Synthetic April 11, 2009

In the 1960s, artists began to use a range of new products that changed the possibilities of painting and sculpture. Synthetic polymer paints -- popularly known as acrylics -- became the first widely used alternative to oil, a material that had dominated painting since the Renaissance. Unlike oil, these water-based colors dried quickly and to a uniform surface. Artists such as Morris Louis explored their physical properties, especially their ability to stain and be poured directly on raw canvas.