Abstract
Expressionism
Abstract Expressionism, the major modern art movement in the United States after the Second World War, catapulted American artists to the forefront of the art world. New York replaced Paris as the world art center and the Abstract Expressionist artists who worked in the city became known as members of the New York School.
While post-war painters including Jackson Pollock, Willem DeKooning, and Robert Motherwell shared the spotlight, the era's sculptors received only modest critical and popular acclaim. One of the movements most influential and prolific sculptors was the New York native, Seymour Lipton (1903-1986).
Although Lipton has been viewed primarily as a technical innovator for his employment of the rust-proof alloy called Monel, his works derived from the broader context of post-war American society. The best known scholarly investigations of Lipton's work devote attention to his studio practices and his innovative method of constructing large-scale metal sculpture.
(click image for
enlarged view.
courtesy of the Pennsylvania
State University)
Post-War
Art Themes
Producing works grounded in the thematic fabric of the post-war period, Seymour Lipton's sculptural themes closely parallel those of the "giants" of Abstract Expressionist painting such as Adolph Gottlieb, Mark Rothko, and Barnett Newman. Lipton had a strong aesthetic and contextual link to the intellectual circles active in New York during the 1940s and 1950s. His educated manner, diverse interests, and broad-based subject matter sustained him for sculptural ideas throughout his long career.
Seymour
Lipton
Lipton was interested in art as an adolescent. Although his high school teachers wanted Lipton to pursue art, his parents encouraged him in his decision to study electrical engineering at the Brooklyn Polytechnical Institute and later to pursue a course of study in the liberal arts at New York's City College. After college, Lipton continued his education in the field of dentistry. In 1927, Lipton graduated from Columbia University's dental school with and shortly thereafter established a successful practice in his native New York City.
In the late 1920s, Lipton became interested in a period of intense self-training in sculpture. By 1932, Lipton had worked primarily in carved wood and produced many carved pieces. His early wood pieces showed similarities to the artistic production of the American direct carvers. Lipton's works depicted the struggles of the common man and other social realist themes. Lipton made powerful sculptural forms of the working class experience.
Penn
State Exhibition Information
Abstract Expressionist sculptor, Seymour Lipton (American, 1903-1986)
was the focus of a major retrospective exhibition organized by the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State University, University Park, PA from January 20 through June 4, 2000. Dr. Lori, Director of
Masterpiece Technologies Inc. in New Hope, PA
and an American art scholar worked as the guest curator for the exhibition entitled
Seymour Lipton: American Sculptor.
Accompanied by both an exhibition catalogue and a hard cover book written by Dr.
Lori, the exhibition
was the focus of an educational symposium on post-war sculpture at Penn State
University on April 8, 2000.
For the first time, a major museum exhibition
survey the thematic issues facing the Abstract Expressionist sculptors. Lipton's work is defined within the context of the major American art movement of Abstract Expressionism. This exhibition
included works by the master from the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Yale University Art Gallery and numerous private collections including the collection of James R. and Barbara R. Palmer.
Contact us
with questions or
comments about the exhibition.
From the Director
Seymour
Lipton, Spring Ceremonial 1:11
Interview,
Dr. Lori on Lipton, p.1 9:21
Audio courtesy of WDIY-FM and Musings' Kenn Michael
Interview,
Dr. Lori on Lipton, p.2 9:19
Audio courtesy of WDIY-FM and Musings' Kenn Michael
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