Silent Generation Research Paper
Art and Graphic Design in the Silent Generation
Reaching adulthood between 1946-1963, the Silent Generation had witnessed the Great Depression and World War II in their youth. Following the Greatest Generation and all their accomplishments, the Silent Generation had big shoes to fill, but they preferred to consume rather than create. Although it was named the Silent Generation, not all the generation were silent,” there were some loud people of this Generation that spoke out for civil and women’s rights and would inspire the generation and future generations to come. However, the term Silent Generation was because they were a cautious, unadventurous and withdrawn generation, with no real power or agenda, they rather lived a conservative lifestyle. …show more content…
Similar to Pollock, de Kooning painted with aggressive paint strokes, but “maintained a commitment to the figurative tradition” (Artsy) where Pollock was straying away from the form. De Kooning’s study of the female figure created a controversial body of work, known as his “Women” Paintings. The writer who wrote the catalogue for de Kooning’s show in Venice in 1954, “described them in terms that revealed a clear engagement with the Jungian archetypes so prevalent within the 1950’s constructions with gender, while simultaneously identifying the ‘Women’ with violence and destruction” (Barber, pg. 14). The violence and destruction could be seen with his use of sharp motioned strokes on the canvas. MoMA best describes his emotions behind the painting as a reflection of “the age–old cultural ambivalence between reverence for and fear of the power of the feminine.” This was a period where there were clearly defined gender roles, but also at the same time, they were being protested through woman’s rights activists. I feel this is what MoMA was describing, he was respecting both the women and fearing their power. Women had achieved so much up to this point, proving they are stronger and stronger in each generation, and although they were pressured to stay at home, there is strength required to raise children and a husband as well as the strength that women had to argue the gender
Reaching adulthood between 1946-1963, the Silent Generation had witnessed the Great Depression and World War II in their youth. Following the Greatest Generation and all their accomplishments, the Silent Generation had big shoes to fill, but they preferred to consume rather than create. Although it was named the Silent Generation, not all the generation were silent,” there were some loud people of this Generation that spoke out for civil and women’s rights and would inspire the generation and future generations to come. However, the term Silent Generation was because they were a cautious, unadventurous and withdrawn generation, with no real power or agenda, they rather lived a conservative lifestyle. …show more content…
Similar to Pollock, de Kooning painted with aggressive paint strokes, but “maintained a commitment to the figurative tradition” (Artsy) where Pollock was straying away from the form. De Kooning’s study of the female figure created a controversial body of work, known as his “Women” Paintings. The writer who wrote the catalogue for de Kooning’s show in Venice in 1954, “described them in terms that revealed a clear engagement with the Jungian archetypes so prevalent within the 1950’s constructions with gender, while simultaneously identifying the ‘Women’ with violence and destruction” (Barber, pg. 14). The violence and destruction could be seen with his use of sharp motioned strokes on the canvas. MoMA best describes his emotions behind the painting as a reflection of “the age–old cultural ambivalence between reverence for and fear of the power of the feminine.” This was a period where there were clearly defined gender roles, but also at the same time, they were being protested through woman’s rights activists. I feel this is what MoMA was describing, he was respecting both the women and fearing their power. Women had achieved so much up to this point, proving they are stronger and stronger in each generation, and although they were pressured to stay at home, there is strength required to raise children and a husband as well as the strength that women had to argue the gender