Caroline Song-Looking Outwards 06

Helen Frankenthaler was one of the most prominent American artists in the twentieth century, her style being Abstract Expressionism. The painting of hers I am analyzing is called Mountains and Sea, which is her most famous painting, created in 1952.

With the creation of Mountains and Sea, Frankenthaler ushered in a new breakthrough in regards to American abstraction. She used a soak-stain technique, which requires the artist to thin out their paint using turpentine or kerosene, which allows the medium to seep through the canvas’ unprimed weaves.

I found this painting interesting because of the technique Frankenthaler used in order to achieve this look. While Jackson Polluck’s paintings, and a lot of other abstract artists depend on their own motion in order to create fluidity in their work, Frankenthaler used the paint to design such an organic feeling.

I am able to see Frankenthaler’s artistic sensibilities manifest through this technique where we see her trying to think differently than other abstract artists at the time while at the same time, still drawing inspiration from them. It is easy to see that she is truly trying to make her work her own.

I suppose there was no algorithm used in order to create this painting. The randomness of the paint and where it moves itself makes me believe there is no specific system and there is no way to fully control/predict what the painting was going to look like at the end.