Helpful insight into abstract vid

[john]

Abstract paintings confuse me. But I stumbled across this vid and he points out some ideas I hadn't thought of before and clarifies some others. Interesting. At least the first 25 minutes or so as he is talking about an abstract painting. I may know some of it intuitively but putting it to words and concepts helps me get a better grasp of it and helps the appreciation of it. I don't think many people know how to look at an abstract. I know I look quickly, see nothing, and then give up and go to the landscapes.

 

[CaliAnn]

I don't get abstract either. It's something I see and like right away - either because of colors, shapes or something... or I walk away from it. Based on the title of the painting - I either get it - or get it very wrong, and end up saying something really stupid about what I think the artist is trying to convey - which is far from what the artist intended. I remember a conversation I had with an abstract artist and asked them how they go about making a painting. They told me they just start putting paint on canvas and work out things as they go along. The word abstract to me, means you start with a concept or idea and abstract from that. I use to be a programmer, and wrote abstracted code all the time. I got the idea of abstraction in code intuitively, but can't seem to made the same leap when it comes to art.

 

[ZenDruid]

John, would you post a link to the vid?

 

[john]

John, would you post a link to the vid?

Oh yeah, that would help. I had a feeling I forgot something.

Actually the whole vid is good. Not having gone to art school I never learned this stuff.

 

[Donna T]

Thanks for this, John. I've been reading Nicholas Wilton's blog for a few years and it was helpful to see him improve the paintings in the video. One abstract piece in particular had a large area of quiet color without much contrast and I'm struggling with the same thing in a little piece I'm working on. I want an area for the eye to rest but I guess it can't be too quiet ... so much to learn!

 

[brianvds]

I like some abstract art; I have a particular soft spot for those of Georgia O'Keeffe. But I note that even as unsophisticated an AI as Craiyon has no trouble making a quite respectable stab at producing that sort of thing:

Which leads me to believe that my opinion about abstract art was right all along: it's not that the art is nonsense, but most of what gets said and written about it is.