If you’ve ever taken an Art History Class, you may be familiar with some major Modern American artistic movements like abstract expressionism and pop art. You may have even heard of a few smaller movements including appropriation, installation art, or neo-expressionism. These were the big dogs that dominated the American art world since the 1940’s and still remain an unmovable influence on today’s art. During their popularity peaks, Abstract and Pop art in particular seemed to overshadow many other bouts of artistic expression. People adored the iconic, mass produced multicolor soup cans of Andy Warhol, to the bold and simple geometric squares of Kazimir Malevich. With the blow up of Pop and Abstract Art came the suppression of an older, “outdated” from of art: Figurativism. Figurativism is art that is clearly representational of a real, physical object. The main thesis of figurativism is that the overall subject of the work must be representational. Styles of figurative art can vary from person to person, and Pop Art itself can be considered a branch of figurativism. From Paleolithic cave art, to ancient Greek sculpture, to the classic nude painting, figurativism has been around since the beginning of art.
As such a foundational building block in the history of art, it’s baffling that people once tried to dismiss it altogether. From the Late 60’s to the 80’s and onward, groups of artists in America were determined to swim upstream amidst the waves of critics that deemed figurative expressionism and realism to be no longer relevant. Paul Georges helped found the Alliance of Figurative Artists in 1969, which aimed to challenge the viewpoint that insisted figurative art was lesser than abstract work.
“In a period when abstract expressionism was running high, it was a comfort to have a whole mess of guys doing figurative work.” –William Armstrong.
From the ashes of old fashioned figurative art birthed the Alliance of Figurative Artists in New York City. However, there were many artist’s who dissagreed with the notion, and took it upon themselves to keep the spirit of figurative art alive, as well as offer sanctuary to those who still believed that it was worth preserving. These artists focused on portraying people, landscapes, and the human condition; many of which were inspired by the old masters of figure painting like Titian and Michelangelo. While abstract art aimed to break free of its dependence on representational reality, figurative art embraced it. The art form highlighted and appreciated the most beautiful and relatable symptoms of the human condition: birth, growth, emotion, conflict, mortality, etc.
The Aliance of Figurative Artist’s was a safe haven for these artists to meet, talk about the problems and rewards of being an artist, and to all around enjoy eachothers company. The members of the Alliance agreed that figurative art must not be allowed to sink back into the mud, only to be remembered as a shadow of the great classical artists influence. The first few official meetings were held in artists' lofts and studios but was then moved to the the Educational Alliance at 197 East Broadway, NYC.
Hundreds of people would attend Alliance meetings in New York, with topics ranging from viewing and critiquing eachothers art, to guest speakers, group lessons, and even all out brawling over dissagreements. The entire Alliance served as a public forum for all to express their opinion and simply talk about anything regarding art. Along with the large number of atendees came a stunning disorganization, as the intelectual battles between people would be the main source of what drove people away. These artists were not above throwing a few punches to get their point across, though some of them may have just enjoyed a good old fashioned brawling.
Alliance member William Armstrong reminisces fondly about his time in the Alliance:
“You often think of artist’s as kind of hermits, always in their other world when in reality they can get into fights and squabbles, which was very fun for me to go to. It was a different world, and that was a great experience.”
Philip Pearlstein also describes what it felt like to attend meetings: “Between two and three hundred people showed up at these meetings. I started going there regularly. It was very exciting. All they wanted to do was to have panels and guest speakers, and just talk about the problems of figurative art representation, and the battles became terrific.”
Though Pop Art can be considered a type of figurative art, there were many people that held it on a pedestal of intelectualism and prestige. Abstact art itself was a direct challenger of figurativism, and with it also came those who claimed figurative art was “outdated.” However, despite the critics, figurativism endured the onslught of negativity. The Alliance of Figurative Art was a stronghold of stone that refused to be wheathered away by the currents of pop culture and abstractism. No more would they allow traditional figurative art to be quietly snuffed out as new “avant garde” movements rose to popularity. As a result there are many new and different forms of figurative art today, with innumerable different styles unique to each artist.
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