A documentary film about postwar American painting combines footage of museum shows with interviews with the artists themselves. Besides covering Abstract Expressionism in depth, the film discusses other significant 20th-century art movements, such as color-field painting and Pop Art.
Likely the best most informative film on the birth of American Abstract Expressionism. Artists appearing in the film are Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Helen Frankenthaler, Frank Stella, Barnett Newman, Hans Hofmann, Jules Olitski, Philip Pavia, Larry Poons, Robert Motherwell and Kenneth Noland.
It covers the American art movement beginning at post WWII through the 1960’s with Andy Warhol. The entire film was superb, you had the opportunity to visit the artist’ work space and listen to their thoughts on art and how they came upon their individual styles.
No actors, no stand-in, and it’s not a biography. The actual artist is who you watched and heard speak. Each artist interviewed were captivating but the most interesting segments included Barnett Newman and Robert Motherwell. I later found out Barnett Newman studied Philosophy at City College of New York while Robert Motherwell studied Philosophy at Stanford University. When you listen to both speak in contemplative, rational and stoic terms, it all makes sense.
It was fascinating to learn the what, the how, and the why of their work/life. For Abstract Artists, we can thank that entire generation of artists that opened the door. We can thank them for making the general public aware that art is more than a misty morning bridge or bright red apple or exquisite portrait painting. It’s the best film I’ve seen and the only other one I really like, The Mystery of Picasso, but that’s for another post.
Abstract Expressionism is a term applied to a movement in American painting that flourished in New York City after World War II, sometimes referred to as the New York School or, more narrowly, as action painting. The varied work produced by the Abstract Expressionists resists definition as a cohesive style; instead, these artists shared an interest in using abstraction to convey strong emotional or expressive content. MOMA
As of this writing I cannot find any free streaming, but this is a good trailer, it’s the only trailer/excerpt I found. I first watched the movie years ago on Prime free and decided to buy it and I watch it over again when I’m out of fresh ideas and inspiration.
**Side Note – Since watching he movie, I have tracked Frank Stella’s work through the years and amazed how his work morphed from extreme minimalism to the opposite end, where he now describes himself a maximalist. Frank Stella through the years
In May, newly drafted Pittsburgh Steelers offensive guard Gennings Dunker amused Pittsburgh residents during a news segment, asking whether it was OK to swim in the rivers or eat the fish he planned to catch.
The live reaction – surprise, laughter and more than a little uncertainty about the right answer – revealed something the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory encounters regularly in its public outreach: Many Pittsburghers aren’t sure whether their rivers are safe. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jB9zs62YPfY?wmode=transparent&start=0 New Steeler Gennings Dunker shares his hopes that Pittsburgh’s rivers are good for swimming and fishing.
Pennsylvania residents have a legal right to fishable, swimmable waterways – a standard the rivers of Pittsburgh have not always met.
As an associate professor of geology and environmental science, I study how human activity reshapes waterways and urban landscapes. My field work with the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory tracks changes in the city’s streams and rivers over time.
The 3 rivers are improving
Fifty years ago, a fish population survey caught all of the fish in the Braddock Locks, one of the nine organizational structures of the Monongahela River, and found a single fish. One fish.
In 2010, during a similar survey, over 23,000 fish, including 32 different species, were found.
That recovery is significant, though fish populations alone don’t determine whether a river is safe for swimming.
“Swimmable” waters are a technical designation decided by regulators – primarily the Environmental Protection Agency and Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection – who estimate contamination thresholds above which swimming poses a meaningful health risk. Below those thresholds, a body of water is considered safe – though individuals still make their own calculations.
Pittsburgh’s rivers are a challenge
Dunker played college football in Iowa City, so the Iowa River offers a useful comparison. It has its own water quality problems, including dissolved nitrogen from fertilizer runoff and hog waste. But in this case, nitrogen is primarily a concern if you’re drinking the water, not swimming in it.
Whether a river is officially “swimmable” and whether you want to swim in it are two different questions.
Pittsburgh’s situation is more complicated, and it comes down to sewage.
The city has inherited hundreds of sewer overflow points throughout the city’s three rivers – the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio. There are hundreds of points in the sewer network where heavy rain pushes a mixture of stormwater and raw sewage directly into the water. The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, or ALCOSAN, is the regional sanitary authority. It says overflows can occur with as little as a tenth of an inch of rain.
The potential for exposure to raw sewage makes rivers in the ALCOSAN service area unswimmable for at least 48 hours after rainstorms. The consequences of this are historically well documented.
In 2002, a city councilor promoting the Pittsburgh Triathlon had to swap the swim leg for a bike leg after an overflow. In 2013, triathlon racers reportedly fell ill after competing following a storm. The 2016 triathlon became a “duathlon” – the swimming portion was canceled entirely.
ALCOSAN warns of overflow impacts with orange flags at key points along the rivers. Swimming during these periods carries a meaningful risk of raw sewage exposure. For more precise information, Three Rivers Waterkeeper, a nonprofit that helps protect and restore the water quality of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers and their surrounding watersheds, samples the rivers and tributaries weekly each summer as part of its Swim Guide program.
Ultimately, ALCOSAN is working toward making overflows rare, though their planning horizon for these efforts stretches to 2046.
Even if Dunker retires as a beloved Steeler, the rivers at that point will likely still be unswimmable after rainstorms.
When is it safe to swim?
Even during dry stretches, Pittsburgh’s rivers carry the legacy of their industrial past.
Abandoned coal mines and slag piles – mountains of waste left over from steel, mining and coal operations – continue to contribute dissolved materials to southwestern Pennsylvania waters. And like nitrogen, their risks to a swimmer aren’t well understood. People are left making a personal call without much guidance.
Fishing has clearer direction. Pennsylvania issues specific advisories on how much fish you can safely eat from a given stretch of river. These advisories account for that lingering contamination.
The three rivers define Pittsburgh, but swimming in them remains complicated. AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
Dunker’s enthusiasm for the possibility of fishable, swimmable rivers shows us what could be.
Those who have lived in Pittsburgh for years have witnessed incidents, including oil spills and sewage overflows, that invite skepticism about river safety. But as we witness the city’s rivers steadily improve, some of us wonder whether they indeed will be fishable and swimmable in the near future.
The march toward cleaner, healthier rivers continues, and I believe joyous optimism like Dunker’s fuels this progress. But until we get there, Pittsburghers will all experience periods where we cannot freely fish or swim in the rivers that define the city.
