MCM wall art help??  

Mondrian
MJ, Mondrian is easy to simulate, plus you could paint the rectangles in your own color scheme. Also, his paintings remind me of the Eames ESU.

chicken or the egg
Actually, since Mondrian is older, it should be the other way around, i.e. the ESU reminds me of Mondrian.

I filled my walls
with Nelson clocks and a couple of Curtis Jere-ish metal wall sculptures.
I was going to get a couple of quality art prints (a Van Gogh or something like that) but those prints are pricey.

Mondrian
MJ, here's a good one.

Marimekko
You could paint Marimekko style fabric panels which are fun like these.
http://www.marimekko.fi/ENG/interior/fabric/etusivu/frontpage.htm

Unless you are an artist...
Unless you are an artist yourself, I would strongly suggest buying art that you like. I don't pay too much attention to "style" per se. You can often buy nice screen prints from local graphic designers for a low price. One of my favorites ....
http://pushmepullyoudesign.com/

take your blank canvas
and place down as your door mat. If no inspiration comes to you within one week, your finished, simply hang on the wall, and now your footprints stained upon the canvas have become your art.
If you want to ad a little color and variation, wear different shoes daily and trek through mud, grass, etc. On the last day go barefoot and wipe your feet hard before entering.

i thank you for that,...
i thank you for that, confucious
and always remember this
Man who walk through airport turnstile sideways going to Bangkok.

Making a "Mondrian" or...
Making a "Mondrian" or Calder is no different than making a copy of an Eames lounge. Buy what you like. It doesn't have to be expensive. Blank walls are better than walls with bad DIY versions of fine art.
How about taking one hundred photographs and picking the ones that come out well and blowing them up? Photography is often overlooked for large scale decor.

Art is not something
that one puts on their walls to complete a "look", unless your are dressing a stage set for a "period" piece like AMC's "Mad Men". It should be something you enjoy looking at and has meaning for you.
Of course if you are furnishing and designing your home to be an exact replica of a magazine layout from a particular period, then go for it. Personally I like to be surrounded by art that has meaning for me. That said, some work does seem incongruent for a particular interior decor. Say, cowboy art against a backdrop of sleek modern furniture takes some doing to "pull off", often it looks somewhat disjointed and out of place.
In the end you have to live with it so it should be something you like versus something recommended or prescribed.

I agree with the buy art...
I agree with the buy art work that calls to you theory. I think is a mistake to pick/buy art because it matches your furniture or goes well with the color of your walls. There is actually a very funny story about this in David Sedaris' new book, "When You Are Engulfed in Flames"
The moral, buy art that you can afford, that you love/like and it will find a home in your home

Matching
Funny story re: buying things to match color scheme. I once owned a bookstore and as you well know, big arty coffee table books are quite expensive. I had a customer who was a doctor's wife who needed help finding a blue and yellow coffee table book. I asked if her if she had a specific title in mind regarding the colors blue and yellow or blue and yellow pottery or what, because I was confused. No, friends, she didn't care what the subject matter was. She just wanted a big, impressive book that had a cover on it that would go in her blue and yellow room. Easy sale.
Whitespike, I respectfully disagree with you regarding copying a Mondrian. I don't see a thing wrong if mjhaynes wants to paint a canvas for his/her own pleasure for his/her own use in the style of Mondrian, Calder or Dr. Seuss or Marvel comics. She/he is not trying to sell it or deceive anybody. It seems harmless to me. You seem to see it as a slippery slope from there to serious design infringement.

Riki
Sorry you misunderstood me. Or rather, I am sorry if my response was confusing. I do not see it as some serious design infringement.
I have known others to do this, and for anyone who knows better it just looks rather silly. I am simply trying to help this person achieve a personal and inviting atmosphere.
DIY copies are usually evident. Fine art has a soul and is not exactly intended only as decor, but rather as, well, art ... a statement.
I also think that copying "style" for your interior is rather boring and predictable, much like how we suggested to you that you should not try to make your abode look specifically like it is 1955.
Interior design is design in and of itself, and picking things top display is an art. I think they should be (as told earlier) personal and meaningful ... not prescribed.
If you follow your instincts and your own tastes you will often find the item you pick, which seemed totally out of place to begin with, have more to do with your other items than you think.
So is copying a Mondrian for your use a sin? No. But there are better options. I am just trying to help.

lithographs or silkscreens?
How about some lithographs or silkscreens from the likes of Warhol, Miro, etc? They can still be had for a lot cheaper than a painting and they look so much better than an offset print poster of a painting. Just don't get suckered into a "signed" litho unless the dealer is well-known and can vouch for the authenticity. Unsigned exhibition posters from Calder, Miro, and the like are really nice and work really well with MCM homes and they won't break the bank.
fm