Abstract Expressionist postage stamps: Honor or oxymoron?
Untitled work by Mark Rothko, 1953
Jonathan Fineburg, a University of Illinois art history professor and the author of Art Since 1940, a text familiar to many college art history students, was selected to choose just 10 artworks for the U.S. Postal Service’s “Abstract Expressionists” stamps on sale today. He credits – here’s our MN connection – Joan “Joan of Art” Mondale with influencing the USPS’ decision to create this micro-exhibition. In a process that calls to mind shrinky-dinks, the expansive visions of Joan Mitchell, Willem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, Robert Motherwell and Hans Hoffman, Adolph Gottlieb, and Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko (but not the work in the Walker’s collection, picture here) have been distilled to postage-stamp size, presented together on a sheet meant to evoke a gallery installation.
Abstract Expressionist postage stamps: Honor or oxymoron? – http://bit.ly/aks15B
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Comment by walkerartcenter — March 11, 2010 at 3:50 pm
@katrinakaifreal http://bit.ly/aks15B i find this is cool.Ur cool 2. Thx 4 sharing ur facebook link,try to follow.Tc.
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Comment by joydeep003 — March 11, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Might mail something just to buy these. RT @walkerartcenter Abstract Expressionist postage stamps: Honor or oxymoron? – http://bit.ly/aks15B
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Comment by rkoski — March 11, 2010 at 4:10 pm
机上の研究者には違和感ないでしょうね RT Abstract Expressionist postage stamps: Honor or oxymoron? – http://bit.ly/aks15B
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Comment by kiyoria — March 11, 2010 at 6:43 pm
本とネットで絵を見る習慣の人には違和感ないでしょうね RT Abstract Expressionist postage stamps: Honor or oxymoron? – http://bit.ly/aks15B
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Comment by kiyoria — March 11, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Rothko on a stamp… RT @walkerartcenter: Abstract Expressionist postage stamps: Honor or oxymoron? – http://bit.ly/aks15B
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Comment by gregoryfoley — March 11, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Rothko on a stamp… RT @walkerartcenter: Abstract Expressionist postage stamps: Honor or oxymoron? – http://bit.ly/aks15B
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Comment by artspaceusa — March 11, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Honor or oxymoron? You’ve failed to make an argument one way or another. Also, I sense a tinge of Shrinky Dink resentment. It’s true, these works have travelled far from their original contexts, but so what? They’re history now. These images have been recycled on postcards, tshirts, mugs, notepads, calendars, blogs…what’s wrong with stamps? How could Abstract Expressionism possibly be more trivialized? For starters, Clement Greenberg and the rest of those goons got the ball rolling by calling it “Abstract Expressionism.”
Comment by JR — March 12, 2010 at 3:19 pm
You forgot to mention Clyfford Still among the stamps. Hmmm.
Comment by Todd — March 16, 2010 at 4:26 pm
I do agree that a strong argument for honor or oxymoron was not presented, but isn’t that ok? I think that it follows a strong tradition of art being subjective, in whatever context. I can see both sides of the story. It does take away from the glory of a huge painting to have it shrunk down to a very small size. The effect is not quite what the artist would go for I imagine. However, I think it is exciting that some strong contemporary artists will hopefully be represented in a good light to more of the public. I think it is a nice variety of artists that will display very diverse approaches to art. I feel like there can never be too much exposure to art, especially fine art (being a fine artist, I might be a bit biased here…). I personally really like unique and interesting stamps, especially if they pertain to something I am interested in, so go for it.
P.S. Shrinky dinks are awesome!
Comment by krista — March 23, 2010 at 12:29 pm
they’re just postage stamps!
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Comment by Tom — June 23, 2010 at 5:35 pm