Abstract Expressionism- in the US and internationally—postwar Europe -Artaud, Global Postwar: Japan, Gutai, Calligraphy and modernism, Africa and independence movements
Unit 1 charts the rise of Abstract Expressionism from its roots in Surrealism, Native American Art and the Mexican muralists to its ascendency in the Cold War era. We discuss issues of painting, the sublime, politics, and the problematic of abstraction and the decorative. Key artists include Pollock, Rothko, and Norman Lewis. Questions of gender and race are raised here.
