Neo-Expressionism (c. 1980s CE)
By the end of the 1970s a movement emerged that threw out the cool ideas of Minimalism and embraced the impassioned emotions of Expressionism (a German art movement of the early 1900s). Neo-Expressionism resurrected what Minimalism attempted to kill. In an essay cataloging her work at the Danforth Museum in 2005, Joan Snyder, artist of Lady Labyrinth, proclaimed, "At the height of the Pop and Minimal movements, we were making. . .art that was personal, autobiographical, expressionistic, narrative and political." While Minimalism attempted to strip away personal feelings, autobiographical content became a hot subject in the Neo-Expressionist movement. Art that incorporated Neo-Expressionist ideas is often characterized by the raw and sensual handling of mediums, social protest, and the attempt to make abstract emotions tangible.
Joan Snyder's paintings are more than just paint on canvas; they are more like objects. Joan Snyder's active role in feminist groups and difficult life experiences led her to express her convictions by tearing, slashing, stuffing and sewing on her canvases. For Lady Labyrinth, Snyder assembled a collage of plastic grapes, reflective metallic powder, and velvet textile fragments on canvas to construct an abstracted female nude. Due to the subject matter and expression, some consider the content to be sexually charged.
Lady Labyrinth, 1989
Joan Snyder, America (born 1940)
Mixed media on canvas
60 inches H; 60 inches D
Museum purchase with assistance from Museum of Art Alliance and the National Endowment
1991.004.000
World Events
1974 Nixon resigns from office.
1981 MTV debuts on television.
1989 Berlin Wall is destroyed.
1997 The first adult mammal (Dolly the sheep) is cloned in Scotland.
2003 Iraq War begins.
DARCY DISCUSSES: ARTIST'S THOUGHTS
According to an article written by Carlene Meeker for Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia, Joan Snyder is quoted, "I felt like my whole life, I had never spoken . . . had never been heard . . . had never said anything that had any meaning. When I started painting, it was like speaking for the first time."
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