FORMATION OF NEW YORK SCHOOL - (1/6)

ABSTRACT EXPRESSION - (1/6)

Formation of the New York School

Avant-garde art growing emerging in New York after World War II is generically labeled The New York School
- the general style is called (abstract expressionism is usually divided into two styles:
  1. action painting
  2. lyric color field painting
- The term, The New York School, contrasts these styles with those which grew in Paris at the turn of the century which are labeled as The Paris School
  - cubism
  - surrealism
  - expressionism
Elements leading to the formation of the New York School
1. European avant-garde artists fleeing oppression
  - Mondrian
  - Surrealists
    - the reality of the unconscious
    - automatism in painting
    - Karl Jung and The Collective Unconscious
2. The Great Depression and WPA (Works Progress - Projects - Administration)
  - government starts to subsidize artists
  - gave artists a sense of community
  - knew they were not alone
  - place to exchange ideas
  - Art Students League
3. Mexican Muralists
  - workshops, scale, experimentation with new media
  - Orozco
  - Rivera
  - Siquieros

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