How the CIA Stole AbEx Art
Thumbnails of my comics journalism project.
This is the true story of how the CIA secretly funded and promoted Abstract Expressionist Art in the heat of the Cold War. Through a number of fronts, including art journals, foundations, and museums, the agency aimed to establish an entirely American and entirely dominant art form that was not beholden to European influence, and that could stand in contrast with Soviet Realist art. This raises questions about the true independence of artists once thought (and still thought) radical. And does art belong to the people, the artists, or someone else?
This is the true story of how the CIA secretly funded and promoted Abstract Expressionist Art in the heat of the Cold War. Through a number of fronts, including art journals, foundations, and museums, the agency aimed to establish an entirely American and entirely dominant art form that was not beholden to European influence, and that could stand in contrast with Soviet Realist art. This raises questions about the true independence of artists once thought (and still thought) radical. And does art belong to the people, the artists, or someone else?