Beloved New York artist, Helen Frankenthaler, recently passed away at the age of 89. This post is a tribute to Helen Frankenthaler; to a life full of beauty and creativity.
“Mountains and Sea”
Frankenthaler initially caught the attention of many due to her unique style of pouring thinned paint onto canvas from coffee cans. The process is commonly known as “soak- staining.”
Jackson Pollock’s “drip- painting” method was the inspiration for Frankenthaler’s style. She is known for being a little more deliberate that Pollock with her pouring style.
“One of her most well known paintings is “Mountains and Sea.” This painting demonstrates the similarities between soak staining and watercolor. Both styles share a certain lightness and pliancy.
Frankenthaler’s style of abstract expressionism worked to propel the world of art in new and interesting directions. The 1950’s and 1960’s Color Field Movement was largely influenced by this stain technique.
Frankenthaler is also known for her graceful public presence. For the most part, she was able to avoid the limelight. However, when the situation arose she proved competent and capable in expressing herself.
While serving as a presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts, Frankenthaler had the opportunity to advise the National Endowment for the Arts. She had strong beliefs about the relationship between government and art. She felt that the government should be given no opportunity to interfere with art or employ censorship.
As a presidential appointee, she worried about the National Endowment for the Arts and their grant giving process. It was important to Frankenthaler that the NEA not give grants based on their collective likes or dislikes of individuals or styles. She feared that government grants promoted censorship and government interference.
Frankenthaler confidently spoke about her opinions and as a result was able to help shape ideas and practices where art and government were concerned.
She will continue to be remembered as a phenomenal abstract painter, a trailblazer of abstract Expressionism, and a creative woman who lived a beautiful life.
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-1227-frankenthaler.jpg-20111227,0,832427.photo
Related articles
- RIP Helen Frankenthaler…… (insideoutart.co.uk)
- Ode to One of My Favorite Artists: Helen Frankenthaler (thedisorderedcompilation.com)
- How Helen Frankenthaler Blossomed Into a Great Artist (bigthink.com)
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Romare Bearden was an artist whose personal style went against the “mainstream” of art in the post World War II era. Overtime, Bearden’s style did not change as other artists’ did. He remained consistent in his abstract and expressive approach. This is evident in all of his paintings and even more so in his collages.
In addition to this, another common theme of his art was jazz music. This greatly advanced his individual style. His art relayed one common theme but his style was advanced by his personal interpretation of jazz music. Bearden constructed collages in the same way jazz musicians created a song — with many staccato notes played by multiple instruments. In the same sense, Bearden cut and pasted many small excerpts of paintings and photographs to create a larger work of art.
The reason Bearden used this technique was because he felt that art portraying the lives of African American’s did not give full value to the individual. This is why he used collages. In doing so he was able to combine abstract art with real images so that people of different cultures could grasp the subject matter of the African American culture: The people. This is why his theme always exemplified people of color.
Outside The Lines 
