{"id":6221,"date":"2018-10-30T11:09:54","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T15:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/?p=6221"},"modified":"2019-06-27T20:33:07","modified_gmt":"2019-06-28T00:33:07","slug":"abstract-non-objective-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/abstract-non-objective-art","title":{"rendered":"Abstract and Non-objective Art"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Understanding<\/div>\n
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What Is Abstract Art?<\/h2>\n

Maybe you’ve taken a look at a work of abstract or non-objective art and gotten confused. Maybe you said to yourself, “How is this art?” or “Why is this art?”<\/p>\n

Maybe abstract art or non-objective art has even angered you. Perhaps you’ve thought to yourself, “Anyone can do that!” Or perhaps, “That’s not art!” <\/p>\n

The problem with abstract art is that most people simply don’t take the time to understand it or appreciate it. They simply look at the skill required to physically paint and draw the image and that’s how they evaluate it.<\/p>\n

The truth is that the skill involved in abstraction is not in the application of the medium. The true skill is in the vision of the artist and how they communicate through the works they produce. <\/p>\n

It’s easy to miss the skill that exists in abstraction and non-objective art if you don’t understand what’s going on. So let’s dive a little deeper with an open mind.<\/p>\n

Different Forms of Art<\/h2>\n

The world of art is vast – with many different styles, movements, mediums, and artists. It’s rather easy to become overwhelmed and confused. But fortunately, this expansive world can be simplified. All works of art will fall into one of three categories. An artwork is either representational, abstract, or non-objective.<\/p>\n

Representational Art<\/h3>\n

As the name implies, representational art seeks to replicate the observed world. When the intent is to create a representational work of art, the artist is concerned with proportion, the light source, depth and space, perspective<\/a>, realistic textures and so on. The artist uses the elements of art<\/a> to fool the eye of the viewer and to create a convincing illusion in a drawing or painting.<\/p>\n

There are various degrees of representational art – but for now – let’s consider it as one category. (For some people, this is the ONLY form of art in their mind, but there is more to discover and appreciate.)<\/p>\n

Abstract Art<\/h3>\n

The most misunderstood form of art is abstraction. Abstraction occurs when the intent of the artist is to create an altered depiction of the subject or concept. The rules of representational art may be thrown out completely, if so desired by the abstract artist. In this form of art, the artist uses the elements of art to distort how we see the object in reality. This can be accomplished in a number of ways – simplification, color alteration, altered views and so on.<\/p>\n

With abstract art, the artist starts with a concrete subject from reality, even though the subject may not be fully recognizable in the finished work.<\/p>\n

Non-Objective Art<\/h3>\n

The third category of art is termed “non-objective”. This form of art differs from representational art and abstract art in that it takes nothing from reality. The sole intent is to produce a piece of visual work that is created purely for aesthetics. While an abstract work may appear similar to a non-objective one, the starting point and the intent of the artist is different. For this reason, non-objective art gets its own category. <\/p>\n

The Earliest Forms of Abstract Art<\/h2>\n

To understand abstract art, we must first look at the history of how it came to be. <\/p>\n

Abstract and non-objective art have existed as long as art itself. Cave paintings like those from\u00a0Lascaux, France are abstract. These flat, simplified animal shapes would inspire artists thousands of years later, during the twentieth century. The abstraction lies in the simplicity. This means that the earliest and oldest forms of art are works of abstraction.<\/p>\n

\"Cave<\/p>\n

Abstract and non-objective art later dominated the early twentieth century. In the preceding centuries however, most<\/em> artists worked toward a representational depiction of their subject.<\/p>\n

To understand abstract and<\/em> non-objective art, one must first consider representational art. Often referred to as realism, representational art attempts to copy the natural experience<\/em> of seeing. The prefix, \u201cre\u201d, means again. The root word, \u201cpresent\u201d can mean to show. So, one is \u201cshowing again\u201d what was first seen when working representationally \u2013 a copy of nature.<\/p>\n

In the early twentieth century, abstract art was a response to representational art. Abstraction is changing the natural way of seeing<\/em> something. Distorted proportions, unnatural colors and the simplification of shapes are just a few ways an artist might change how a certain subject is depicted.<\/p>\n

A Painting is a Painting<\/h2>\n

In 1929, Magritte completed his influential and controversial painting, “The Treachery Of Images”. In this painting, Magritte presented a realistic painting of a pipe with the words underneath, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.” Translated from French, these words read, “This is not a pipe.”<\/p>\n

For those of us stuck in the world of realism, this statement may be extremely confusing. After all, we can clearly see that it is a pipe in the painting – right?<\/p>\n

But is it a pipe? Can you stuff tobacco in it and smoke it? Can you hold it in your hand?<\/p>\n

You can’t do any of these things because it is NOT a pipe. Instead, it is a painting<\/em> of a pipe.<\/p>\n