William Baziotes
Baziotes' early career demonstrates
just how large a role Surrealism played in the formation of the painters who
would later be called Abstract Expressionists. One of Baziotes' early group
shows was the First Papers of Surrealism exhibition in New York in 1942.
Surrealism argued for a reliance on "automatic" gestures, random
marks or brushstrokes that bypassed the rational intentions of the artist. In
this way, deeper, psychic meanings could be expressed. The Chilean Surrealist
painter Roberto Matta was a big proponent of automatic painting, incorporating
drips, swirls, and other "accidents" into his abstract compositions,
and he exerted a large influence on Baziotes.
This interest in the psychic and subconscious dimension also manifested itself
in the odd, lyrical forms that populate Baziotes' paintings. These range from
irregular geometric star and flower shapes, often with black contours in the
early work, to smooth and glowing abstracted figures in the later work. To some
extent these forms derive from Surrealism and other European influences - the
French painter Joan MirĂ³ in particular was an inspiration. But it was also part
of a distinctly Abstract Expressionist riff on such traditions. Many New York
painters, including Baziotes, Adolph Gottlieb, Clyfford Still, and Mark Rothko
turned to what they deemed primitive or mythological forms in an attempt to get
at a more universal significance. The modern world, rife with superficial
distractions and the terrors of war, Depression, and nuclear threat, offered
little in the way of meaningful subject matter. Mythic tales and ideographic
forms, by contrast, had been means of human expression since time immemorial. -
See more at this link.
- See more at: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-baziotes-william.htm#sthash.QtN2m9iC.dpuf
- See more at: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-baziotes-william.htm#sthash.QtN2m9iC.dpuf
Comments