2. ABSTRACT NONFIGURATIVE NONREPRESENTATIONAL NONOBJECTIVE
an artist’s manipulation of the elements of art
ABSTRACT
NONFIGURATIVE
a specialized visual language employed
to make compositions autonomous
from specific visual references
NONREPRESENTATIONAL

3. the (long & winding) road to ABSTRACTION

4. First was the illusion…
Masaccio
The Holy Trinity
1427
Florence, Italy

5. and more illusion…
Raphaelle Peale,Tabletop Still Life, 1810

6. and then… came Cezanne
Paul Cezanne, The Bay from L'Estaque, 1886

7. …and Picasso and the Cubists
Pablo Picasso, The Guitar Player, 1908

8. “not a vehicle for social political change”
although some of the original avant-garde modernists (Malevich, Kandinsky & Mondrian)
aspired for utopian and spiritual beliefs
Piet Mondrian, Composition A, 1923

9. Kasimir Malevich, Suprematism nr. 58, 1916

10. Types of abstract art… Early Cubism
Pablo Picasso, Les demoiselles d'avignon, 1907

11. Types of abstract art… Analytical Cubism
Georges Braque. The Portuguese. 1911

12. Types of abstract art… Synthetic Cubism
Pablo Picasso, Still Life with Compote and Glass, Oil on canvas,

13. Types of abstract art… Biomorphic
Wassily Kandinsky, Painting with Red Spot, 1914

14. Types of abstract art… Biomorphic
Joan Miro, Red Sun, 1943

15. Types of abstract art… Biomorphic
Yves Tanguy, Through Birds, through Fire, but Not through Glass ..., 1943

16. Types of abstract art… Color or Light related
František Kupka, 1910, 1911, 1913

17. Types of abstract art… Color or Light related
MARK ROTHKO, No. 12, 1951

18. Types of abstract art… Geometric/Hard Edge
Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie, 1942

19. Types of abstract art… Geometric/Hard Edge
Josef Albers, Homage to the Square, 1951

20. Types of abstract art… Abstract Expressionism
Jackson Pollock, Number 8, 1949

21. Types of abstract art… Abstract Expressionism
Willem de Kooning, Gotham News, 1955

22. Types of abstract art… Abstract Expressionism
Robert Motherwell, octavio paz 1981

23. Types of abstract art… Minimalism
Frank Stella, Marriage of Reason and Squalor, II, 1958

24. Types of abstract art… Minimalism
Robert Mangold: Four Color Frame Painting #5, 1984

25. Types of abstract art… Minimalism
Robert Ryman, Hansa, 1993

26. Types of abstract art… OP Art
Bridget Riley, Intake,1964

27. Types of abstract art… OP Art
Victor Vasarely, Anaxo,

28. Types of abstract art… Post Modern
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #260, 1975, Chalk on painted wall.

29. Types of abstract art… Neo Expressionism
George Baselitz, Women of Dresden-The Laughing, 1990

30. Types of abstract art… Neo Expressionism
Anselm Kiefer, Wölundlied, 1982, Oil, emulsion, straw, photograph (on projection paper) on canvas with lead wing

31. Types of abstract art… Post Modern
Donald Judd, Untitled, 1968
(born in Excelsior Springs, MO)

32. “Abstraction in America, Part II: The 1970s and 1980s”
the following examples are paintings & drawings from the exhibition
“Abstraction in America, Part II: The 1970s and 1980s”
at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Quotes from Elaine A. King, curator of the exhibition

33. “The image discloses his enduring fascination with the tension between perceptual and conceptual experience. Only formal, nonverbal structure is an important concern for Bochner.”

34. “… it is an aesthetic utility of paint blots vs
“… it is an aesthetic utility of paint blots vs. carefully delineated forms. The blot will suggest different ideas – it serves to enlarge the powers of invention .”

35. “… discloses her interest in nature melding with her personal and gestural abstract style.” (she had done aerial landscapes based n maps of the moon and similar sources)

36. “… intended to be visual – requires no words or point of reference – it simply beckons one to step closer to discover and experience.”

37. “Her work straddles the natural world and the realm of abstraction – she claims that her interest in dance subtly evinces an organic sensibility in her drawings and sculptures.”

38. “Only the title alludes to a recognizable reference
“Only the title alludes to a recognizable reference. The language of minimalism is the faint visual vehicle that transports the artist’s concepts and processes.”

39. “Informed by the vitality of conceptual art, Topolski employs the languages of science and harmonic music.”

40. To review… Illusion of 3D Form & Space
(Renaissance & beyond)
Rejection of illusionary form & space
(Cezanne: the “father of Modernism”, Picasso & Cubism etc.)
Modernism embraced Concerns for the Formal Elements
(no illusions, flat, nonobjective)
By the late 1960’s artists began abandoning Modernism
because of it’s lack of spiritual essence and intellectual rigor.
(Pop Art etc. – What should the function of art in society be?)

41. What is “good” abstract art?
Why is it, or why is it not?

42. Consistent technique The flow from one side to the next is cohesive
Consistent technique The flow from one side to the next is cohesive. It doesn’t look as if it was the first time someone has done it.
The colors match Or are deliberately and obviously mismatched. Crayola red clashes with Martha Stewart teal. If the colors don’t work well together, it’s likely less sophisticated.
It’s timeless It should “work” as well now as it did 50 years ago, as it will 100 years from now.
Layers and texture Generally good abstract is built on more than one layer of paint on the canvas.
Confident The artist creating the piece knew exactly what s/he was trying to do, and did so without hesitation. There are no uncomfortable paint strokes that seem to turn with hesitation. Even Jackson Pollock known for his expressionist type of abstracts (paint splatter paintings) had rhythm in his technique. It wasn’t just random paint splatter.
Even consistent paint texture The texture and thickness of the paint on the canvas shouldn’t be a distraction to the color and composition.
Does it look “executed” and planned? Or does it look like someone bought a canvas and some paints, and just started putting paint randomly on the canvas?
Does it have complexity? A person painting abstracts year after year starts to develop and grow as an artist. So you won’t see basic paint techniques. Often you will see techniques and complexities that you can’t even replicate yourself because they have been so fine tuned by the artist over many years.

48. shopping for abstract art on ebay
searching for “abstract painting”
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starting bid $0.01 US
Sometimes finding something that matches your sofa can be very challenging!