Friday, February 10, 2017

Abstract Art

We've seen a lot of abstract art in this unit. To me, it seems that the 20th century was the rise of abstract art. For example, Nude Descending a Staircase #2 is extremely abstract. The figure is barely recognizable as a human. To me, it looks like a long beige stick in multiple positions. I think the point of abstract art is to interpret it on your own. A lot of people look at that painting and don't see a nude person walking down the staircase, and the artist knew that. Abstract art is still prevalent today. In Kenner, there are many public art figures. There are statues that don't always look like what they are representing.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

The pattern of abstract art seems to take a different turn than art has in the past. Instead of trying to accurately depict a real object or situation, abstract art tries to touch the viewer on a more emotional level. It does this through the use of colors, shapes, and the combination and arrangement of these things. This form of art seems more geared towards the intellectual mind than the average person. Art evolved from something that the viewer merely looks at to an intellectual self-interpretation that takes more effort to appreciate than art that follows realism. Therefore, in abstract art, the actual skill of the artist takes up less focus than the strategic planning of the placement and focus of the art. I personally do not enjoy abstract art very much because it is not logical and is hard to understand out of context.

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed learning about expressionism. For me, it was extremely interesting to see how painters like Kandinsky and Matisse used contrasting colors to express emotions in their paintings. Kandinsky leaned more towards abstract, chaotic brushstrokes in his works whereas Matisse's paintings seemed more clean and clear, but still featured skewed objects. Painters often manipulated the perspectives of their works and somewhat tricked the viewer's eye by adjusting parts of their pieces to distort reality.

Unknown said...

Many people seem to think that abstract art for some reason has less value because it doesn't make much sense at first glance. I would argue that the only reason they are hard to understand is that the artist's goal is to leave it up to interpretation. If the viewer has to reach his/her own conclusions, it makes the art a lot more valuable.

Unknown said...

Abstract art is less about art and more about understanding basical human psychology. You do not need to be skilled at painting to evoke feelings from your audience. The true subject of the work does not actually matter. Instead, the artist must know how color schemes and object placement affects the emotions of the audience.

Unknown said...

The Kenner artwork is much less advanced than the abstract art that we studied in class. There is actually a big sculpture of cambells chicken noodle soup... that is meaningless. At least the artwork that we studied had a deeper meaning. The sculptures in Kenner are just there to take up space.

Unknown said...

I think that Kenner art is somewhat meaningful. It is aesthetically pleasing. It raises property values in that area. Specifically, there is one piece that I enjoy. There is a large pink sculpture of a bunny rabbit. This bunny is able to elicit an emotional response in me without having to carefully deconstruct the artists intentions. Does this make Kenner art more sophisticated than abstract art?