The Arts in the USA

As American culture evolved, American artists began to create their own art forms. The styles of American art are as diverse as the people. Just as there is no single ethnic group, there is also no single American style. American artists have been inspired by a variety or influences. Painters, sculptures, musicians and innovators in other fields have won fame both at home and abroad.

Until the 1940s, America's visual arts — painting and sculpture — were primarily influenced by European trends. American art, developed mainly through subject matter and skills, as artists, imitated the established styles of the European masters. The most significant developments in American art emerged in the years following the Second World War.

Abstract expressionism, which was begun by a group of New York artists in the 1940s, became the first American art movement to attract the attention of artists abroad. Abstract expressionism focused on such things as the utilization of space, dimension, the interrelationship of colours. The international influence of America's abstract expressionists was so great that the painting centre of the world shifted from Paris to New York. Among the movement's leaders were Jackson Pollack (1912-54), Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko.

During this period American sculpture developed new styles of their own. Alexander Calder (1898-1976) designed the mobile. David Smith (1906—65) was the first sculptor to work with welded metals.

The reaction to abstract expressionism continued with a movement called " pop art" (" pop" is short for " popular"). The members of this movement attempted to produce works of art that would reflect the pervasive influence of mass marketing, mass media and other trends in American popular culture. Important in the pop-art movement were Andy Warhol (1930-87), famous for his multiple rows of soup cans and multiple portraits of Marilyn Monroe; and Roy Lichtenstein, recognized for his mimicry of well-known comic strips.

Recent trends in art emphasize variety and innovation. Movements of the 1970s and 80s include performance art, earth art, conceptual art, graffiti art, neo- and figural-expressionism, and neo-geo art.

Unique forms and styles of music have been invented in America. Ragtime, blues, jazz, country-western, rock'n'roll, rock and the musical were all born in America.

Closely tied to developments in American music was modern dance, which emerged in America as a new art form early in the country. The first and most influential leader of the movement was Isadora Duncan (1878-1927). America's newest generation of modern dance choreographers includes Alvin Ailey whose style features African dance elements, and Twyla Tharp, who experiments with new areas for dance such as video and films.

In the past three decades dance, both ballet and modern, has been the most rapidly developing performing art in the nation. New York City has become the dance centre of the world.

Born in Hollywood after the turn of the century, the motion picture became the popular art form of the century. Audiences were charmed by westerns, gangster films, comedies, musicals.

 

1. How did the styles of American art develop? 2. What influenced the development of America's visual arts until the 1940s? 3. When did the most significant developments in American art emerge? 4. When did abstract expressionism begin to develop in America? 5. What artists were among the movement's leaders? 6. What unique forms and styles of music have been developed in America? 7. What do you know about American modern dance? 8. What was born in Hollywood?