What is abstract expressionism? - Sarah Rosenthal

Translator: Sune Vilsted Østergaard Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

If you visit a museum with a collection of modern and contemporary art,

Hvis du besøger et museum med en samling af moderne og nutidig kunst,

you're likely to see works that sometimes elicit the response,

så vil du sandsynligvis se værker, der frembringer reaktionen,

"My cat could make that, so how is it art?"

"Min kat kunne lave det, så hvordan er det kunst?"

A movement called Abstract Expressionism, also known as the New York School,

En bevægelse kaldt abstrakt ekspressionisme, også kendt som 'the New York School',

gets this reaction particularly often.

får tit denne reaktion.

Abstract Expressionism started in 1943

Abstrakt ekspressionisme begyndte i 1943

and developed after the end of World War II.

og udviklede sig efter afslutningen på 2. verdenskrig.

It's characterized by large, primarily abstract paintings,

Det er karakteriseret af store, hovedsagligt abstrakte malerier,

all-over compositions without clear focal points,

heldækkende kompositioner uden klare fokuspunkter,

and sweeping swaths of paint embodying and eliciting emotions.

og fejende strøg af maling, der udtrykker og fremkalder følelser.

The group of artists who are considered Abstract Expressionists

Gruppen af kunsterne, som regnes for abstrakte ekspressionister

includes Barnett Newman with his existential zips,

inkluderer Barnett Newman med sine eksistentielle lynlåse-malerier,

Willem de Kooning, famous for his travestied women,

Willem de Kooning, berømt for sine forvrængede kvinder,

Helen Frankenthaler, who created soak-stains,

Helen Frankenthaler, som skabte suge-pletter,

and others.

og andre.

But perhaps the most famous, influential, and head-scratching one

Men den måske mest berømte, indflydelsesrige og hovedbrydende kunster

was Jackson Pollock.

var Jackson Pollock.

Most of his paintings are immediately recognizable.

Mange af hans malerier er genkendelige med det samme.

They feature tangled messes of lines of paint

De viser sammenfiltrede bunker af striber af maling,

bouncing around in every direction on the canvas.

der springer omkring i alle retninger på lærredet.

And sure, these fields of chaos are big and impressive,

Og ja, disse marker af kaos er store og imponerende,

but what's so great about them?

men hvad er det, der er så fedt ved dem?

Didn't he just drip the paint at random?

Dryppede han ikke bare maling rundt vilkårligt?

Can't anyone do that?

Kan alle ikke gøre det?

Well, the answer to these questions is both yes and no.

Svaret til disse spørgsmål er både ja og nej.

While Pollock implemented a technique anyone is technically capable of

Selvom Pollock implementerede en teknik, som alle teknisk set kan gøre

regardless of artistic training,

uanset kunstnerisk træning,

only he could have made his paintings.

så er det kun ham, der kunne have lavet sine malerier.

This paradox relates to his work's roots

Dette paradoks relaterer sig til hans arbejdets rødder

in the Surrealist automatic drawings of André Masson and others.

i de surrealistiske automatiske tegninger af André Masson og andre.

These Surrealists supposedly drew directly from the unconscious

Disse surrealister har efter sigende draget inspiration fra ubevidstheden

to reveal truths hidden within their minds.

for at afsløre sandheder skjult i deres sind.

Occasionally, instead of picturing something and then drawing it,

Nogle gange, i stedet for at forestille sig noget og derefter tegne det,

they let their hands move automatically

lader de deres hænder bevæge sig af sig selv

and would later tease out familiar figures that appeared in the scribbles.

og vil senere indtegne familiære figurere, som dukkede op i krusedullerne.

And after Pollock moved away from representation,

Og efter Pollock bevægede sig væk fra repræsentation,

he made drip, or action, paintings following a similar premise,

lavede han dryp eller action-malerier efter samme præmis,

though he developed a signature technique

selvom at han udviklede en signaturteknik

and never looked for images or messages hidden in the works.

og aldrig kiggede efter skjulte billeder eller budskaber i værkerne.

First, he took the canvas off of the easel and laid it on the floor,

Først tog han lærredet ned af staffeliet og lagde det ud på gulvet,

a subversive act in itself.

en revolutionær handling i sig selv.

Then, in a controlled dance, he stepped all around the canvas,

Derefter trådte han rundt omkring på lærredet i en kontrolleret dans,

dripping industrial paint onto it from stirrers and other tools,

og dryppede industriel maling på det ved hjælp af omrørere og andre genstande

changing speed and direction

med skiftende hastighed og retning

to control how the paint made contact with the surface.

for at kontrollere, hvordan maleriet havde kontakt med overfladen.

These movements, like the Surrealist scribbles,

Disse bevægelser, ligesom surrealist-krusedullerne,

were supposedly born out of Pollock's subconscious.

var efter sigende født af Pollocks underbevidsthed.

But unlike the Surrealists,

Men i modsætning til surrealisterne,

whose pictures represented the mind's hidden contents,

hvis billeder repræsenterede sindets skjulte indhold,

Pollock's supposedly made physical manifestations of his psyche.

så lavede Pollock angiveligt fysiske manifestationer af sin psyke.

His paintings are themselves signatures of his mind.

Hans malerier er dem selv signaturer af hans sind

In theory, anyone could make a painting that is an imprint of their mind.

I teorien så kunne enhver lave et maleri, der er et aftryk af deres sind.

So why is Pollock so special?

Så hvorfor er Pollock så speciel?

Well, it's important to remember that while anyone could have done what he did,

Det er vigtigt at huske på, at mens alle kunne have gjort ligesom ham,

he and the rest of the New York School were the ones who actually did it.

så var han og resten af the New York School de eneste som faktisk gjorde det.

They destroyed conventions of painting that had stood for centuries,

De ødelagde kunstneriske konventioner, der havde eksisteret for århundreder,

forcing the art world to rethink them entirely.

og tvang kunstverdenen til at fuldstændigt genoverveje dem.

But one last reason why Jackson Pollock's work has stayed prominent

Men den sidste grund til at Jackson Pollocks værker er forblevet iøjnefaldende

stems from the specific objects he made, which embody fascinating contradictions.

stammer fra de objekter, han brugte, som udtrykker fascinerende modsætninger.

For instance, while Pollock's process

For eksempel, mens Pollocks proces

resulted in radically flat painted surfaces,

resulterede i radikalt flade malede overflader,

the web of painted lines can create the illusion of an infinite layered depth

så kan nettet af malede linjer skabe illusionen om et uendeligt dybt lag,

when examined up close.

når man kigger nærmere.

And the chaos of this tangled mess seems to defy all control,

Og kaoset af dette sammenfiltrede rod synes at trodse al kontrol,

but it's actually the product of a deliberate,

men det er faktisk produktet af en bevidst,

though not pre-planned, process.

omend ikke planlagt proces.

These characteristics made Pollock into a celebrity,

Disse karakteristika gjorde Pollock berømt,

and within art history,

og indenfor kunsthistorie,

they also elevated him to the mythified status

ophøjede de ham til den mytiske status

of the genius artist as hero.

som genial kunster og helt.

So rather than evening the playing field for all creative minds,

Så i stedet for at skabe lige vilkår for alle kreative sjæle,

his work unfortunately reinforced a long-standing elitist aspect of art.

så forstærkede hans værker et langvarigt elitært aspekt af kunst.

Elitist,

Elitært,

innovative,

nytænkende,

whatever you choose to call it,

hvad end man kalder det,

the history embedded in Abstract Expressionism

så er den abstrakte ekspressionismes historie

is one that no cat, however talented, can claim.

noget som ingen kat, uanset hvor talentfuld, kan gøre krav på.