*Abstract Expressionism (1940s–1950s, SF Bay Area: Richard Diebenkorn early works, Clyfford Still, Hassel Smith, etc.)

-Prioritized emotion over narrative

-Often non-figurative: color, gesture, scale, and brushstroke conveyed feeling

-Large canvases could overwhelm the viewer with pure energy

-Emphasis on the act of painting as performance

*Bay Area Figurative Movement (mid-1950s–1970s: Diebenkorn later, Elmer Bischoff, David Park)

-Reacted against pure abstraction

-Reintroduced human figures and narrative, but often with looser, painterly brushwork

-Figures often simplified, partially abstracted, integrated into expressive compositions

-Sought to balance emotional intensity with recognizable forms

Cucaro was in a period and place where both movements were in conversation, and he clearly absorbed elements of each—but applied them differently.

Cucaro’s approach in People-People

a. Abstracted Figures

Individual figures in People-People are often simplified:

-Faces and limbs hinted at rather than fully rendered

-Bodies blend into brushstroke, color, and shape

-This abstraction allows viewers to project themselves or others onto the scene

Relationship to contemporaries:

-Like Bay Area Figurative painters, Cucaro retained recognizable human form.

-Unlike many figurative painters, he rarely emphasized individual psychology—figures are modes of social energy, not portraits.

-Unlike pure Abstract Expressionists, Cucaro’s abstraction serves narrative/communal meaning, rather than existing for emotional intensity alone.

b. Abstract Backgrounds

-Crowds exist in blurred, expressive spaces

-Backgrounds may dissolve into color fields or energetic brush strokes

-Gives the impression that the crowd is floating in a social, almost metaphysical space

Comparison:

-Abstract Expressionists might do something similar, but the abstraction often dominates the subject.

-Cucaro’s abstraction supports the figures, rather than replaces them. It amplifies mood, energy, and movement.

-Bay Area Figurative painters often used detailed backgrounds; Cucaro’s is looser, which makes his paintings feel both figurative and abstract simultaneously.

Partial Abstraction as a Bridge

Cucaro’s style can be seen as a hybrid response to the dueling currents around him.

This partial abstraction also keeps the work modern without turning it into pure figuration or literal realism. It’s a dance between empathy for the individual and energy of the collective.