Movements and Processes

Class Date: February 16

In Wednesday's class we discussed the various movements that have occurred in the visual arts world dating back to the 1950's. The major arts movements of the 1950's were abstract expressionism, lyrical abstraction, New York Figurative, and Bay Area Figurative. The 1960's were marked by a rapid increase in the number of movements. Many attribute this growth to the major advances in media technology during the 1960's , so each movement affected a large audience. Several of the movements, such as abstract expressionism, spanned across several decades. During the 1970's art movements get more descriptive of actual works in the titles. This decade also marks the first appearance of feminist art. The 1980's were a very controversial era, because several art movements began to make use of a previously completed work, and adjusting it in some way to make it unique. The 1990's and 2000's saw the increased usage of technological advances in art. For example many artists began to use computers to formulate works. Cory Arcangel became famous by using computers to show the mistakes made by people attempting to learn how to use new technology. He also created a compiliation of parts of youtube videos that filmed cats stepping on pianos.

In class we also discussed the work of Alison Watt which entailed the fabrics in various artworks. If you separate fabic from what it covers, it takes on its own artform. In the video we watched about her work we learned that she enjoyed working with larger paintings and murals because it actually engulfs the painter, as if you are within the work.