SUBJECTIVE CURRENTS IN AMERICAN PAINTING OF THE 1930S.
Item
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Title
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SUBJECTIVE CURRENTS IN AMERICAN PAINTING OF THE 1930S.
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Identifier
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AAI8319774
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identifier
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8319774
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Creator
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KAHAN, MITCHELL DOUGLAS.
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Contributor
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Milton Brown
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Date
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1983
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Fine Arts
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Abstract
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This dissertation explores the growth of a subjectively oriented art during the 1930s, art that reflects private considerations almost to the point of rejecting involvement with the American Scene. The artists examined share a commitment to a personal interpretation of their subjects, often emphasizing psychological phenomena or metaphysical speculation. Turning away from the external realities of American society of the 1930s, subjective art remains inner-directed; its primary purpose is to relate back to the artist himself rather than to the public.;After an introductory chapter that surveys both figurative and abstract subjective tendencies, the dissertation focuses on eight artists in the following four chapters. Ivan Albright and Edwin Dickinson are the subject of the second chapter, which explores an emotional, physically distorted approach to realism. The next chapter concentrates on the use of symbolism for both psychological and metaphysical purposes. The Los Angeles artists Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg are the focus of this chapter. An abstract manifestation of subjective painting is discussed in the fourth chapter, with the work of Arshile Gorky. The dissertation ends with a discussion of three artists who combined a subjective art with the more objective goals of social realism: Peter Bluem, O. Louis Guglielmi, and Walter Quirt. Throughout, the paper focuses on the meaning of the art itself rather than on stylistic sources.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Art History
