The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock

Hans Burkhardt, After the Bomb, 1948

The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock
19 September - 13 December 2009
Whitworth Gallery, Manchester

I recently visited this exhibition in connection with our current Research Development module. This touring exhibition, put together by curator Stephen Coppel of the British Museum, features 147 works by 74 artists, the exhibition includes the work of John Sloan, Edward Hopper, Josef Albers, Louise Bourgeois, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning Jackson Pollock. The first half of the 20th century was a period of great change in America, and this exhibition examines American society and culture through the prints produced by some of the most important artists of the time.

I found a number of works in this exhibition inspiring, echoing the apocalyptic themes that are also present in my current project. Particularly the abstract impressionist piece After the Bomb by Hans Burkhardt, the large woodblock prints Hydrogen Man (1954) and Man of Peace (1952) by Leonard Baskin and Tranquillity (1936), an etching by Joseph Leboit.

Hydrogen Man (1954) by Leonard Baskin

On March 1, 1954, the U.S. exploded the first hydrogen bomb. In the same year, Leonard Baskin created this life-size woodblock print, Hydrogen Man. His apocalyptic vision of a mutilated, living skeleton warns of the imminent destruction of civilization. Baskin, who described himself as a "moral realist," believed the artist’s role was to be an observer, commentator and prophet. http://www.colorado.edu/cuartmuseum/xT_baskin.html

Tranquillity (1936), etching by Joseph Leboit.

Leboit questions the role of the artist in war, his above etching is a criticism of his peers: artists who, even in the face of a devastating war, still remain locked up in their studios, creating abstract art.

The refusal to acknowledge the outside world conflicts, LeBoit implies, can only lead to a false sense of tranquility and security. Not only does the artist’s self inflicted solitude rob his society of his ideas and influences, it will also result in his death once the planes outside the window reach him. http://artandsocialissues.cmaohio.org/web-content/pages/war_leboit.html