Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Capturing Form And Expression With Abstract Art

By Sarah Ramsey


Abstract art can take many distinct forms. As an artistic category, abstract art has been prominent since as far back as the beginning of the 20th Century. The most general definition of abstract art is art which bears little or no literal resemblance to the form or concept that it is trying to illustrate. Nevertheless, this is a rather simplistic meaning for a type of art that is so complicated and distinct.

The term abstract is made use of more to describe a style of art rather than a creative motion, since many periods have actually seen abstract designs being implemented in painting and sculpture. The pinnacle of this style actually became apparent in the works of the abstract expressionists throughout the mid 20th century.

During the 19th century, we saw the rise of expressionism. Expressionist artists such as Munch and Van Gogh used abstraction to depict vibrant, non-representational forms. Other artistic movements such a cubism, favism and impressionism were to follow with works that pushed the borders of non-representational expression.

The very early 20th century artist Piet Mondrian was perhaps the high priest of total abstraction or modernism with his paintings which contained geometric forms meant to illustrate abstract principles or sensations. For instance, Mondrian's series of Jazz Paintings were meant to convey depictions of popular music.

Taking all these influences into account, it was the the fushion of popular music, psychology and post-war national politics which eventually inspired the works of the gestural painters in the 1950's to 60's. Among the most popular of these painters are Kline, Pollock and the slightly more figurative painter, DeKooning.

Artists of this duration use abstract art to create large and expressive canvases. This was an extremely influential period in regards to abstract art as the audience came to be accustomed to interpreting non-representational paintings in terms of paint, light and color. Abstract art perhaps forms the basis of contemporary art and it is here to stay.




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