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MAPEH (Arts)
Quarter 1 – Module 4:
Modern Arts:
Abstract Expressionism
MAPEH (Arts) – Grade 10
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 – Module 4: Modern Arts: Abstract Expressionism
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education

OIC-Schools Division Superintendent: Carleen S. Sedilla CESE
OIC-Assistant Schools Division Superintendent: Brian E. Ilan EdD

Development Team of the Module

Writer: Renato N. Castelo
Editor: Myrna T. Parakikay
Reviewer: Myrna T. Parakikay
Layout Artist: Jezzalee T. De Leon
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Chief, Curriculum Implementation Division

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Education Program Supervisor, LRMS

Myrna T. Parakikay
Education Program Supervisor, MAPEH

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 What I Need To Know

This module was written and designed to make learning easier especially as we are in
the New Normal situation. As an educational tool, this module about, Abstract
Expressionism, challenges you as a learner, to become creative, resourceful and
independent. The scope of the module provides a variety of activities that will
stimulate independent and self-guided learning experience. Lessons in this module are
arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course to ensure effective learning
continuity, make the experience more meaningful, effective and relevant to life
situations.

The module includes lessons and activities on:

• Abstract Expressionism: Action Painting and Color Field Painting
• Characteristics of Abstract Expressionism
• Elements and Principles of Art used in Abstract Expressionism
• Significant Abstract Expressionist (Foreign and Filipino) and their works

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Knows the history and characteristics of Abstract Expressionism.
2. Identifies the elements and principles of art applied in Abstract Expressionism.
3. Applies the elements and principles of art in creating an abstract expressionism
output.
4. Appreciates the elements and principles of art applied in Abstract
Expressionism.

What I Know

Directions: Identify what is being described below. Choose your answer from the box.

Autumn Rhythm Abstract Expressionism Barnett Newman

Mark Rothko American Painters Jackson Pollock
Alfonso Ossorio Willem de Kooning World War II
Excavation Action Painting Granadean Arabesque
Jose Joya New York City Color Field Painting

_______________ 1. He painted CANTO VII.

_______________ 2. He was the pioneer of Abstract Expressionism in the Philippines.
_______________ 3. The city where abstract expressionism started.
_______________ 4. They started the art movement Abstract Expressionism.
______________ 5. An artistic style of painting in which paint is spontaneously
dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being
carefully applied.
_______________ 6. A war that led to the creation of Abstract Expressionism.
_______________ 7. An artist who was known for using aggressive brushwork and bold
colors.
_______________ 8. Famous painting of Jackson Pollock.
_______________ 9. A style of painting characterized primarily by large fields of flat,
solid color spread across.
_______________10. The term applied to new form of abstract art form by the American
painters.
_______________ 11. A Filipino American artist who painted “Beach Comber”.
_______________ 12. A Latvian artist who is known for color field painting.

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_______________ 13. A painting by Jose Joya.
_______________ 14. One of Willem de Kooning’s masterpiece.
_______________ 15. Famous for his technique of pouring or splashing liquid household
paint onto a horizontal surface and a major figure in abstract
expressionism.

Lesson Modern Arts:

1 Abstract Expressionism
The art movements of the late 19th century to the 20th century captured and
expressed all these and more. While earlier periods of art had a quite set conventions
as to the style, technique, and treatment of their subjects, various art movements
conveyed their ideas and feelings in bold, innovative ways. These were the exciting
originators of the modern art of the 21st century.

Art is part of our traditions and culture, it serves as means and necessity of our daily
life. Art allows us to express ideas, emotions and personal experience that will inspire
people to become creative, imaginative, and expressive.

What’s In Let us have a brief review of what you have

learned last time.

Directions: Fill in the blanks with the missing word.

1. _______________ is a Spanish artist who is known as the co-founder of Cubism.
2. _______________ is an artistic style that had the same spirit of freedom of
expression and openness as Expressionism but differ through the use of
geometrical forms.
3. _______________ is a style known as non-object work for this style has no
figures or does not represent any figure.
4. _______________ is one of the known movements that started in Italy in the
early 1900s.
5. _______________ is an art movement pioneered by Pablo Picasso.

What’s New

Analyze the pictures below

Have you seen a painting like the ones presented above? Try to describe the
shown paintings in three(3) words.
1. ________________________ 1. ______________________
2. ________________________ 2. ______________________
3. ________________________ 3. ______________________

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 What is it

AB STRACT EXPRE SSIONISM

Abstract expressionism is the term applied to new forms of abstract art developed
by American painters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de
Kooning in the 1940s and 1950s. It is often characterized by gestural brushstrokes
or mark-making, and the impression of spontaneity.
INTRODUCTION
The abstract expressionists were mostly based in New York City, and also became
known as the New York school. The name evokes their aim to make art that while
abstract was also expressive or emotional in its effect. They were inspired by
the surrealist idea that art should come from the unconscious mind, and by
the automatism of artist Joan Miró.

TY PE S OF AB STRACT EXPRESSIONISM

• Action Painting Action painting, sometimes called “gestural abstraction”, is a

style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared
onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied. The resulting work often
emphasizes the physical act of painting itself as an essential aspect of the finished
work or concern of its artist.
Paul Jackson Pollock (/ˈpɒlək/; January 28,
1912 – August 11, 1956) was an American
painter and a major figure in the abstract
expressionist movement. He was widely
noticed for his technique of pouring or
splashing liquid household paint onto a
horizontal surface, enabling him to view and
paint his canvases from all angles.

His works:

Autumn Rhythm
1950
Oil in Canvas
Enchanted Forest
1947

Willem Kooning April 24, 1904 – March 19,

1997) was a Dutch-American abstract
expressionist artist. He was born
in Rotterdam and moved to the United States in
1926, becoming an American citizen in 1962.
One of the most prominent and celebrated of
the Abstract Expressionist painters,

Willem de Kooning's pictures typify the vigorous, gestural style of the movement.
Perhaps more than any of his contemporaries, he developed a radically abstract style
of painting that fused Cubism, Surrealism and Expressionism. While many of his
colleagues moved from figuration to abstraction, de Kooning always painted figures,

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most notably women, and abstractions concurrently, making no distinction between
the art historical categories. De Kooning's real subject, he insisted, was space and the
figure-ground relation.

His works:

Excavation, Women III, 1952

1950 Oil on Canvass

Colour Field Painting

• Color field is characterized primarily by large fields of flat, solid color spread
across or stained into the canvas creating areas of unbroken surface and a flat
picture plane. The movement emphasis on gesture, brushstrokes, and action in
favor of an overall consistency of form and process. In color field painting “color
is freed from objective context and becomes the subject itself”.
• Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still are deeply interested in religion
and myth. They created simple composition in large areas of color needed to
produce a contemplative or meditational response in the viewer.

Mark Rothko, born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz, was an American

painter of Latvian Jewish descent. Rothko did not personally subscribe to
any art movement, but he is generally identified as an abstract
expressionist.

Orange and Yellow

Orange and Red on Red, 1957

Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905- July 4, 1970) was an

American artist. He is seen as one of the major figures in
Abstract Expressionism and one of the foremost of the
color field painters. His paintings are existential in tone
and content, explicitly composed with the intention of
communication a sense of locality, presence, and
contingency.

CANTO VII,
His works: Lithograph on
Paper

Onement 1
1948

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 Clyfford Still (November 30, 1904- June 23, 1980) was an American painter, and one
of the leading figures in the first generation of Abstract Expressionists, who developed
a new, powerful approach to painting in the years immediately following World War II.

His works:

1957-D No.1, 1957 PH-118, 1947

Oil on Canvass

ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM IN THE PHILIPPINES

Abstract Expressionism in the Philippines developed in tandem with many post-World
War II movements that grew out the desire to remain current with international
artistic trends. Increased access to Western state grants and educational opportunities
in the Philippines’ former colonizing power, the United States, bought the American
movement to the Philippines where many of the country’s artists returned after
receiving an American education.

FILIPINO ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST

Jose T. Joya (June 3, 1931 – May 11, 1995)
was a Filipino abstract artist and National Artist
of the Philippines awardee. Joya was a
printmaker, painter, mixed media artist, and a
former dean of the University of the Philippines’
College of Fine Arts. He pioneered Abstract
Expressionism in the Philippines. His canvases
were characterized by “dynamic spontaneity”
and “quick gestures” of action painting.

Granadean Arabesque, Jose T. Joya

Alfonso A. Ossorio (August 2,

1916 – December 5, 1990) is a
Filipino American abstract
expressionist artist. He was close
friends with Jackson Pollock who
also served as his inspiration. He
often experimented with diverse
mediums and he often tried to
avoid the use of oil paint. Beach Comber (1953)
Oil on Canvass

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 Frederick Agustin is a Filipino Abstratc
Expressionist artist. His artworks are
described as “free from objects and
forms that define the physical world”.
They are also defined by layers of colors,
lines, and textures.

Desperate Joy
Oil on Canvass

What’s More

Directions: Identify the artist of the artworks below, title and style used.

Artist: _____________________________

Title: ______________________________

Style: ______________________________

Artist: _____________________________

Title: ______________________________

Style: ______________________________

Artist: _____________________________

Title: ______________________________

Style: ______________________________

What I Have Learned

• Abstract Expressionism as a
medium used by the American
painters to express their
experiences during World War II.
• A new and creative way of creating
an artwork.
• The birth of Abstract Expressionism
in the Philippines due to the
influence of United States.

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 What I Can Do

Art Time:
Directions: Create your own Abstract Expressionism artwork using the following
materials: ¼ illustration board, Large brush, any kind of paint. Give
your painting a title.

RUBRICS:

Very
Excellent Good Fair Poor
INDICATORS Good
5 3 2 1
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1. Artwork exhibits good
composition and design
elements.
2. Artwork exhibits good color
choice. Color is effective in
expressing the idea.
3. Work exhibits some level of
understanding in use of
materials, techniques, and
skill.
4. Artwork includes many
unique ideas with creative
execution of ideas.
5. Artwork is completed with
good effort, displaying
craftsmanship, and meeting
requirements.

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 Assessment

Directions: Circle the letter of your answer.

1. What artistic style is sometimes called “gestural abstraction”?
a. Color field painting c. Action painting
b. Expressionism d. Abstractionism
2. Who is the artist widely known for his technique of pouring and splashing paint on
his canvass?
a. Willem de Kooning c. Jackson Pollock
b. Mark Rothko d. Clyfford Still
3. Who is the pioneer in Abstract Expressionism in the Philippines and was awarded
as the National Artist of the Philippines?
a. Jose Joya c. Alfonso Ossorio
b. Frederick Agustin d. Juan Luna

4. What term was used to identify the new form of abstract art developed by the
American painters after World War II?
a. Abstract expressionism c. Cubism
b. Impressionism d. Surrealism

5. Which style of painting is Mark Rothko known for?

a. Action painting c. Non-objectivism
b. Color field painting d. Fauvism

6. Who is the Filipino abstract expressionist whose works were described as “free from
objects and forms that define the physical world”?
a. Jose Joya c. Fernando Amorsolo
b. Alfonso Ossorio d. Frederick Agustin

7. What city replaced Paris as the art center of the world during the Abstract
Expressionist movement?
a. London b. New York c. Italy d. Berlin

8. What war led to the movement of Abstract Expressionism?

a. World War I b. Civil War c. World War II d. Vietnam War

9. What made Willem de Kooning works different from the other Abstract
Expressionist?
a. He used aggressive brushwork and bold colors to create emotional, provocative
imagery.
b. He used subtle brushwork and an analogous color palette to create rhythm and
harmony.
c. He created a black and white underpainting first, and then layered patches of
color on top.
d. His paintings are existential in tone and content, explicitly composed with the
intention of communication a sense of locality, presence, and contingency

10. Whose painting is shown?

a. Jackson Pollock c. Barnett Newman
b. Jose Joya d. Clyfford Still

11. Which of the following is Jose Joya’s work?

a. Granadean Arabesque c. Beach Comber, 1953
b. Desperate Joy d. Onement I

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12. Which of the following paintings is an example of Color Field Painting?

a. b. c. d.
13. Who among the following artist DO NOT belong with the group?
a. Mark Rothko c. Jackson Pollock
b. Willem de Kooning d. Barnett Newman

14. What style of painting is characterized primarily by large fields of flat, solid color
spread across or stained into the canvas creating areas of unbroken surface and a
flat picture plane?
a. Action painting c. Color field painting
b. Mechanical style d. Non-objectivism

15. Which of the following painting belongs to Barnett Newman?

a. Desperate Joy c. Autumn Rhythm
b. CANTO VII d. Orange and Yellow

Additional Activities

Directions: Look at the painting below and answer the given questions.

1. What is the artwork all about?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. How did the artist present the artwork?

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________