|
|
 |
About the Art
With the coming of modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, “newness” was embraced as a desirable quality. To be new meant to be modern, and to be new and modern spelled a rejection of convention, tradition, and the past. Individualism, uniqueness, and personal expression were prized. Artists labored to bare their inner souls, and each necessarily forged a new and different visual vocabulary. Today, a pluralism of artistic styles is taken for granted in the contemporary art scene. Some 90 years ago, it was a defining aspect of early modernism.
Before 1945, for American artists to achieve success meant studying or living in Europe. This unspoken requirement only changed with World War II, when New York became the center of the international art world. Although American artists drew inspiration and stylistic devices from their European counterparts, they created their own language of paint on canvas. Direct imitation of European styles was taboo, because to be new and modern required producing work that was original, unique, and personal.
|
|
|
