Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock both developed their painting styles in New York during the 1940s and 1950s. They were part of a group of artists now known as the abstract expressionists. Although each of the artists associated with this movement worked in a very individual style, they were linked by the desire to find a new means of artistic expression. Rather than including recognizable objects in their work, they used the elements of painting itself - color, line, shape, brushstrokes, texture, and light - to express emotions. Their influences included prehistoric cave paintings, Native American, pre-Columbian, Mexican, and African art, along with the modern European movement, surrealism, which looked to dreams and the unconscious for subject matter.
Although artists rarely want to be categorized, the label "abstract expressionism" aptly describes their work. The paintings are completely abstract, with no recognizable objects from the real world (another term for completely abstract is NON-OBJECTIVE), and the purpose of their art is to create expression and emotion.
Abstract expressionism can be roughly divided into two general types. Jackson Pollock was representative of "action" or "gesture" painting, in which the artist's process and movements were an important aspect of the end result. Mark Rothko's work is an example of "color-field painting," in which the artist was more concerned with creating an overall field of paint. The two works included in this lesson plan are typical of each artist's work: Pollock created many so-called "drip" paintings, some in black and white and others with color; and most of Rothko's images consist of two or three floating rectangles in various color combinations.
Artistic concerns were not the only impetus behind the development of abstract expressionism. The end of World War II, the explosion of the atomic bomb, and the realization that mankind had developed the ability to destroy itself were all factors in creating a mood of introspection and reflection.