American artists

Question 1

Alexander Calder

Answer 1

1898 - 1976
surrealism/contemporary
one of the most acclimed sculptors
madestabiles, wire sculptures, toys, theatrical sets, paintings, jewelery and mobiles, which he invented
some of the were really large, like “125” or “Spirale”
after he died he was awarded the Presidental Medal for Freedom, the highest civillian honor in the US
“Calder’s Circus”, “Flamingo”, “Lobster Trap and Fish Tail”

Question 2

Norman Rockwell

Answer 2

1894 - 1978
realism
profilic painter
worked for magazines like “The Saturday Evening Post” and “The Look”
painted the simple life in American small towns
pictured the four freedoms mentioned by FDR
art critics didn’t regard him as a serious painter
“The Problem We All Live With”, “Rosie the Riveter”, “Four Freedoms”

Question 3

Roy Lichtenstein

Answer 3

1923 - 1997
Pop art
criticized for his work, called a copycat because his works cloesly resembled the orignals
asked by The Life magazine if he was the worst artist in the US, replied that the closer his art is to the original, the more threatening and critical the content is
one of the leading artists in Pop Art
inspired by advertisments and comic strips
“WHAAM!”, “Drowning Girl”, “Oh, Jeff… I Love You, too… But…”

Question 4

Edwars Hopper

Answer 4

1882 - 1967
realism
in his art there is minimum action with almost no sign of life and motion
used dramatic means to suggest the psychological states of his subjects
his art revolved around the solitude of modern life, painted the most revealing portrait of America
his viewer has to play and active role as an narrator to complete his works
most famous realist painter in the US
“Nighthawks” (one of the most recognizable paintings in the history of american art), “Automat”, “New York Movie”

Question 5

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Answer 5

1960 - 1988
graffiti, neo-expressionism
worked under the pseudonym SAMO
rose to fame in early 1980s
focused on suggestive dichotiomies (two excluding things)
died from heroine overdose aged 27
“Scull”, “Trumpet”, “Flexible”

Question 6

Mark Rothko

Answer 6

1903 - 1970
surrealism, color field painting
Russian Jewish emmigrant
pioneer in color field painting (color is the subject itself)
said that he wasn’t an abstractionist
painting as a method of spiritual expression
most influential abstractionist of all time
“Orange, Red, Yellow”, “Untitled (Black on Gray)”, “No. 10”

Question 7

Keith Haring

Answer 7

1958 - 1990
graffiti
one of the most renowned graffiti artists, brought the “low art” into the “high art”
one arrested for vandalism
produced murals all over the world during 1980s, with his first exhibition in 1981
simple artworks with deep themes
“Crack is Wack”, “Tuttomondo”, “Free South Africa”

Question 8

Georgia O’Keeffe

Answer 8

1887 - 1986
american modernism (called the mother of it)
combines abstraction and representation
famous for her sensual like close-ups of flowers, which made them look abstract
most famous american female artist and one of the most influeantial figures of 20th century art
in 1977 awarded the Presidental Medal of Freedom
“Black Iris”, “Cow’s skull: Red, White and Blue”, “Radiator Building - Night, New York”

Question 9

Jackson Pollock

Answer 9

1912 - 1956
abstract expressionism (a very imporatant figure in this movement)
most famous drip painter
popularized action painting
the moust famous american abstract artist
died in a car accident in 1956
“Number 5”, “Number 11 (Blue Poles)”, “One: Number 31”

Question 10

Andy Warhol

Answer 10

1928 - 1987
Pop Art (best known and most influential pop artist)
full name - Andrew Warhola
also known as the “Pope of Pop”
the most famous american artist
profilic artist, used a lot of media like painting, silk-screening, photography, film and sculpture
so known in the american art world that Warhol became a household name
“Marylin diptych”, “Campbell’s Soup Can”, “Seven Elvises”