Comparing Color Field & Action Painting

Lesson Transcript
Instructor: Christopher Muscato
http://study.com/academy/lesson/comparing-color-field-action-painting.html

Chris has a master's degree in history and teaches courses on both Mexican and American history.
American art after World War II saw some great innovations, both in terms of painting techniques and goals. Explore two major movements, and test your understanding of their similarities and differences with a brief quiz.
Modern Abstract Art

We've all heard people say this when they look at modern art, 'My five year old could do that.' Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but no they couldn't. Unless your five year old is some kind of super-toddler, in which case, seriously capitalize on that. The art world could use a child prodigy to shake things up a bit. Anyway, my point is that modern art is about so much more than what meets the eye. Actually, it's only about what meets the eye. But that makes it more than what meets the eye. See how complex this is? Let's see your super-toddler handle this.
Color Field

After WWII, America became the world leader in innovative artistic styles, and several movements of abstract art appeared. One of them was Color Field, a term created by the art critic Clement Greenburg in the late 1940s. Color Field art is characterized by wide, flat planes of color in which the color is the subject. Some painters argue that it's not actually abstract art, since the color does not represent anything else. It's just color. Color Field paintings are created carefully and with a good amount of planning, since the effectiveness of the piece is based on the way that the various planes of colors interact. The overall effect is a painting that is calm, cool and rational.

Now, let's study a Color Field painting and find out what makes Color Field so interesting. This painting is by Mark Rothko, who was one of the great Color Field painters, although he didn't like the term. People who see Rothko's work in person are often noted to break into tears. Why? Is it because they paid 12 bucks for great art and ended up just looking at flat color? Absolutely not. The entire goal of Color Field painting is to create an image of pure emotion. There are no distracting figures or symbolism; it is color for the sake of appealing to a subconscious, primeval level of emotion. The colors are not random, nor is their arrangement. Different assortments of colors are meant to evoke different emotions.
Action Painting

Okay, super-toddler, now's your chance to really shine because we're moving into another style of abstract art - action painting!

Action painting was one of the movements to emerge around the same time as Color Field painting, and while the two styles are related, they are also pretty different. While Color Field was all about the rational, calm and planned composition, Action painting is all about the physical act of painting. The artist does not plan out the composition, but instead dribbles, splashes or flings paint onto the canvas. This is a very physical process that can involve spinning and jumping and all sorts of movements, so the act of creating the painting is actually considered to be just as important as the finished product.

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What is Color Field painting?

Paintings featuring large planes of flat color
Paintings created by dripping, slinging, or splattering paint onto a canvas
Painting with the use of color, as opposed to black and white
Painting that only uses colors from one field

http://study.com/academy/lesson/comparing-color-field-action-painting.html#lesson

1 - The Art of Ancient Egypt
2 - The Art of the Ancient Near East
3 - The Art of Ancient Greece
4 - The Art of Ancient Rome
5 - Early Christian Art
6 - Byzantine Art
7 - The Art of Early Medieval Europe
8 - Romanesque Art
9 - Gothic Art
10 - Fifteenth-Century Italian Art
11 - Fifteenth-Century Art of Northern Europe & Spain
12 - Sixteenth-Century Italian Art
13 - Sixteenth-Century Art of Northern Europe & Spain
14 - Baroque Art
15 - Rococo Art
16 - Neoclassical Art
17 - Romanticism in Art
18 - Realism in Art
19 - Impressionist Art
20 - Post-Impressionist Art
21 - Art of the Early Twentieth Century
22 - Postwar to Postmodern Art
23 - Contemporary Art

Comparing Color Field & Action Painting
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