Doss, E. 2002). The political instability of America during the1940s affected Abstract expressionism and was profoundly influenced by the Surrealist style of painting and its interest in the subconscious. Abstract expressionism developed in the context of diverse, overlapping sources and inspirations. The Great Depression yielded two popular art movements, Regionalism and Social Realism. Neither movement satisfied the group of artists need to find a content and subject matter rich with meaning and that was full with social responsibility, yet free of provincialism and explicit politics (Paul, S. 2004). The Cold War was the conflict as well as conflicting relationship between the communists led by the Soviet Union and the Capitalists or the Democrats that was led by the United States after the Second World War. The objective of the war was to

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dominate international affairs which heated up quickly bringing animosity to the nations involved as well as the world. But the most worrying issue was the substantial and increasing growth of weapons of mass destruction. Neither America nor the Soviet Union fought one another directly; they did get client states to fight for their beliefs on the behalf of either country (Remer, A. 2010). Abstract art became a kind of anarchic movement as they disregarded the politics and any kind of showcase of what was happening at the time, they also abandoned traditional easel painting that has been seen previously in artistic history (Shapiro, D&C. 1977). The height of the cold war arose in the 1950s as the CIA secretly promoted Abstract Expressionism as a means of discrediting the social realist realism of the Soviet Union (Vallen, M. 2005). In the context of American politics and society, the bourgeois republic moved forward toward a greater individualism which then promoted artistic freedom and experimentation which is relevant to the social and economic boom in the 1940s (Guilbaut, S. 1980).The CIA was involved with the Museum of Modern Art and was highly influential when it came to the museum as it funded projects so the rest of the world could see art under the Capitalist regime which promoted freedom of speech under McCarthyism in context of the Capitalist USA (Cockroft, E. 1985). The CIA included elite families that could have control over the art world (Shapiro, D&C. 1977). It also applied a considerable amount of muscle into its endeavour to support and advance Abstract Expressionistic movement. Art critics focused on singing praises for the action painters (Vallen, M. 2005). Abstract expressionism was initially denounced on the floor of the congress as a communist conspiracy, the CIA was determined to take this group of eccentric bohemians and translate them into Champions of Americanism (Vallen, M. 2005). Rockefeller was the president of the Museum of Modern Art. It was run by people who would use art for its political influence and to promote the United States as an artistic as well as cultural dominion (Cockroft, E. 1985). Art in relation to the cold war was filled with animosity as it wanted to be an apolitical artistic development and have nothing to do with the politics that was taking place in America. Abstract artists were influenced by the leftist politics and came to value an art which was grounded in personal experience (Wolf, J. 2011). The anxiety of the artist was brought about from the distress of exposure to the disturbing reports of horrors and pain endured during the Second World War including the threat of a

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nuclear holocaust because of the way the Cold War was developing (Gersh-Nesic, B. 2012). Abstract art wanted art to be made for the working class and not only the elite. These kinds of works became easily interpreted by the public because of the lack of a specific subject matter therefore allowing the public to read anything into their works. But in doing so, this art becomes a political and socialist response as it questions the notions of high art (Shapiro, D&C. 1977). Social realism moved in a direction toward one of Greenbergs theories in that the Avant-garde looked at Trotskyism concept of freedom of art and this is essentially what artists wanted to envelop, such as Pollock and Rothko for example. Jackson Pollock was involved in a kind of political relationship in his art. This relationship was between abstract art and the cold war which was evident in the establishment of international programs (Shapiro, D&C. 1977). The art movements extraordinary cultural success began with a widespread sentiment that the representational styles of a previous generation were simply inadequate in post-war America. As Pollack remarked in 1944, My work with Benton was very important as something against which to react very strongly (Doss, E. 2002). It wanted to make works of art that was apolitical but as critics have stated, it was very difficult for Abstract Expression to be removed from the politics of America (Vallen, M. 2005). This strong desire to break away from and destroy the modern art styles of a previous generation were grounded in a larger political and cultural transition, from the downfall of the New Deal to the growth of a cold war between the US and the Soviet Union (Doss, E. 2002). Government found a liking to this art form because of the fact that it was so different and individualistic. Because of this, the CIA got involved with the movement and the Museum of Modern Art. The abstract expressionists worked on a monumental scale and it resists any stylistic categorization but can be clustered around two basic tendencies which is the emphasis on dynamic, energetic gesture in contrast to a reflective, cerebral focus on more open fields of colour (Paul, S. 2004). Abstract Expression was said to encompass a kind of apocalyptic wall-paper. Because of the scale of the works, especially Jackson Pollock in particular, it was monumental as well as romantic in mood and expressive in a kind of harsh individualistic freedom (Wolf, J. 2011). The two major types of Abstract Expressionism are Action Painting and Colour-Field Painting. Action painters such as Jackson Pollock wished to portray paint texture and

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the movement of the artist's hand. Colour Field painters such as Mark Rothko were concerned with colour and shape in order to create peaceful and spiritual paintings with no representative subject matter (Doss, E. 2002). Abstract Expressionism was championed for being emphatically American in spirit (Wolf, J. 2011). This movement in modern art culture was also referred to as gestural abstraction as the brush strokes revealed the artists process and has no reference to the visual world as it deals with the more formal elements of art and abandons all notions of traditional art, especially easel painting. The more formal elements that an abstract artist would engage with would be colour, line, texture, shape and tone (Coleman, W. 2007). Most artists favoured larger canvases, dramatic colour and loose brush work. Abstract Expressionists saw painting as a pure expression of emotion and means of visual communication. Not all Abstract Expressionist work was abstract and expressive, although the movement is united in its spontaneous release of unconscious creativity. The act of painting is considered as important as the finished product itself (Doss, E. 2002). This new kind of art making was referred to as action painting by Clement Greenberg, a famous art critic (Foster, SC. 1975). Artists wanted to express their concerns in a new art of meaning and substance (Paul, S. 2004). The most famous artist of the time was Jackson Pollock; his work was renowned for its expressive nature and for the lack of referential subject matter (in works such as Autumn Rhythm and Lavender Mist). By the late 1940s, many of the factors were in place to give birth to the new movement - however varied and disparate its artists' work. In, 1947 Jackson Pollock found his way to the drip technique. The following year, de Kooning had an influential show at the Charles Egan Gallery; Barnett Newman arrived at his breakthrough picture Onement I; and Mark Rothko began painting the "multi-form" paintings that would soon lead to the signature works of his mature period. Artists had to find a balance between art and politics, but what Jackson Pollock wanted to do was to eradicate politics from his paintings entirely (Paul, S. 2005). Critics and artists alike felt the need for powerful new styles of art to convey the nations changed post-war identity. As Pollock remarked, The modern painter cannot express this age, the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio, in the forms of the renaissance or of any other past culture. Each age finds its own technique. (Doss, E. 2002) He became a symbol and a hero of freedom and a new kind of

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liberalism for the individual. He said that abstract art was a kind of naturalism that was no longer adequate as notions of abstraction, the individual and originality became more prominent in the art world during the 1940s than anything else (Guilbaut, S. 1980). Jackson Pollock abandoned traditional easel painting and instead, laid his canvas on the floor and began to create exceptionally emotional artworks that enhanced its textural qualities (Coleman, W. 2007).His paintings became very involved in expressing the world of the subconscious and dealt with myths, symbols and legends. Pollock abandoned the concept of painting which then offered the viewer narratives instead something literal that you can read into directly (Vallen, M. 2005). The surrealist notions of automatism in the production of art became very important to him (Coleman, W. 2007). Jackson Pollock has said, It doesn't make much difference how the paint is put on as long as something has been said. Technique is just a means of arriving at a statement (Renner, A. 2011). Therefore by Pollock saying this, this revisits the question of how politics used Abstract expressionism for their personal gain. Because America had been creating such unique art, the Government used their works as propaganda to form the American social fabric (Guilbaut, S. 1980). Jackson Pollock was an artist which encompassed the apolitical style that Abstract Expression wanted to embody but in the same sense his artwork was used for political propaganda (Guilbaut, S. 1980). The Museum of Modern Art was known for using Abstract Art as propaganda tool in the early years of the Cold War. Not only did it promote abstract Expressionism, it sponsored exhibitions and referred to this movement as free enterprise painting (Vallen, M. 2005). Museums had a kind of political power as it gave the impression that art had a specific role in society (Cockroft, E. 1985). Not only did art become a commodity to the public because of mass media coverage and the museum culture, it became a construction of a particular social and artistic identity. Artists tried to reject this notion which could be seen as a particular political standpoint (Shapiro, D&C. 1977). The key to understanding abstract expressionism is to understand the concept of deep which means to uncover the most personal feelings directly through the process of art making, as well as through the explanations of the artists inner turmoil and anxiety (Gersh-Nesic, B. 2012).Abstract language was used to express a critical and social consciousness that was isolated from society and became autonomous. It

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was a symbol of freedom within the American art society (Guilbaut, S. 1980). Artists working in the abstract expressionistic genre, they wanted to remain non-political. Abstract art in essence was the resistance against a utopian individualism, the constructed nature of the time in America, the notion of consciousness and the idea that you have to buy into culture in order to live. Art became art for the sake of art and that is what the artists of the time tried to achieve, but with all the politics surrounding the Cold War and the CIAs involvement with the Museum of Modern Art (Shapiro, D&C. 1977). Abstract Expressionism was considered by many to be very rebellious, anarchic, and distinctive. However, the term itself was applied to any New York artist that produced unique art in his own style and some artists (Andrews, C. 2007). The artists were able to thrive in the freedom of post-war United States, which was rapidly becoming the new empire on earth. It was a completely free time in which to explore art in new ways and made America an important part of the art world for good (Andrews, C. 2007). It tried to be a movement that wanted to be apolitical but with the politics of America during the 1940s, it became very difficult for it to be removed from this. Abstract Expressionism, even though it didnt turn out to be a completely apolitical art movement, it became an art movement which changed the process and the idea of art making and will forever be fundamental to the History of Art in America and the world. Despite avant-garde posturing on ostensible bohemianism, Abstract Art was inevitably part of a wider cultural discourse.

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References: Cockroft, E. (1974). Abstract Expressionism, Weapon of the Cold War. In Francis Frascina and Jonathan Harris (eds.) 1992. Art in Modern Culture: An Anthology of Critical Texts. London: Phaidon, pp 80-90. Coleman, W. (2007) Mind Action Series- Art 12. Sanlamhof: AllCopy Publishers Guilbaut, S. (1980). The New Adventures of the Avant-Garde in America: Greenberg, Pollock or Trotskyism to the New Liberalism of the Vital Center. In Francis Frascina and Jonathan Harris (eds.) 1992. Art in Modern Culture: An Anthology of Critical Texts. London: Phaidon, pp. 239-251. Rosenberg, H. (1952). The American Action Painters. In David and Cecile Shapiro (eds.) 1990. Abstract Expressionism: A Critical Record. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, pp. 75-85 Shapiro, D&C. (1977). Abstract Expressionism: The Politics of Apoliical Painting. In Francis and Frascina (ed.) 1985. Pollock and After: The Critical Debate. London: Harper & Row, pp 135-151. Andrews, C. (2007). Abstract Expressionism History. [Online]. Available: http://www.aspectart.com/movements.abstract_expressionism.php Doss, E. (2002). Abstract Expressionism. [Online]. Available: http://www.mellorahall.com/abstract_expressionism.htm Foster, SC. (1975). Clement Greenberg: Formalism in the 40s and 50s. In Art Journal Vol.35. No.1. (Autumn 1975), pp. 20-24. [Online]. Available: http://www.jstor.org/psss/775837 Paul, S. (2004).Abstract Expressionism. [Online]. Available: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abex/hd_abex.htm