What I Did Last Night

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is one of the pre-eminent modern art facilities anywhere in the world. They made their reputation by investing heavily in post World War II American art at a time when it wasn't entirely clear that the likes of Pollack, de Kooning, Motherwell, etc. were anything more than the flavor of the day. But the Abstract Expressionists have been a cornerstone of the Albright-Knox collection for almost 60 years, and the museum recently helped to curate a traveling exhibit called Action/Abstraction which has now made its way to Buffalo after being presented earlier in St. Louis and New York City. The primary focus is not just on the paintings and sculptures themselves, but also the critical support these artists received from such key figures as Harlod Rosenberg and Clement Greenberg (there's also a fair amount of material in the exhibit representing less supportive, and even satirical, takes on the movement many associated with merely flinging paint at a big canvas).

The artwork was great, and because it was a special evening in the exhibition, free. The "special" aspect of the night was a panel of presentations by some pretty significant art scholars on the Abstract Expressionist movement, with particular focus again on the relationship between the artists and the critics. I found a couple of the presentations a bit dry, but the other two were really interesting and funny and contributed to my appreciation of the work that much more. I was particularly taken with the connection made by Katy Siegel of Hunter College between the Abstract-Expressionists and punk. She made a strong case that the rejection of respectable society that we see breakling out in the 1970s really had its roots in the immediate post-war period (referencing things like motorcycle gangs and juvenile delinquency). The artists under discussion may not have been exactly punk, but were likely moved by a similar impulse towards unconventionality and provocation.

Richard Pousette-Dart, Fugue No. 2 1943

From the dicussion, I learned of a couple of painters I did not know about before who I'm looking forward to exploring in the future, namely Barnett Newman and Richard Pousette-Dart (one of whose works is seen above). All-in-all, it was an excellent evening back in Buffalo-- I'm looking forward to many more like it through the summer.