Enhancing the study of Art Enhancing the study of Art History utilizing computational thinking Focus: Abstraction in Art (Modern) computational thinking This OER material was produced as a result of the CS04ALL CUNY OER project.   Creative Commons License                  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. WEEK 2

Abstraction in Modern Art in Europe and America Dates and Places: 1900 to 1945 America and Western Europe People: Rapid social and political change Radical politics Avant-garde, constant innovation World War I Themes: Artists personal vision Urban life Portraits, still life Pure abstraction Forms: Honesty of medium Expressive distortion Reject illusionism PABLO PICASSO, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907

Fauvism (Europe, 1900 to 1920) Example: The Fauves (Wild beasts) Expressive use of color Exhibited at annual Salon d’Automne exhibition in Paris Portrait of Matisse’s wife Controversial execution of portraiture Non-naturalistic colors Loose brushwork Listen to short discussion of the painting in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: http://bit.ly/JUdVOi HENRI MATISSE, Woman with the Hat, 1905

Expression in Fauve Art The objective of many Modernist artists is to choose colors and compositions that express their inner feelings. What do you think the artist is communicating? HENRI MATISSE, Red Room (Harmony in Red), 1908–1909

Fauvism Example: The Fauves (Wild beasts) Expressive use of color Juxtaposition Pleasant themes Flattened space, texture Read about this painting in the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg, USSR: http://bit.ly/1HtbyS3 HENRI MATISSE, Red Room (Harmony in Red), 1908–1909

Abstraction in Art after 1945 People: Response to World War II Rise of consumerism Avant-garde artists New York location Rapid change Themes: Formal exploration Consumer and popular culture Society, environment Forms: Abstraction, realism, found objects, new media RAUSCHENBERG, Canyon, 1959

The Abstract Expressionists are sometimes called the New York School artists. There was not an actual "New York School" where artists took classes; rather, the term is shorthand for a loose association of avant-garde artists who lived in New York in the mid-twentieth century, and who made art in the Abstract Expressionist style. Artists of the New York School, c. 1950

Abstract Expressionism The New York School introduced radical ways of painting that helped moved the center of the art world from Paris to New York City. JACKSON POLLOCK, Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), 1950

Watch a video on Pollock’s unique drip technique: http://bit.ly/9b1NeI Pollock’s abstract paintings highlight the gestural execution.

Abstract Expressionism Example: Abstract Expressionism, gestural abstraction Rise of American modernist painting Act of creation most important Action painting Pure abstraction Explore the NGA’s website on Pollock’s Lavender Mist (be sure to click the read arrow buttons to advance through the site): http://1.usa.gov/a9PGY7 JACKSON POLLOCK, Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), 1950.

Abstract Expressionism Pollock’s friend Willem de Kooning emphasizes the gestural quality of painting too, but retains some reference to the figure. WILLEM DE KOONING, Woman I, 1950–1952.

Abstract Expressionism Example: Abstract Expressionism, gestural abstraction Expressive, energetic application of paint Leaves traces of the figure Critique of women in advertisements Highlights the act of painting Watch a video lecture on Smarthistory.org about this painting at MoMA: http://bit.ly/KUNZBB WILLEM DE KOONING, Woman I, 1950–1952

Abstract Expressionism Rothko believed color had the capacity to express human emotions, such as tragedy, ecstasy, and doom. His paintings are meant to be viewed from up close in order for the color to envelope your field of vision. Read about this painting in the collection at SFMoMA: http://bit.ly/JrVmTr MARK ROTHKO, No. 14, 1960

Abstract Expressionism Example: Abstract Expressionism, chromatic abstraction Non-representational art Emotional properties of color Universal spirituality Color gateway to new reality Emotion via formal elements, not content Watch the first 9 minutes of Simon Schama’s Power of Art episode on Rothko (note the dark paintings in the Tate Modern are some of Rothko’s murals for the ill-fated Four Seasons restaurant commission in the Seagram Building that is in midtown, New York City): http://bit.ly/ziOKC MARK ROTHKO, No. 14, 1960

Using AI to create Art https://news.artnet.com/market/9-artists-artificial-intelligence-1384207 - Creating art https://artuk.org/discover/stories/artificial-intelligence-the-new-artistic-revolution MARK ROTHKO, No. 14, 1960

Pathway2Code Modern Art Worlds: Matisse Pollock

Pathway2Code Commands placePen(x, y) drawSymbol(filename, width, height) options: goldfish, vase, fruitBowl, cup, cat, zigzag drawLine(color, width, height) createPattern(filename, width, height, x, y, width, height) options: flower, dot, brushstroke, foliage, curl (maybe the students can upload their own) (will randomly place and rotate the object chosen into the defined area so that the area is filled, with no objects overlapping each other. The area is defined starting at position x, y with the width and height as defined.) (we could also make it so that it randomly picks the object.) colorArea(x, y, width, height) (will fill a random color in the area that is defined starting at position x, y with the width and height as defined). (Each time the program is run the colors will change)

Solution Instructions colorArea(0, 20, 9, 20) createPattern(flower.png, 0, 20, 9, 20) colorArea(9, 6, 11, 6) createPattern(flower.png, 9, 6, 11, 6) colorArea(20, 20, 8, 20) Height = 1 For (y = 1; y < 20; y++height) placePen(20, y) drawSymbol(zigzag.png, 8, height) colorArea(16, 20, 8, 10) createPattern(curl.png, 16, 20, 8, 10) colorArea(9, 12, 11, 6) createPattern(brushstroke.png, 9,12, 11, 6) placePen(13,8) drawSymbol(fruitBowl.png, 4, 3) placePen(17, 9) drawSymbol(vase.png, 2, 4) Width = 11 For (x = 9; x <= 9 + width; x++width) placePen(x, 6) drawLine(black, 0.2, 1.5) colorArea(9, 20, 7, 8) createPattern(foliage.png, 9, 20, 7, 8) Width = 7 placePen(x, 20) drawLine(orange, 0.2, 8) placePen(9, 12) drawLine(orange, 8, 0.2) Sample Solution

Matisse Example Sample Output

Pollock Example Sample Output