Teaching AP* Art History



Teaching AP* Art History

Chapter Guide to Gardner’s 12th Edition

Chapter 34

From the Modern to the Postmodern and Beyond

Art of the Later 20th Century

1.Lecture Strategies and Key Ideas. This chapter introduces the art that followed World War II. The art that followed this “changed world” was itself changed. The center of Western art was firmly placed in New York and American artists predominated “in world markets.” Modernism increasingly identified with Formalism, an emphasis on the art’s visual elements rather than on its subject matter, and this trend led to “Postmodernism” a term that even the text admits is beyond a strict definition other than to say it is an outlook that accepts all work. It is, as the text says, an outlook that grew out of a “naïve and optimistic popularism.”

Within the Modernist Formalism is the abstract expressionism of Jackson Pollock (FIG. 34-4) whose direct painting method opened the door to more experimenting with the abstract, as seen in the portraits by de Kooning. Another trend was the “Post-Painterly Abstraction” found in the works of Frank Stella and the “Color-Field painting” of Helen Frankenthaler, and Minimal Art, perhaps the logical conclusion of these trends that emphasized flatness and planes. (The power of such minimal art is evident in Maya Lin’s “Vietnam Wall” and discussed on page 1044.) Another expression ultimately led to “Non-Art” art, as in Eva Hesse’s “Hang-Up” (FIG. 34-19).

Performance Art explored the mixing of conventional media with the performing arts while Conceptual Art led artists to ask for answers to questions not previously asked by the art world. (E.g., Kosuth’s “One and Three Chairs” and Bruce Nauman’s “The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths.”) On the other hand, some artists made “art for the public,” as the pop artists Hamilton and Johns and Rauschenberg

“Heads Up.” The great number of artists and styles and movements presented in this chapter can be daunting. The lack of historical perspective makes it difficult to pinpoint which art will prove enduring. However, students do not need to memorize all the artists and images in the chapter. While they can appreciate the works, they will likely be asked in the AP* Exam to discuss only a small portion of the presented works. As a general guide for them and the teacher, use the abbreviated “Key Images” listed below.

Gender. Students should know the work of Helen Frankenthaler. (FIG. 34-12) and Cindy Sherman (FIG. 34-61) whose unique works demonstrate the place women have in late 20th century art.

Human Body. There is ample opportunity to discuss the human body in late 20th century art. Perhaps the most promising for students might be Giacometti’s “Man Pointing” (FIG. 34-3) or the “existential” portraits of women by de Kooning. (FIG.34-6).

2. Key Vocabulary.

Modernism Formalism Postmodernism Modernist Formalism abstract expressionism

Post-Painterly Abstraction Color-Field painting Minimal Art “Non-Art” Performance Art Conceptual Art

Pop Art Earth Art

3. Key Images from Gardner’s Art Through the Ages. [Image numbers from 12th ed.]

Artist Gardner Subject Key Idea

FIG. Number

Bacon 34-1 Painting brutality of war

Giacometti 34-3 Man Pointing existential human

Pollock 34-4 Number 1, 1950 abstract expression

De Kooning 34-6 Woman I raw abstraction

Rothko 34-8 No. 14 meaning in color

Smith 34-9 Cubi XIX stainless steel weld

Stella 34-11 Nunca Pasa Nada purity of paint

Smith 34-14 Die minimal art

Lin 34-16 Vietnam Wall power of minimal

Hesse 34-19 Hang Up “Non-Art” art

Kosuth 34-25 Chairs conceptual art

Nauman 34-26 The True Artist… conceptual art

Hamilton 34-27 Just What… pop art

Johns 34-28 Flag commonly seen

Rauschenberg 34-29 Canyon combines media

Lichtenstein 34-30 Hopeless art in cartoons

Warhol 34-31 Green Coca-Cola repetition is art

Warhol 34-32 Marilyn Diptych mass culture

Flack 34-36 Marilyn superrealism

Smithson 34-37 Spiral Jetty earth art

Wright 34-41 Guggenheim organic forms

Le Corbusier 34-42 N-D du-Haut sculpted forms

Rohe & Johnson 34-46 Seagram Bldg steel and glass

Johnson & Burgee 34-49 AT&T classic elements

Rogers & Piano 34-52 Pompidou Center deconstruction

Chicago 34-59 Dinner Party celebrating women

4. Quizzes, Tests and Study Materials

Be sure to reference the general art resources available for this Gardner book at From here there are online quizzes, a complete study guide, Internet activities, vocabulary flashcards, and more.

Website(s). Good sources of online websites that contains images for all Art History are found at

and at



See also:

for more on Jackson Pollock and abstract expressionism;

for more on Mark Rothko;

for Jasper Johns.

5. Questions: Each chapter of Gardner’s Art Through the Ages textbook has a corresponding quiz and test in the “Instructor’s Manual.” The CD-ROM allows teachers to choose which questions to use and to create and print quizzes and tests.

Essay Questions.

1. Show Jackson Pollock, “Number 1, 1950” (34-4)

Question: What method of painting did the artist use when creating this painting. What stylistic qualities break from previous traditions in painting? (5 minutes.)

Students should know this work and discuss "abstract expressionism" and Pollock's unique style of applying paint to his canvas.

2. Show Mark Rothko, “No. 14” (FIG. 34-8).

Question: Identify the American who painted this piece. In what ways are color and shape used to suggest a mood?

Students might discuss the "color field" theory of Rothko's minimal art.

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