Abstract Art

[MechanicalCitrus]

To get any kind of misconception out of the way first, I am not an artist. Stepping beyond stick figures would be a leap of genius.

As such the very different reactions that abstract art inspires remain a mystery. Some adore it while others loathe it. Works such as Dance [http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs37/i/2008/248/6/f/Dance_by_tbonerog.jpg] and Heart of the Sunrise [http://fc06.deviantart.com/fs36/i/2009/025/5/c/Heart_of_the_Sunrise_by_Bluefingers.jpg] are abstract and have a distinctive elegance to them yet so many people have spouted about how abstraction requires no talent and is not art.

There is an obvious difference between the above and some works of Jackson Pollock [http://www.dist46.org/pages/uploaded_images/jackson-pollock-art.jpg] but does breaking the conventional boundaries of ability really remove these things from the domain of talent?

 

[Labyrinth]

I am an artist, and for many people the distinction between 'crap' and 'revolutionary' comes down to what they had for breakfast that day to throw up on a canvas. Pollock, while he may have made Blue Poles (widely considered the most overpriced work of mediocrity ever to sell to government) was a conceptually interesting individual. Piss Christ [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/Piss_Christ_by_Serrano_Andres_%281987%29.jpg] is a wildly controversial abstract photograph, for obvious reasons. That kind of thing might not take much 'artistic' ability per se, but the concept itself requires a sideways step.

 

[Dr Ampersand]

To answer the question, no, it expands it.

Mindless ramblings is as follows:
HotS looks like burning trees and either a geyser or a waterfall and Dance is like two dancers entwined into the whole dancing thing as they're two people dancing together and twisted around each other yet seperate.

I just hope I got that right.

 

[Hot'n'steamy]

To answer the question, no, it expands it.

Mindless ramblings is as follows:
HotS looks like burning trees and either a geyser or a waterfall and Dance is like two dancers entwined into the whole dancing thing as they're two people dancing together and twisted around each other yet seperate.

I just hope I got that right.

You are looking for allegorical information in abstraction, which is most often inconsistent with the artist's wishes of the picture. View the picture, see what emotion it invokes.

 

[CrashBang]

I honestly believe there is no difference between abstract art and modern art. 'The Unmade Bed' is probably one of the most famous pieces of modern art and is also the most famous piece of crap this side of Paris Hilton to date.
I don't believe that this 'abstract' art deserves recognition as a strange or exotic or new take on sculpting or painting at all.
I appreciate that art takes many forms, such as sketching, painting, sculpting, modelling, building construction, car designs, tattoo art, graffiti art etc. etc. but I refuse to believe that abstract art is either abstract or art at all

 

[Puppeteer Putin]

The heart of Sunshine Painting reminds me a lot of a painting by James Whistler "The Falling Rocket" painted in 1875. A famous English art critic said that all Whistler was doing was "flinging a pot of paint in the public's face" - he claimed that it was rubbish. Now he's considered as one of the pioneers of the Aestheticism.

For curiosities sake, have a lookie:
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/whistler/i/falling-rocket.jpg

Now I freaking love that Heart of Sunshine work, mainly because I'm a sucker for impresssionists but also the colours, the flow and the general emotion of the image. No it's not neo-classical or Romanticism but it's just as evocative to some. Just because it doesn't adhere to what's classically "art" doesn't mean it can't evoke emotion, it just does it in a lateral manner.

I honestly believe there is no difference between abstract art and modern art. 'The Unmade Bed' is probably one of the most famous pieces of modern art and is also the most famous piece of crap this side of Paris Hilton to date.
I don't believe that this 'abstract' art deserves recognition as a strange or exotic or new take on sculpting or painting at all.
I appreciate that art takes many forms, such as sketching, painting, sculpting, modelling, building construction, car designs, tattoo art, graffiti art etc. etc. but I refuse to believe that abstract art is either abstract or art at all

Now I believe that Tracy Emin can go Die in a Fire, but for these other fantastic works to exists we have to allow the crap to come through. This is the whole point of art, we can't have a filter that determines what is Good and what is Bad as it is entirely subjective. One mans trash is another's treasure.

Unfortunately the crap can be over hyped by "Art critics" thus leading to the investment of millions in ... a fucking Unmade bed. People like to be told what to like. I used to work in an art gallery and the one question I always LOATHED was "What's the best stuff here?". Everytime I wanted to tell them to get the hell out.

 

[necromanzer52]

I can't stand abstract art.
It just looks like a 5 year old painted it.

 

[matnatz]

I draw and paint portraits, but I don't call myself an artist. Why not? Becuase I think 'Art' has been diluted by stuff like this [http://rantingsofanenglishman.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/00000001.jpg]. Calling yourself an artist or calling something art just seems very pretentious at this point. I dislike that.

I actually quite like falling rocket, it makes me imagine that scene in the LoTR's where they set off fireworks in the shire .

 

[Labyrinth]

I can't stand abstract art.
It just looks like a 5 year old painted it.

Not all of it does, that's the thing. Here are a few examples.

Spoiler: No. 1

Spoiler: Crazy Rhythm

Spoiler: Sprout

Spoiler: Mermaid

 

[Biek]

Whenever I see art, I rate it based on several questions:

-Do I like it enough to buy it?

-Would it look good decorating my personal living space?

Because when it comes down to it, thats what I buy art for. To decorate my home.

In fact, I bought a replica of this painting

Spoiler: On the roadside

because the colour of the car matches my wall.

 

[Lusperus]

I Must say that Dance is crap though. I see that sculpture at my haircutters.

 

[j0z]

I like some abstract art, if it seems the artist actually tried during its creation, and didn't just splash paint over the canvas and call it art.
I liked the first 2 pictures of the OP, the 3rd I didn't like

 

[LordCraigus]

It's all down to personal taste. You call a piece of art 'Piss Christ' and you've hooked me instantly, to me there's something humbling about highly offensive and controversial art... at the same time I still appreciate much more traditional styles of art. There's no set rule for what I like and what I don't when it comes to art, if I see something I like then that's the end of it really.

 

[Labyrinth]

It's all down to personal taste. You call a piece of art 'Piss Christ' and you've hooked me instantly, to me there's something humbling about highly offensive and controversial art... at the same time I still appreciate much more traditional styles of art. There's no set rule for what I like and what I don't when it comes to art, if I see something I like then that's the end of it really.

It's very easy to cause controversy with religions. For example if someone took a painting of Mohamed and treated it the same way as the dude did that crucifix there'd be a row. It's when such things are done with skill and panache that I really appreciate them.

Like Dali's The Christ of St. John of The Cross. Damn good painting.

 

[ErGo]

It all comes down to option, I like abstract art.
There's one thing I don't get though, saying that this kind of art doesn't take any skill to make whatsoever, therefore its shit. What the fuck? In art, the only thing that matters is that it looks good, does it matter how its made, does it matter how much skill it took to make it, no, it does not. Sometimes the most simple creations can be beautiful. Or you'd rather praise something that took days to make but looks horrible. Or something that took a hour to make but looks amazing.

 

[LordCraigus]

It's very easy to cause controversy with religions. For example if someone took a painting of Mohamed and treated it the same way as the dude did that crucifix there'd be a row. It's when such things are done with skill and panache that I really appreciate them.

Like Dali's The Christ of St. John of The Cross. Damn good painting.

I've just looked it up and that is indeed a very nice painting, I can't say I'm quite as discerning all the time though. It's hard to explain what I like about art that offends, it's like if someone made a piece of abstract art to convey a counter-abstract viewpoint - it's the irony and self-awareness of it all that I find interesting and even entertaining sometimes... now I'm starting to sound like a critic or something.