Art In Society

            The 1940's through the 1960's were not only some of the most socially and politically volatile times in American History, but were the catalyst for the numerous changes in which occurred in American Popular culture during these and following years. Instead of experiencing the trauma which resulted after World War I's end, post-World War II United States returned fairly easily back to everyday life. Although there were some problems converting from a wartime to a peacetime economy in the late 1940's, Americans took on the task and entered the 1950's on a very auspicious high note. During the time period after World War II, the United States experienced many changes. Technology was abundant and the rate at which new inventions, industries and technologies came about was at a rate never seen before. From a television in every home to the first computers and ultimately space flight, these two decades after World War II were crowded with advancements. Some of the most dramatic changes came in the field of art. What was once a single, slow road of popular culture advancement branched off into thousands of smaller, faster changing roads. Some of these "roads-, which can be seen as changing styles, or movements, in art, whipped Americans through a roller coaster of change in what they saw around them. The End of World War II: The major art movement taking place in the United States directly after World War II was abstract expressionism. The abstract expressionist movement "devoted itself to the principles that art is most expressive when a relationship is established between the artist and the spectator- . For the most part, abstract expressionism attracted the American public with its simple methods and spontaneous appearance and more so because it was an entirely American art movement. With most of Europe at war and in recovery during the 1940's, Americans were left with the principal responsibility of developing art.