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In Reply to: Re: Abstract Oil Paintings posted by ersan on 11/17/01 at 6:29 PM:
The great thing about abstract art (non-representational) is that you can do almost anything you want. You are free and don't have to try to mimic reality on canvas.
Non-representational abstract art, however, is not as popular as representational abstract art. Representational abstract art is art that is supposed to mean something. This type of art is symbolic.
I paint non-representational abstract art for the most part. It is the way I've drawn since I was a child. Most people are uncomfortable with art that doesn't "have a point" or "doesn't look like something." People always try to find representations of reality in my art. I find it rather amusing. My art, for them, is like an ink blot. They see reality in inkblots, I don't. Perhaps I'm just an odd individual? Certainly, there are always very vague hints of things/reality in any drawing or painting. But, to look at a splotch of paint on my canvas and call it a bird is just too far a stretch for me. To me, it looks like the splotch of paint I applied to the canvas, not a bird.
Representational abstract art is generally the only type that is recognized by the art world. People are uncomfortable with the concept of art without meaning - at least some complex and deep meaning the artist insists is in the piece she/he created.
For many people, abstract art is more about meaning and less about aesthetic effects. For me, it's all about aesthetic effects.
You probably need to decide which type of abstract art you are trying to create. If you want people to take your work seriously, you probably should create representational abstracts. If you want absolute freedom, choose to create non-representational abstracts.
By the way, I also write non-representational poetry in addition to my representational poetry. I also create "atonal" music.
I don't like the fact that so many abstract artists do not follow common sense rules about painting, though. Oil paint should not be applied in 3" thick gobs, with dirt, with spit, or whatever. So much of the contemporary art I've seen is nothing more than glorified excess and the flaunting of extremely poor craftsmanship.
I fell into the trap of painting in thick gobs (though not nearly as thick as the terrible contemporary art I've seen in museums), but I quickly regained my intelligence when I decided to become a serious artist.
The advice I can give you regarding abstracts is this (in addition to the above discussion of representational vs. non-representational art): follow the rules generally with regard to proper painting technique unless you have a specific (and good) reason not to follow them. This means: do not just do anything you want with the materials and then sell a piece to someone and have most of the paint fall off the canvas in their home!
As long as you know how to create a reasonably permanent painting and you make sure your abstracts are created to be lasting, you can do whatever you want. Just make sure you have some deep philosophical metaphor in mind to impress the big wigs of the Art World if you choose to create representational abstracts. ;)
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