How is
abstract art different from what
my kid can do?
Abstract art can be challenging
for people at first because it's
not always immediately apparent
what an abstract piece is about.
We search the canvas for clues
to its meaning, and may wonder
if it's a kind of trick or hoax
— like the emperor's new
clothes. Wassily Kandinsky, one
of the first abstract artists,
addressed this issue in 1910. He
said that abstract art is like
music: abstract artists arrange
colors and shapes into
harmonious, expressive,
mood-filled compositions, much
the way a musician composes
notes into chords that resonate
with our emotions. Kandinsky
also believed that abstraction
was the purest and most
spiritual art form, because it
was about essence rather than
appearance. Unlike kids (with
the rare exception of a child
prodigy), abstract artists
consciously choose to express
ideas and feelings in a highly
refined visual language that can
be more powerful than familiar
words or symbols.
Abstract art: a world apart
Using "formal" elements — line,
color, shape, and volume —
abstract artists create a
separate reality, different from
the natural world we see around
us. Abstract art is usually
defined as containing no
recognizable imagery. Other
terms that are used
interchangeably with abstraction
are "nonobjective" or
"nonrepresentational." Abstract
artists may use an actual object
as a starting point, or they may
give visual form to non-visual
qualities such as ideas,
feelings, and sensations. There
are two basic kinds of
abstraction: geometric (or hard
edge), in which the forms
depicted are rational and
measurable; and organic, in
which the forms are looser and
often suggestive of animate
forms from the natural world.
Speaking art as a second
language
Abstract artists understand the
fundamental structure or
language of art — the properties
of paint, wood, and other media,
as well as composition, shape,
line, color, balance, and rhythm
— and how to organize these
elements to create a desired
effect. Abstract artists can
create significantly different
moods by altering the intensity
and shades of their colors, or
by changing the application of
paint from dense and opaque to
light and translucent. They
express a wide range of feelings
by varying the lines from thick
to thin, shifting the
composition from energetic to
tranquil, or converting the
shapes from angular to
curvilinear.
Discover art — and yourself
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Tina Feingold |
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Many artists believe that line,
shape, and color can express
their deepest feelings. This may
seem strange, since most of us
tend to express our feelings
with words — but just think
about how colors can trigger
deep symbolic reactions. For
example, yellow may remind us of
happiness, while red might
suggest anger or passion.
Abstract art encourages us to
explore our emotional
connections to colors, shapes,
and lines, and to arrive at our
own intuitive, intimate
understanding of the work.
Sometimes our interpretations
coincide with the artist's
intended meaning, and sometimes
they don't — but abstract art
provides such a deeply personal
experience that it allows for
more than just one
interpretation. By eliminating
recognizable objects and
focusing instead on formal
elements, abstract art provides
a stimulus for multiple
viewpoints, associations,
feelings, and ideas.
Next:
Interior/Exterior — What is the
attraction for artists in
depicting their living environments?
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