Satirical Dissent: The Subversive Messaging of Ad Reinhardt’s 1946 and 1961 Art Comics How to Look at Modern Art in America

Author

Julie A. Schumacher, CUNY City CollegeFollow

Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Art History

First Advisor

Lise Kjaer

Second Advisor

Craig Houser

Keywords

art history, socialism, cartoon, revisionist history, Cold War, anticapitalism

Abstract

Through a close analysis of Ad Reinhard's 1946 and 1961 art comics "How to Look at Modern Art in America,” examined in the context of their times, this paper will argue that Reinhardt’s idealist view and involvement with abstraction, as he saw it in its “purest” form, was intrinsically formed and shaped by his Marxist anticapitalistic perspectives in response to his concurrent time. When these works are examined through the lens of Reinhard’s socialist politics, a parallel narrative surfaces where “pictures artists” also signifies capitalism and its capacity to harmonize and contaminate.

Recommended Citation

Schumacher, Julie A., "Satirical Dissent: The Subversive Messaging of Ad Reinhardt’s 1946 and 1961 Art Comics How to Look at Modern Art in America" (2022). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/994