Comparing_and_Contrasting_Abstract_Expressionism_and_Realism

Art 101: Art Appreciation Assignment 7.1: Essay Comparing and Contrasting Abstract Expressionism and Realism Professor Daniel Anguaino May 15, 2012 Jones International University Sherri Montgomery Abstract Expressionism is based on personal experience and emotions. Painters of this movement favored loose brushwork, large canvases and dramatic colors. Abstract Expressionists just sling, smear, slather and drip paint onto the canvas. They use brilliant colors and amorphous shapes. Realism is more about being accurate, detailed depiction of contemporary life or nature. This movement favors observation of physical appearance rather than imagination or idealization. Realism painters use real scenes to paint and different colors and shapes. Below are some paintings of Abstract Expressionism The lines in these paintings are all mostly bold and harsh. The light appears to be bright and surrounds the paintings. The colors are dramatic and mostly reds, yellows and oranges with some light blue. The composition appears to be three-dimensional. The shape and form of these paintings are amorphous . The space is all used and draws the viewer’s attention to the whole painting. Balance in these is in the way the artist uses the colors in each painting to balance it out. Rhythm is in the shapes and colors used in each one. Proportion is how each painted has used the colors the main part of their painting. Dominance is the dramatic colors and amorphous shapes. Unity is how the colors, shapes and lines draw it all together. Below are some Realism paintings The lines in these paintings are smooth and soft. The colors are mostly greens, beige, tans with a touch of blues. The light in each painting is bright and surrounds the whole painting. The space is filled with different things. The composition is both two-dimensional and three-dimensional. The shape and form in each painting is in the people and how they are painted. The balance in each one is symmetrical, if they were cut in half; both halves would weigh the same. Rhythm is in the colors, people, clouds and mountains. Proposition is how the people are standing and sitting in the first and third painting and in the second one, it’s how the clouds and mountains are placed. Dominance is the men in the first one, the clouds and mountains in the second one and the people sitting and standing in the last one. Unity is how in each painting the painter has drawn the viewer’s eye toward the center of each painting. The difference between abstract expressionism and realism is that abstract expressionism is more weird shapes and forms and Realism is real people, objects or things. References http://arthistory.about.com/od/modernarthistory/a/abstract_expressionism_10one.htmRetrievedMay15,2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realism_(arts)RetrievedMay15,2012 http://www.theartstory.org/artist-pollock-jackson.htmRetrievedMay15,2012