Understanding abstract art – Part 17

Understanding abstract art can be a difficult thing. Two people can look at one image and get two different meanings out of it. To truly understand what the artist meant to say through his / her art can only be told by that artist. It’s almost like you need to be inside the mind of that artist to understands it.

Looking a piece of abstract art can bring happy memories back or it could make you feel sad for the artist, but sometimes these feelings it gives you could be the opposite of what was intentional.

For example: if an artist paints a picture with warm bright colors such as reds and oranges, the artist could mean for it to be cheerful and happy. While someone else looking at it could see anger or fire. It really all depends on how you choose to see what is in front of you.

If an artist paints a scene with boxes in different shades of blues and blacks an everyday observer could see repetition, someone who lives the same day everyday. The artist on the other hand could be thinking that they are trapped or isolated. Stick in a box without any idea of how to get out of it.

Honestly in my opinion there is no true way to understand the real meanings behind abstract art. This style of art will make you see what you want to see. To understand the true meanings behind this art you must get inside the artists mind and sometimes that isn’t possible anymore.

Just understand that abstract art is a wonderful form of art that everyone should get to experience. Whether you are right and wrong in what you think the image could mean you are right to yourself, and that’s all that matters.

Understanding abstract art – Part 10

Understanding abstract art…Hmmmm! This is funny to me actually. I think art in general, even the paintings, drawings, prints, etc…are all up to the viewer. Artists DO create for themselves; however, once it is in a gallery or purchased, it becomes about the viewer! What do YOU understand about the piece pertaining to YOURself? Understand why YOU like the piece, hate the piece, are attracted to the piece. I am an abstract individual and see everything in this fashion.

Some people/viewers may understand an abstract piece for its beauty (colors, lines, patterns, etc…how it “looks good” together. Another may appreciate its titling and make sense of the piece that way. Or maybe the owner/viewer of the piece may KNOW the artist or his/her history/life and make sense and understanding of the piece this way! In my opinion, I believe it is up to YOU the viewer to understand abstract art in the way YOU want to understand it! What do YOU want to see in it?

Of course if you insist, you can break it down by art appreciation knowledge, methods, facts, etc… such as: Blue=Sadness; Squiggly Lines=Excitement/Anxiety; this goes on and on, and there is NO wrong way! I believe the Abstract Piece is about YOU the viewer! Best wishes in your viewing pleasure!

Let me “wrap up” by saying, I adore Abstract Art and enjoy nearly every piece I see! I find Abstract Art to be very difficult to create and appreciate the artists’ painstaking efforts to be new and different in their portrayal of their life, visions, dreams, emotions and so forth! Isn’t art terrific!?

Understanding abstract art – Part 21

The pull of the curvy lines brings you in closer to the painting on the wall. Eyes google and smiles flash from the canvas. So much to see yet how was this maze of color and design created? The artist couldn’t have meant each stroke to dance the way it is. Truly amazing the way a hundred pictures played on one single stage. And isn’t it rare to find a place to hang it from.

Art, abstract art, is a rare form. Not many people feel comfortable when a line is out of place or a smile unfiting to its head. Learned artists have a style or grace that they move about the page with little effort and create a picture totally perfect for a living room wall. Abstact artists however pour creativity, design and imagination from their pen hoping that every line would be out of place and every mouth to big. They race around the peice determined to destroy any normal images yet to a true artist in the abstract realm every line was meant to be and all the curves are perfect. Even if it is a blob by the time they are finished it is the movement, feeling and exact notion which makes the picture perfect.

So cry not if you see something which splits open your eyes and makes them swirl. Everyone has a different view. Without that fact no such thing as art would exist and this world would be incredibly dull, colorless and glum. The trip you take in your mind when looking upon my own book of pencil movin’ madness is the one I love and if the reaction I get is negative I laugh. Yes, I laugh. Because its my creation and came from me as I felt it’s groove and movement. Plus I am the one that had all the fun drawing it in the first place. Thats the real joy anyway. All of these things are empowering to me as I note that rarity is a valuable asset. It’s wealth to some who have a voice like no other or a smile that is unbearably sweet. Unique qualities catch attention and marvel. Everyone loves to see something new and different. It inspires them. Enlightens them. Even motivates them to do their own out of the ordinary thing. We could start a revoluton…with ink.

So, fellow artists, stay outside of those lines and be sure to realize that everything you put your mind to means something to you. If it happens to touch someone else I think that would be quite allright. People value what they are exposed to or given the chance. Enjoy being the one to let them have it.

Understanding abstract art – Part 1

An art form that occurs in most cultures, abstract art developed in North America and Europe during the early to mid-twentieth century. Europe and Russia became well-known for their wide range of abstract variations, as the artists of this period became more and more inspired by an unheard of freedom in artistic form and content. Prior to this, art had consisted of the idea that art should imitate nature, with realistic and accurate representations of forms and objects predominately done by the most successful artists of the times.

There are two main types of abstract artwork that came out of this period. They consisted of artwork with no reference to reality, referred to as nonobjective abstract, and artwork with no reflection of conventional reality. Many forms of art occasionally will “blend over” onto one another, with the representational artwork slightly more abstract or the abstract filled with “less abstraction.” This blending is seen in other earlier periods of abstract works, yet are part of other art movements. Not as accurate looking in its representation, an abstract artistic form or object can differ with usage of artistic color, shape, or form of the work itself-until it appears as an impersonal or simplified style of abstraction.

Sometimes referred to as “abstract expressionism” in the 40s and on, abstract art refers to that which is non-specific or non-recognizable as a natural physical object. This is in comparison to art that has a natural and recognizable appearance that is considered representational of reality-regardless to what degree. In fact, any type of art that is considered as nonrepresentational is actually considered as being abstract.

Most art lovers get an immediate response to representational artwork as whether they like it or not. Yet, abstract artwork is entirely different and invokes another level of creativity response. Labeled as an artist of nothing but smears, splotches, and lines, the abstract artist is just as skilled and artistic as any other artist but with their own type of style. Originally, the abstract movement began as an evolutionary process to get away from centuries of “Old World realism” and archaic ideas of what an artist actually was. Using non-traditional methods to achieve this, Abstract Art and Abstract Expressionism began as not so much as “socially acceptable” artwork for money or sales, but as a revolutionary way to approach and experience new ideas of creativity. The purpose of abstract

Understanding abstract art – Part 20

Art can take you the instant you walk in the gallery and take the first glimpse at it, run at it, acknowledge it, and take it for what it is, while abstract art is something so different that you can’t try to re make it. Abstract art you just cant run at it and take it for what it is, although you still have to acknowledge it everyone can interpret it there own way depending on how they are feeling. and understanding it is not trying to explain it but seeing it with the artist eyes inside of every human being. It doesn’t have to be splatter art or just different colors all over the place to be “abstract” it is just something that can be taken from different and very unique points of view and it being like there not even looking at the same piece because even if you know someone for the longest time you can remember you both will have two different opinions on it that don’t match one bit. looking at this pieces as oppose to a regular piece from an impressionist is so different because the impressionist’s art you see with eyes of reality while the abstract piece you see with eyes of wonder. understanding it is truly nothing. there’s nothing to understand because the minute you say what you see somebody else already said what they see.

Understanding abstract art – Part 3

ABSTRACT gets passed around from art circle to art circle, and it is clear to me that the use of the word is rather nebulous, having no limits. Abstract art is a guise for lousy academic artists, it is a word that stabilizes expression, an abstraction from what is real, known or concrete and chiefly, the major precipice of abstract work balances those that create it and those who try and interpret it (the esoteric few). Those who create abstract art can either master the various art elements and create splendid works. The brush of an amateur can scale line poorly, leaden color, muddle form and shape, basically create a mess. In my opinion anything does not just go on canvas! It’s not that easy. Understanding abstract art is like understanding a blues tune, the inherent chords and space, colorful notes and passages.

So to understand the above, it is imperative that we examine art that actually has clear signs and symbols. Academic art is easily understood because it often has subject matter which many can identify with. Art prior to 1900 had only one objective and one modus operandi, to create convincing three dimensional life like scenarios, usually pertaining to Christ or the elite. To understand abstract art is to ask the question: Why did painters like Cezanne, Matisse, Van Gogh and Picasso break away from the norm? Personally I believe people began seeing the game in art, the possibilities of soap-boxing on canvas, the desire for attention. So the Impressionists, Cubists, Surrealists and the Expressionists began to not only paint for the sake of painting but painting became a way of life, as it is today. Learning how to see, listen and cultivate perception is key to understanding abstract art.

However, within the genre of “abstract” painters, abstract expressionism and non-objective art muddle things up a bit. As I write this I have to pause for a moment and redirect this tangent back to the concept of signs which point to symbols. Abstract art reflexively points to the subjective view and intellect of the one interpreting it. However, painting does have aesthetic rules and these rules generally stem from nature. Nature or not, personally I can judge art and give it value but I could also judge all the chewing gum on city sidewalks and call it a “bubblegum constellation. So basically art is bullshit, and to be a good artist one ought learn that abstract art is a perfect venue to exercise bullshitting. So, understanding abstract

Understanding abstract art – Part 22

“Impressions of Anish Kapoor”

An article appeared in the recent issue of TIME (June 16, 2008) that highlights the sculptor Anish Kapoor. Apparently he has a new exhibit running in Boston. Seeing pictures of his work on the article’s page-particularly that dark red pigment and reflective sheeting-reminded me of my own recent introduction to Kapoor. It was interesting to read Richard Lacayo’s descriptions and impressions, using words like “Wagnerian” or “metaphysical jujitsu,” as compared with my own. While he adeptly commented on the style and content of the sculptures, my own exposure has tended to emphasize metaphorical interpretations-to require a narrative.

One of my challenges in studying abstract art is looking for that narrative. In literature this is somewhat easier (though others might disagree) because it is constructed of narrative; whether or not the interpretations and inner-workings of the story are apparent to me, SOME story is recognizable enough. Such isn’t always the case for me with art, and I have to confess that a great deal of contemporary art rejects more than invites my interpretation. Or maybe it’s more proper to suggest that I reject the artwork.

Either way, my first impressions of Anish Kapoor’s sculptures were tired and frustrated because-like my fellow amateur art critics-I wondered why it was “art” at all. Somehow, the turnaround came in studying Kapoor as architect more than artist, although I would number myself among the first to defend engineers as artists in their own right. For whatever reason, this change in viewpoint enabled me to accept Kapoor’s pieces more readily, as if knowing they are contextual and not just LARGE transferred them from gigantic mounds to contributory city structures.

I refer here to Kapoor’s MARSYAS (2002, PVC and steel, 150 meters long) at the Tate Modern, which in a number of descriptions is referred to as combining art and architecture, of being such a size that “[v]isitors cannot take in the outer form of the work in its entirety from any angle” (Zaunschirm 148). Kapoor himself is quoted as noting the circle-and-square motif, saying that it originated “about 30 years ago” in a “computer drawing of a circle changing into a square” (Tate Magazine). This is one of its aspects that appeals most to me in that the circle and square denotes some very ancient (Vitruvius) and religious (temple and church architecture) principles. I would argue that Kapoor connects with some of these

Understanding abstract art – Part 15

Abstract art deserves to be understood and acknowledged, if only because a well-done abstract is as difficult, if not more so, to do than something representational or semi-representational.

Because drawing skills are an absolute must for representational art- but in abstract art, it is all about the final effect, since there is no draftsmanship to hide behind.

To understand abstract art, you must respond to it. It is a form of expression, like other art- you respond to books, to poems, to photographs, to realistic paintings. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and step in front of that abstract, that piece you would otherwise be intimidated by.

Open your eyes. It is just you- and the abstract artwork. Respond to it emotionally- to the colors, the composition, to the focal point or patterns, or the depth and values. Appreciate it for what it is.