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What You Should Know About Abstract Art
by Felix Warner-Collard
http://www.fwcart.com
Artist Robert Motherwell once said this about abstract art:
"One might truthfully say that abstract art is stripped bare
of other things in order to intensify it, its rhythms,
spatial intervals, and color structure. Abstraction is a
process of emphasis . . . "
Abstract art is, by definition, non-representational. It
makes no attempt to depict a recognizable subject. Instead,
the artist uses colour, form and materials to convey his or
her emotion, whether it is about a subject, or just the
artist's inner landscape. At it's most essential, abstract
art is a depiction of pure emotion, stripped of any outside
contextual meaning. In dictionary terms, it is defined as a
non-representational art form.
In more common practice, though, most people also identify
paintings and other art that represent abstract concepts
like 'vision', 'love' or 'music' as 'abstract art'.
Abstract art is a natural outgrowth of other schools of
western art. It took principles from the progression of art
through impressionism, fauvism and cubism and melded them
into art that, for the first time, had no discernible
subject. It represented a break from the traditional belief
that a piece of art was meant to illustrate or depict some
topic or subject.
While impressionist painters never seemed to "finish" their
paintings, fauvists used colour in a non-realistic way that
had never been done before. The movement of cubism
introduced the new idea of representing an object or a
person from more than one perspective. From all of these new
ideas developed the fact that colours, forms, and textures
could become the main subjects of the painting.
In the 1940s, artists like Jackson Pollock took abstract in
the direction of expressionism, and a 'new' art form emerged
- abstract expressionism. In his paintings, he dripped,
smeared and threw paint at the canvas to create shapes and
action. 'The brush never touches the canvas,' he said. 'It
is always just above it.'
Many people don~t understand abstract art. They are not
always able to interpret a painting which is, to them, a
mysterious blur of colors and textures. Whether it is a
painting, a sculpture or in any other form, abstract art
sometimes is only understandable by the artist himself.
In order for an abstract painting or other piece of art to
have any meaning to a viewer, it must have something that
draws him into the piece and generates an emotional
response. Whether it's a swirl of color, a juxtaposition of
unexpected shapes, or simply the starkness of a nearly bare
canvas, there must be some attribute to the piece of art to
draw and keep the attention of viewers.
As has always been the case when a new school of art rises,
the abstract school has begun to separate within itself.
Critics often make a distinction between geometric abstract
art that appears carefully planned and executed, and the
more fluid artwork of an artist like Kandinsky.
As abstract art continues to develop, with each new artist
exploring and exploiting color and form to achieve new
effects, one can imagine the likes of DaVinci shaking his
head in admiration at the expansion of artistic horizons.
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