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Kerina Marris AVI 4MI Monday May 13th, 2013 The Emotional Aspects of Art Art therapy is something that is used today to help people deal with difficult, stressful and traumatic experiences. It helps people to cope and understand the situations that they were put in, and is an effective way for them to express their inner emotions (Anderson). Much like the early 1940s in the Abstract Expressionism era, where artists were able to express their feelings and emotions based off of their experiences. Abstract Expressionism primarily occurred in New York where a small group of artists collectively created stylistically diverse works of art. These artists included Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), Williem de Kooning (1904-1997), Hans Hofmann (18801966), Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) and many more (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). The whole purpose of this art movement was for them to break away from accepted conventions in their technique and subject matter, and they created emphasis on dynamics, energetic gestures and more open fields of colour. This is shown through Williem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky and Robert Motherwells works of art specifically the Seated Woman (1940), Hitler Invades Poland (1939) and Mexican Night (1979). In Abstract Expressionism, artists painted what they felt emotionally in an expressive way; they communicated to people what they felt in the moment. Through Larry Rivers quote Any art communicates what youre in the mood to receive, we learn that artwork is perceived by what the viewers are feeling in the moment.

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Firstly, Williem de Kooning was an American artist who created both figurative and abstract pieces of artwork. He was best known for his series Women, which consisted of six paintings of different women made in-between 1950-1953. Kooning believed that this painting was a way for him to liberate his own anxieties he said, Woman I (1950-52) did one thing for me: it eliminated composition, arrangement, relationships and light because that was the one thing that I wanted to get a hold of (Guardian). This was also a way for Kooning to release his sexual frustrations towards women; Kooning was able to communicate his feelings towards women in his various paintings. In this particular one you can see that he used harsh erratic lines that give it a darker feeling; it is almost as if he was upset or angry and he showed it through his use of lines and colour on the woman. People who view this painting could interpret it in different ways depending on how they feel in the moment. For example if someone was angry about something and they analyzed this piece of art they could say that Kooning was getting back at women because of the way that he chose to display them; they are almost disfigured looking and they are not proportionate. But, someone who is in a more positive mood might say that he is just highlighting the parts of women that he loves the most, and the colour adds a sense of life and vibrancy. Essentially people can perceive things differently depending on the mood that they are in, or what they believe the artist was trying to communicate to the viewer; like Kooning does with his Woman I painting.

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Next, through Arshile Gorkys experiences in his personal life, he was able to create artwork that represented what he was feeling in the moment. Gorky was an Armenian artist who had some of the most traumatic and awful experiences. His mother died from starvation in his arms, a fire occurred in his studio which destroyed over twenty of his paintings, he developed rectal cancer, got into a car accident that left his arm temporarily immobilized and his wife left him and took his kids with her. Gorkys experiences were way too much for him to handle but, he was able to release some of his emotions through his paintings. This is shown through his one art piece Hitler Invades Poland (1939). For this painting Gorky was influenced by the pain and suffering that he experienced because of World War II and the invasion that took place against Poland. You can see through his use of harsh lines and colour that Gorky was experiencing immense pain at the time, and he was able to show it through his painting techniques. When people view it they can experience the different emotions that he was trying to portray but, also depending on the mood that people might be in, they can create different emotions towards the painting. Therefore, most of Gorkys art were a reflection of the hardships that he experienced throughout his life; he was able to let go some of his emotions through painting them and people were able to convey those feelings when viewing it. Lastly, Robert Motherwell was able to create pieces of artwork that represented what he felt in the moment; from his experiences. He was an American painter born in Aberdeen, Washington but lived most of his childhood life in the dry parts of central California, in order for him to bring some relief to his severe asthma. One of Motherwells experiences that influenced

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him emotionally was his trip to Mexico. What he saw there was what he chose to display in his painting Mexican Night (1979). Though Motherwell enjoyed his experiences in Mexico, this particular piece of artwork did not depict his happier memories. This is what he described his painting to be, A continual presence of sudden death in Mexico... The presence everywhere of death coffins, black glass-encased horse drawn hearses, figures of death, priests in glass cases... all of this contrasted with bright sunlight, white garbed peasants, blue skies, orange trees and everything you associate with life all this seized upon my imagination. For years afterwards, splattered blood appeared in my pictures - red pain. (Artfact).Motherwell seemed to be so traumatized by his experience that it was all he seemed to think about and draw. People can see through his use in the deep intense red and the harsh, thick black lines that this was not supposed to be a light hearted picture. But, depending on the mood that people are in, they can interpret it in different ways that may contribute to the emotion they are feeling. Overall, Motherwells depiction of his emotions in Mexican Night can be deciphered differently based on what the viewer is feeling in the moment of looking at the picture. In conclusion, people can interpret the meaning of the message and emotions behind a picture based on the viewers emotional state of mind. Depending on how they are feeling, the artwork can contribute to their emotions and enhance what they are already feeling. This is shown through Koonings Seated Woman, Gorkys Hitler Invaded Poland and Motherwells Mexican Night. In actuality, using art as a therapeutic way to release emotions is something that I think all people should participate in and should be used beneficially; just like how the artists of

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the Abstract Expressionism era used their artistic abilities in the 1940s and what we learn today from Larry Rivers quote.

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Works Cited http://www.theartstory.org/artist-motherwell-robert.htm http://www.theartstory.org/movement-abstract-expressionism.htm# http://wwwdebbieandersonarttherapy.com/ http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abex/hd_abex.htm http://www.questia.com/read/96573799/the-triumph-of-american-painting-a-history-of-abstract http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2002/aug/24/art http://www.ago.net/willem-de-kooning-woman-i http://cityarts.info/2010/12/15/noguchi-heaven/ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1933224,00.html http://www.artfact.com/auction-lot/robert-motherwell-,-1915-1991-mexican-night-oil-o-138-ccg39xxeojr