Understanding Abstract Art Essay Research Paper Almost — страница 2

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regarded as purely abstract one can see similar themes. If pure abstraction is the criteria, one could almost consider Kandinsky as more of a transitional figure then of an actual pioneer. Though as with every abstractionist, this could be questioned. All abstractions even though they are abstract still will allude to or symbolize something because just in creating it the artist is saying something and expressing something. Without any apparent subject matter, abstract artists were left with finding a solution to replace the now ?missing object?. Another influential abstractionist, Jackson Pollock stated that ?Today painters do not have to go to a subject matter outside of themselves?.they work from within?. (Rosenthal 281) Pollock?s works were created with a fierce level of

focus and they record the movements of the artist as well as his mental energy. He was trying to convey, without the ?time lag? between the thought and response, his vital impulses of his mind and body. Subject matter now became open to the artist and often times became feelings or moods of the artist. Kandinsky felt that all forms originate in genuine feelings and therefore he had significant amounts of content to work from. Even though Kandinsky gave his work an abstract appearance it always, as he claimed, had something being represented One of the most popular abstract painters Piet Mondrian tried emphasizing that it is not subject matter that the abstract artist is trying to portray, it is the stylistic breakthrough that makes abstract art so prominent. It is about the

struggle of finding a style and once that is achieved the artist can then begin to express subject matter. (Rosenthal 39) Beginning his career as a painter of nature, Mondrian?s earlier works were landscapes dominated by a single object. He slowly began stripping down the objects from a relatively accurate copy to an abstract painting consisting of the objects essential form in a series of paintings. Once he established this basic language of forms, he no longer needed reference to the physical world and his paintings were created entirely from his head. (Whitford 19) His goal was to discern a rudimentary structure in the world and show it with the fewest and clearest elements possible. (Milner 7) The subject of the abstract painter varies from artist to artist. Some like Jackson

Pollock did not use any outside references and painted entirely from their head while others, such as Kandinsky, often used subject matter from the physical world and stripped it down till it was no longer visible. Mondrian as well as Kandinsky were involved in or at least influenced by the Theosophists? belief in the mysticism of color and form. They believed that through the use of color and form one could enrich the soul by the ?vibrations? they called forth. The mystics? felt that the transference of these vibrations was only possible through a clairvoyant, Kandinsky, however, saw the artist as a potential medium. Mondrian joined the Theosophical Society in 1909, but its influence was not apparent in his work until several years later. Later in Kandinsky?s life, his attitudes

towards Theosophy changed. Its influence remained with him as an ideal and encouraged his change to geometric abstraction. (Moszynska 49) Abstractions emergence in the art world also relates to what was going on with the development of photography. Photography forced, in a sense, artists to reexamine their ability to recreate a convincing depiction of reality. This freed artists from recreating the physical world and many turned to more subjective matter such as emotions and feelings. Abstract artists never belonged to any one movement in the art community and there are virtually as many forms of it as there are artists. Hence, abstraction is not a style rather it is an attitude. There are two modes of abstraction and all abstract works of art can fall into one of two categories,

geometric or organic. (Whitford 128) Organic abstraction is based on the visual language of nature and suggests growth and change. Geometric abstraction employs the use of geometric forms in its compositions. Essentially all artwork comes down to the same rudimentary elements, color, form, composition and expression being the most important. Art may be expressing anything from religious beliefs to a personal feeling of the artist. When portraying an image to the world, it is the approach the artist takes in solving and creating the image that makes it different. If we were to thoroughly analyze art of every genre and stylistic approach, we would find, that all representational artwork contains some form of abstraction and all abstract works of art contain some sort of