Imagine walking into a museum, and instead of seeing well defined paintings of landscapes, and meticulously drawn portraits, you see canvases with blobs of paint thrown over it, apparently calling itself art. “My cat could have made that!” you think immediately, regretting the money you spent on the museum ticket.
So what is Abstract Art? A proper definition might help us navigate this “abstract” term. Abstract art can be defined as painting, sculpture, photography, design, or any art form that does not objectively nor accurately represent visual reality. So basically, something that does not represent any one thing, in essence, and can represent anything. Abstract art really embodies the “beauty lies in the eye of the beholder” proverb. At its core, art is an expression, and abstract art stretches that definition to its farthest.
Abstract art reminds me of a story we used to read as children, “The Emperor's New Clothes". The unseen clothes of the emperor were made visible and meaningful by the two tricksters visiting the town. Their strong belief in the visibility of the clothes was the only thing stopping anyone from calling them out. Until one little child did call them out, and then their trick was over, and they moved on to try and fool the next town and its emperor. Essentially the thing that validates abstract art as an actual form of art is the strong belief of its author in his own work.
Even though abstract art is supposed to be random, each abstract artist has their own style and pattern. For some its lines of chaos, while some work with thinned paint on unprimed canvas, so every-time they produce a “work of art”, it’s just a new version of their previous works, because essentially, no matter how random abstract art can be, each artist still has to maintain their style and pattern which sets them apart from other artists. Without a set pattern or style, you're just a mess-maker. Unless of course, you define messes as art and the world starts to believe you. Then you're set for the easiest career of your life.
Honestly, I believe abstract art is much more difficult to excel in than any other art form. It is uncertain. The possibilities of what you can make on a piece of canvas are already endless, without the added “You have to establish your own style”. You have to make at least more than a 100 works to establish yourself as an abstract artist.
‘Painting is a blind man’s profession’.
said Picasso.
‘He paints not what he sees, but what he feels, what he tells himself about what he has seen.’
This quote really embodies the concept of abstract art. You don't paint something that can be seen, rather you paint something that can be felt, and if enough people can feel what you are trying to portray, voila, welcome to the world of abstract art.
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