Feminism

Although a difficult read, i do agree with most of the concepts Griselda Pollock conveys in "Painting, Feminism, History" but there were some exceptions which i felt were rather exaggerated. For example her views on Jackson Pollock's works, saying "Do Pollock’s slashing and throwing of paint, his gyrations around a supine canvas, enact a macho assault upon an imaginary, feminine body?”. To question whether Jackson Pollock was imagining himself assaulting a female body whilst painting, in my opinion, is just a ridiculous assumption. I am aware that Pollock's paintings are open to interpretation but in no way can i find anything to suggest anti-female intent. I also don't believe that just because a male does something, doesn't necessarily mean that is a manly act, although that seems to be prominent idea of Griselda's.
I believe that feminism today is different to that of feminism 30 or 40 years ago. Today it is more like humanism as the inequalities between male and female are far less troubling than that of people in third world countries compared to first world. When looking at specific areas in isolation, for example a middle class male and female in Australia or America, Feminism is much less relevant today than in the past, with women having equal rights and much more dominance in the workplace.
Feminism in art is extremely effective in conveying and broadcasting female opinions due to its highly political and controversial nature. Feminist art such as that of the Guerrilla Girls can be seen as the start of a large scale change in traditional ideas and the continuity of such works will only increase the dominance of women in the art world in years to come.

Abstract Expressionism

I must admit I could not and still do not understand Clement Greenburg's 'Modernist Painting', although not through lack of trying. His writing is far above the level of a student freshly out of yr 12 bottom English, such as myself, but i will try to reveal the small amount took from it.
The Abstract expressionist movement came at a time when the American economy was flourishing due to the end of WWII and secured New York City as center of Western art. According to Greenburg, artists of this time were steering away from the three dimensional form as to try and achieve "purity" through two-dimensionality as that is a characteristic that painting shares with no other art form. Greenburg says "One is made aware of the flatness of their pictures before, instead of after, being made aware of what the flatness contains. Whereas one tends to see what is in an Old Master before seeing it as a picture...". To me this is the definition of modernist abstract expressionism, or at least the difference between the latter and previous movements.
Through Jackson Pollock, Robert Hughes' "An Empire of Signs" regards abstract expressionism as an art form which lets the artist paint within their primal instincts in a very primitive way. Pollock says he wishes to "be nature, not just paint it" and though some may see nothing more than random brush strokes, to many it is undeniable that the sense of nature comes through in his work. Clement Greenburg even described him as the "best living American artist". Jackson Pollock was very influential to aspiring expressionists as he unlocked a whole new world with his fresh ideas of surface and touch.