Abstraction
“Terms such as ‘nonobjective’ or ‘abstract’ are nothing more than a screen for concealing a defect. People who have nothing to say take shelter behind a disguise labeled nonobjective or abstract.”
-Henri Matisse on Abstractionism
Thoughts? Discuss…
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
I’m currently in a poetry class in college, and some people do mostly abstract stuff, or mostly concrete works. The poems I read that are abstract, is like reading 100 random words from the dictionary in the shape of the poem. It makes no sense whatsoever. The poet has some crazy way to connect everything, but it’s impossible for a reader to perceive any of that without being told. Just tell me about it, describe the object, place, or person, use words as an enhancer, not to confuse the shit out of me
April 23rd, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Well, what could easily be understood as “Abstract” is just a metaphor or code if you will for others. People should be allowed to learn that many words have more than a single meaning. They don’t teach you that in high school, mabye College, why not elementary and Middle School? Kids are not stupid, they see everything around them musically like a song. I simply believe that music should be all around more often in more places. Music is Spiritual. Always has been, Always will. But that’s just my opinion….
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:20 pm
I’m in Afghanistan right now.. We are somehow supposed to defeat an army who neither cares about their lives, nor rules of engagement and morals. Now THAT is abstract. I’m struggling to find the defect in anything but them.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:04 pm
I’ve considered this greatly. “Abstract”, “nonobjective”, even “indie” are sometimes used like they should be most of the time, to describe something that doesn’t fit an established mold or doesn’t have a single, focused point.
I feel as if sometimes, though, all three of those can be indeed used to mask a lack of talent. I can’t count how many stuck-up, talentless musicians I’ve read about or met who hide under the “indie” idea or how many mediocre artists who do “abstract” art. These people either miss the point and are synthesizing “indie” or “abstract” by being talentless or know exactly what they’re doing and are taking advantage of a label.
Either way, I feel as if people indeed do hide behind these non-descript labels in certain circumstances.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:24 pm
In my opinion, abstractionism is just another way of seeing life. Not everybody who looks at the night sky views the same set of stars. And it is because we live in such a diverse society that we experience abstraction everyday. Creators claim their work is abstract because they cannot speak for it- the words are in the art, and it is up to the viewer to find them. Abstract concepts are simply those no language can describe. Some claim it is ‘defected’ just because they are too lazy to interpret the meaning, and need it spelled out for them. But there is a deeper meaning to everything, not just art and poetry. If you search long enough, you will find exactly what you are looking for.
P.S. to Corey- Thank you, God bless.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 pm
I kind of agree.I think our world has too many over-generalizing labels.
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Oh shit. I could write a thesis paper on this. I will cook up something for you boys later. Great topic though!
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Can i also say Abstract is the deep meaning behind a meaning. You decide what that is.
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:32 pm
thats a bad ass quote man, and all these replies are really cool to read as well
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Your own work isn’t abstract to you – if it was, how could you appreciate it?
An outsider looking at the work would simply think either “this makes sense to me (I get a feeling)” or “I have no idea what this means to me, but maybe others can appreciate it”.
If the artist is asked what the work means to them, or more generally what is the work supposed to mean, a problem arises. The artist searches for words to describe feelings and ideas. The work is theirs, a feeling prompted them to create it, and therefore they can understand the meaning of their work as a product of a particular feeling. The problem is articulating this feeling.
The term ‘abstract’ can be used in one sense to simply declare that the meaning of the painting is based on someting indefinable: the only way to fully describe it is by means of the work itself. (for example, if we were talking about describing a painting, only viewing the actual painting can do it justice).
If an individual creates a work without feeling, without inspiration – they are not pursuing art for art’s sake (perhaps they have some alterior motive… fame?.. money?). Henri is saying that these individuals use the term abstract to describe their work because they don’t understand it themselves, specifically, it has no meaning to them. Additionally these individuals probably hope that someone else will give their work meaning.
The ‘abstractionists’ Henri is talking about are not pursuing art for art’s sake, but rather art as a means toward something else.
…anyone agree/disagree?
(great quote by the way – very thought provoking!)
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Colin M- I think the body of what you wrote is on target, however I believe your assessment of Matisse’s statement is pretty off.
I think this quote should be understood in context to Matisse i.e. in the very specific context of painting, and the state of painting during the late 19th and early 20th century. Matisse was an early Modernist who was part of a group of painters that paved the way toward greater and greater abstraction in painting; by abstraction I mean less direct or photorealistic or illusionistic representation [via painting technique], and a greater degree of indeterminacy in representation.
Matisse is essentially attacking art critics and art historians who are deeming certain works and certain painters of the time as “abstract” without really understanding the vision behind what these painters are doing. I do not think he is directly challenging the idea of “abstract” art as such, unless this is a quote from much later in his life and if so, he his reacting than to a brand of abstractionism that is much more “extreme” I guess, than what most Modernist painters of his day contributed.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Andrew- so you interpret the critics as the ones ‘taking shelter’ because they do not understand/appreciate the art Matisse and his contemporaries created?
If so, I am simply posing the possibility that those with ‘nothing to say’ include both the critics who don’t understand abstract art but also artists who do not understand what they create.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Well, I would agree with that, but I have to say that most artists, especially painters of the time period, understood very well what they were doing. Amateurs who would not understand the concept of abstraction would not be deemed “artists” as such.
Nowadays, the art community is much broader and less formal credentials are necessary for one to be considered an “artist” but back in the day, things were different.
Taken out of context though I think you’re right.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:53 pm
wow, corey. thank you so much for that and for being there. i totally agree with what you say though… it completely sucks that youre a grain of sand in quicksand. but i appreciate that you have the courage to be there.
i am watching this movie called the chosen, and one of the main characters’ fathers is described as “living by silence.”
i dont remember the wording (which is rather ironic) but its basically just an expression of his belief that words are too subjective and cannot (absolutely) express the depths of emotion and feeling.
and then this book i just finished about a teenager dying from cancer where he was always afraid of the words he spoke being that last those around him would hear from him. so he made sure everything he said had deep meaning behind it and would stay in the minds of those who heard it.
“People who have nothing to say take shelter behind a disguise labeled nonobjective or abstract.”
people with something to say do not need words.
ps i just saw Earth and it was breathtaking. beauty i cannot even dream of imagining.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:55 pm
oh and thank you for updating/provoking us again. i was beginning to feel that width again. :S
April 24th, 2009 at 8:08 am
It seems like everyone these days claims to be abstract or different. It’s always hard to tell who is actually different because underneath it all most people are exactly the same as everyone else. It is usually the people who don’t take the actual time to claim that they are different that are the ones who are different(if that makes sense to you). Everyone is so willing to be accepted into some label just so they can claim that they have a label.
People should just relax and take the time to worry about actual things instead of what they want to be labeled as.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Sounds like advocacy for conformity. Abstract isn’t neccessarily a veil for a defect. Idk, that’s how a interpreted it.
April 24th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
I love abstract work.
Funny how I don’t really care for matisse.
April 24th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
People live with different views on what their lives, “rules of engagement” and morals are. Who is to say what is right? Disillusion is everywhere and highly present in those who think they are right and just.
Abstract is love and understanding and most of all forgiveness. Pride and self-righteousness is defect, and we all are.
tune in
April 24th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
I dislike abstract.
I go to University of the Arts
and lately the projects have to “abstract.”
i hate it.
I should be able to express myself how I want on my assignments.
April 24th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
isn’t everything abstracted in some way?
what is exact?
what is objective?
what is for sure, 100%, always there, no matter what? how is anything exact?
the only things that are “exact” or approaching something we might call “perfect” in anyway are self-containing things, such as mathematics or formal logic. yet even still, self-containing or deductive reasoning is not perfect because it cannot be applied to things that are not made up of the same constructs. for instance, you cannot apply math to everything.
there is no way to quantify non-concrete notions, i.e. feelings, emotions, desires, etc. the closest we can get to that is by mapping the brain and attempting to monitor the release and effects of different chemicals and hormones but even still…the hormones or chemical reactions involved in “happiness” are not truly the same as feeling “happy”. (i believe this is due to a synergistic effect that occurs as a product of our perception)
so how can anything not be in some way, indeterminate or abstract? in fact, if nothing was abstract, free will would probably not exist. if everything was objective and self-containing and causal and causally-caused, than the universe would be entirely determined. but apparently, we know that due to quantum physics and some really insane mathematics that i don’t know understand, there are degrees of indeterminacy in the universe. perhaps free-will is an illusion; however, if this is true, everyone falls into it and is truly incapable of perceiving beyond it. therefore, it is best to act as though it is as real as the law of gravity.
in art, abstraction generally refers to a distancing from object familiarity, whether that be in shape, form, perspective, or color. in the 20th century, modern artists such as matisse, experimented more and more with these notions, specifically in matisse’s case, color, form and perspective. matisse would often use illusionistic devices coupled with strange proportions, seemingly arbitrarily ending and unending figures and of course, bright, often clashing colors, notably the color red. matisse, and other modernist artists did this for the sake of essentially pissing people off.
no, seriously. the whole purpose of the early modernist movement was to push the boundaries and essentially revolt against what was considered “fine art” at the time. so that’s one thing to think about.
eventually, matisse and other artists eventually became very successful and then their style became the “fine art” that others chose to rebel against. picasso and georges braque became very famous for their “cubism” which was a style of partly-abstracted partly impressionistic painting which used fragmented, fractalized geometric forms to suggest shape and depth; however, the purpose of this style was truly, again, a revolt against the standard accepted notions of form, especially in terms of painting.
abstraction eventually became completely abstract as is apparent by the work of artists like mondrian, rothko, malevich, pollock, etc.
i think abstraction is something that is a part of every human life, whether or not people notice it or believe it or accept it. to me, it is essentially a part of, perhaps even the same thing as the human spirit or soul. that part of you that is creative, that finds beauty in things, that feels sadness, anger, disappointment, that associates smells and tastes with memories, that falls in love…all that: that is abstract. that is abstraction. putting that into words, or painting, or sculpture or music, that is abstraction. symbolism is abstraction. representation is abstraction. thought is abstraction. life is abstraction.
haters, non-believers, those who choose not to understand, and those who simply don’t know how: close your ears and your eyes and your mouths and your hands and your tongues but leave open your mind and your heart and your soul; that is where it all flows from and through and on and on forever, even after you’re gone…memories are abstraction too.
—–
I love you Circa boys! Hope that wasn’t too much and/or too long! I believe every word of it.
April 24th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I can’t say I agree with this idea of abstracting concealing a defect. To me, abstraction is just a way of letting people find their own meaning in something, especially art. It’s like sharing, you’re offering this something with some idea, and they offer their own ideas so it becomes something more than just what you yourself know/intended originally.
I can see how Matisse could come to believe it, though, because it is easy to just do something and say it’s “abstract art,” whether it is or not. The meaning and the purpose behind it are what I think makes it art; it’s saying something, but leaving room for others to say something else.
April 25th, 2009 at 1:06 am
michaels (second dude from top on myspace blog, below kyle catostrophe) right……. in addition to that we must always remember that purity existed before words. words are symbols for feeling. before words we most likley spoke with our bodies and obviously made noises (monkies). communication was based solely in the pitch, tone and so forth of these noises. if no ones got anything more to say about nonobjective or abstact specifically, i would like to hear peoples thoughts about a defect and the nature of one.
what defines a defect and by what means do you define it? more consciesly, what is the foundation and/or the groundwork for defining a defect? also would someone using these words be consciously or unconsciously using them as a smokescreen or sorts, a disguise?
April 25th, 2009 at 4:51 am
abstract is just a label. Eventurelly things get boring, and something new needs to take its place. Fads arise and become a “label”. I do believe people shelter under labels as they arise, but there is no defect. Abstract is only of what we know of it to be. By having opinions, you make it objective. So then how can you deem something objective, abstract?
April 25th, 2009 at 8:42 am
my literature professor will try and explain something in ways no one will understand and then follows it with this same question:
“was that too abstract…?”
No, it wasn’t, you just have no idea what else to say and that’s
why no one answers your questions because not even YOU
know what you’re talking about!!!!
That’s how I feel about that.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:48 am
all anyone needs to know is that Plato’s Republic is a very abstract look in philosophy, but quite frankly the Republic has shaped nearly every government and document of rights that has been created since that book was written. Without that being abstract our Constitution would have never been written. Abstract ideas are ways to get out of the common mindset and into a new age of thinking.
April 25th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
we all use the same words. words we were raised up on. tying this together its all about how you use the words in the situation given to you at the moment in time, place, state of mind, your feeling on the topic at hand. cause one persons blue may be anothers persons green. ones persons weakness may be anothers persons strength. goverment has been spoon feeding many lies to us. but ones persons downfall may be anothers redemption. one persons abstract of ugliness and chaos may be anothers persons abstract of peace and beauty. theres always gonna be a right and a wrong.
April 25th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Andrew- I totally agree with your comment. My twin sister has recently taken a huge interest into science, physics in particular, and she always tells me that everything in the universe can be described through math and formulas. But the only solution is that it is undefinable. Hundreds and thousands of years ago, early civilization viewed the universe as a living organism that needed nourishment and respect. In the countless years since then, numbers and theories replaced the spirits who guided nature. Although advancements in technology gave us conveniences we never knew before, there are many aspects to life that science just cannot explain. Science has no place for morals, and no place for creative thinking. If the entire world is just one side of a mathematical equation, who says that we cannot cut down every tree in America and replace it with high-density housing? Why can’t we use children’s minds as marketing subjects, and test our chemical products on innocent animals? That is the problem with the laws of science…they leave no room for the spiritual progression of the world they govern. They leave no room for the humane in humanity. And if the world ever became like that, like a fascist scientocracy, abstract thinking would be annihilated. There are just some things that only the imagination can explain, and only the instincts can understand.
Sorry if that was a little off-topic…
April 25th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Where is Circa Survive? Id like to hear new music.
April 25th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I heard somewhere that the new album wasn’t coming out until 2010… that’s dissapointing
April 26th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
2010? That has to be some of the gayest shit i’ve heard.
April 26th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
hey everybody, dave, who posted on april 25th 2:22 pm is right. take some time to read and dwell…..there is always further discussion if needed
April 27th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Andrew- hey man are you studying philosophy?
I’m about to exit grade school and I’m having diffculties in picking what tho study. Philosophy really provokes my mind. From the way you talk about freewill it looks like you’ve at least been inside a philosophy text book.
Please reply. I feel i could learn from you or at least share an interesting conversation.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Thanks Megan and Darren.
re-Megan: I hear you, (and feel as though the Circa boys might agree…) on the sort of cult of science issue…however, science is really a positive and beautiful thing, and unfortunately, the vast majority of this country is science-illiterate. Many people still do not understand evolution, let alone support it. It’s very sad; be proud of your sister for being part of our generation and making strides to improve this situation. Science alone is never bad; it only creates problems when people abuse it, like anything else.
re-Darren: Yeah, I’m a freshmen in college and I’m double majoring in philosophy and art. Philosophy is a wonderful thing to read about, study, discuss, etc..however, it can be challenging, a lot of it is really dry, and oftentimes you will either make connections that leave you stumped and wondering what the point is, or you will read things that you simply don’t like and may choose to disagree with. It’s not easy. But it is very freeing if you can be accepting. You can start reading philosophy all over the internet right now if you want to though, or even better, go to a bookstore and pop a squat in the philosophy/science section and just page through books until you find something that grabs your attention. If you want to talk more, shoot me an e-mail at awallace2@washcoll.edu, I feel bad posting all over Circa’s blog, hahahah.
April 27th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Nothing is originally abstract. Any poem that is worth being read has a reason for being written. Any painting worth even a passing glance has a reason for being created. And if it doesn’t, then is it really art?
April 28th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Objectivity exists only in theory. Sometimes people think of objectivity as being concrete or understandable. Take language for example. We talk to one another using a system of words that are all supposed to have the same meaning. For the most part they do, because it allows us to communicate effectively on some level. But, a variety of factors influence “objective” language into really existing only as a masked form of subjective experience. Language produces itself through more than just words. Every time we talk to someone voice inflection, body language, and context play a role in communicating. So the informal (abstract) plays just as much, if not more, of a role than the more formal (concrete) part. So now applying this to art is simple. Art has formal rules of etiquette which involve different mediums (the language side), however, art also contains the informal (abstract) side, which involves the context of both the physical environment surrounding and interacting with a piece, and also the subjective characteristics of its viewer. The bottom line is that art is always changing, because time is always changing.
Abstract thoughts represent the birth of more concrete ideas. Every invention, idea, or thing in this world that humans have created was once abstract and outlandish. In this way, the abstract is a powerful tool that could be shown to be interchangeable with things like imagination, stream of consciousness, insanity, and/or subjective view.
With that said, I think Matisse was merely pointing out that he was pissed, because he spent a lot of time, thought, and energy on his pieces of art and other people were getting credit for what he felt were worthless pieces of crap. Again we can think of this in terms of language. Matisse was speaking (creating his art) in his native tongue, and some abstract artists came around speaking Icelandic. The two just couldn’t understand each other on the surface. Another way to think about it would be the idea of resisting change or novelty, because you like things to be easily digestible.
April 28th, 2009 at 11:24 am
P.S. I think “The Cosmic Serpent” is a book someone could use to show that there are multiple ways to the same end result. Science is not the only way to knowledge.
April 29th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
What the fuck is going on with your new album!!! Im at work losing my mind and want to know when i can listen to something sweet
April 29th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
to dissapoint is to merely remove from a position that was previously held by whoever you are dissappointing. you are not letting anyone down or are a bad person in any way. you will always be ok with me, haha. if you beleive otherwise you’ve been lied to……and quite frankly its kind of annoying when someone hold back aspects from me. its like ….why do i have to wear a shirt in my house when its hotter in here then it is outside……? (i know, its ok, its only a shirt)
April 29th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
uhhhhhh…..adam m……………YOUR ON ANOTHER LEVEL!
April 29th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
chris: what does lasalle mean?
April 29th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
sry……im just learning
April 29th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
heyy.
i’m sorry, I know this isn’t exactly relevant, but I wasn’t sure where else to ask..
but did any of you guys end up going to the rescue?
April 30th, 2009 at 3:48 am
my take on it is: henri matisse is a hypocrite. (although i dont exactly get what nonobjective even means) there is a reason why people express(keyword) themselves on abstract forms and that is because language and other “coherent” mediums can only have its limits. what emotions people could not convey in usual medium they could resort to conveying in abstract.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:51 am
to adam m. > whoa. i shouldve the other comments first. maybe i was just too pissed at matisse to have thought that
April 30th, 2009 at 3:52 am
to adam m. > whoa. i shouldve the other comments first. maybe i was just too pissed at matisse to have thought that.
April 30th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
In my humble opinion, there is no such thing as abstract. The term itself is “abstract.”
There is “relative” and “non-relative.”
If I relate to something – no matter the content – and it carries meaning for me (whether it was the intended meaning or not), it can’t be defined as abstract.
April 30th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
people take shelter under the label of abstract on non objective because it is easier to say that they are abstract if they dont know what they are aiming to be. if you cant explain yourself fully.. why not just say your abstract? bad excuse in my opinion.. easy scapegoat for someone who cant explain themselves. takes away from the true meaning of abstract beauty
April 30th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
courtney: hahaha….i havent had a cigarette or jayed my johnson since. im so excited about the present in my pocket though. did you get any that day? which brings me to my next burning question…..what does theoreticlly mean?
May 1st, 2009 at 12:13 am
Gentlemen i’m getting anxious….I’m starving for new jam…nourish me!
May 1st, 2009 at 12:53 am
I hope i never see the day that the words non objective and abstract become a one sided road in terms of speaking on what they mean to a person. Cause what is art…..if they’re aren’t any arguements
May 1st, 2009 at 1:35 pm
So our premise is that the abstract is a term used to blanket the imperfect. We are claiming that those who use the term “abstract†to define their style are those who are doing nothing more than covering up their own flaws, thus chalking up this creative failure to relativity, to subjection. Honestly, if I ever find an artist who creates such a “masterpiece”, one without technical or conceptual flaw then we will find a world without beauty, for beauty is the separation between and within individuals. It is beauty that allows a momentary standard for comparison; beauty is deviation for beauty is imperfection.
May 1st, 2009 at 2:35 pm
It’s human instinct to criticize even on topics in which we’re unfamiliar. We pontificate, everyone of us, sooner or later. I feel like a critic labeling somebody’s music as ‘Abstract’ or ‘non-objective’ just tells you they listened to your music but didn’t HEAR your music or they just didn’t listen in the first place. You can see right through someone who’s “summing up” a musician’s music with one word. It offends the artist and it under minds every individual person that listens to it for their own reasons. Just plain silly.
May 1st, 2009 at 8:24 pm
tiss , tis very silly
May 1st, 2009 at 8:28 pm
uhhhh…josh is a genius, and still didnt read slaughter house 5 yet, but i havent had a cigarette
May 1st, 2009 at 11:21 pm
http://www.thrashermagazine.com/index.php?option=com_hwdvideoshare&task=viewvideo&Itemid=90&video_id=128
May 2nd, 2009 at 1:19 am
How long have you guys been sitting in that house? I have been a hardcore fan since Inuit Sessions and I’m starting to lose interest. This is hard for me, because you are one of my favorite bands, but please do something. Maybe a release date? month? Year? Single? a snippet of something? I am a little anxious and unsure about this next album. please put me at ease. love.
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
dear fan. we understand your concerns but settle down. you have to realize that we have been in a non stop write-record-tour- cycle for 5 YEARS now. this has been our first true break from that and it hasn’t even been that long since our last album. i cant even remember the last time ive been somewhere for more than 2 months. we re taking our time but we re not just “sitting in that house” we re trying to write the best album we can possibly make. if we were to just shit out an album and try to please the impatient consumer it wouldnt benefit anyone would it? we appreciate your love but if you lose your interest i’m quite sure it ll return when you finally hear what we ve been doing. and if it should not return… we’ll always have the memories.
May 4th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Can’t wait for the new album, love your guys music. Very inspirational and motivating for myself and a few others in our little band. Music has always been a part of my life and I cannot wait to hear some more mentally stimulating and complex lyrics from you guys. Keep kicking ass!!
May 12th, 2009 at 2:49 am
keeping somthing abstract is a wonderful way to keep some one thinking. keeping a reader or viewer or listener at arms length to let them play with the peice in their own mind can be a great way to alow a personal apreciation for them
it could also be a surprise, keep the veil over it untill the last minuite and let people feel the rush when they find out.
maby i have missunder stood the quote but
it dosnt have to be a negitive thing,
nothing has to be from the right perspective
May 20th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Let us not forget that those who have been accused of being insipid and talentless in the past have proven to be some of the greatest artistic visionaries of all time. Were it not for individuals like Georges Seurat, W. M. Faulkner, Albert Camus, William Blake and many others like them, we would not have the amazingly diverse spectrum of art we enjoy today. Given, many individuals are tasteless and talentless, and while they can stroke onto a canvas or pipe out of a trumpet a few inconclusive notes and thereafter slap “abstract” onto it, these are not artists. Yes, there are many things that define what an artist is, what his role should be, but I honestly believe that the gifts of creative vision and talent are essential in any medium of art one may find himself. While abstract art presents a shelter for the fake-artist to call home, it also has been and will continue to be the birthplace of our greatest artists.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:33 am
woo hoo!
June 4th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Absolutely. I don’t see “abstraction” and “non-objection” as a guise for the artist to hide behind, but rather for those who comment on the art. You see, when a person has nothing to say about the art or simply doesn’t understand what the artist is portraying, words like “abstract” and “nonobjective” will disguise the commenters lack of understanding in the art. So, to make the artist feel as if they have created something “new” or “original”, commenters may use these words.
This is no excuse for ignorance.
I hope the record is coming along great guys! Can’t wait to hear it!
June 21st, 2009 at 12:29 am
Any human mind claiming to have a purely objective view is fooling themselves. Thoughts, all thoughts, are metaphorically inclined. All memory is associative, it’s qualities highlighted via stimuli (ext. or int.).
Abstraction, non-objectivism ( sure why not), pure rationality is an implausible, impossible ideaology, given the physical nature of the universe, and the mechanisms that seek to understand it (ie our minds).
Not a disguise, not hiding a defect, but merely accounting for the defect while continuing the sparse rationality we so hopelessly demand.
Take care friends, I enjoy entering parts of your minds.
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:08 am
Or maybe its just 2 different..different minds..the composer myb likes the way it looks even tho no1 might get it.. it satisfies him/her the way it metabolized on its own with no conditioning.
July 17th, 2009 at 1:09 am
I dig what Megan says about the perception of abstractionism.
Also, what Canyon says about people just hiding behind such safe words.
We have far too many ignorant ‘indie’ douches where I live.
Anyhow, Matisse, if I remember correctly was a Post-Impressionist artist. So it dealt a lot with lighting of the scene or portrait he’d been painting, but also adding unique brush strokes, almost distorting the image if you look at it super carefully.
Maybe, he was upset about how abstractionists could slap things together and claim it conveys emotion or feeling or culture. And people do this often, claim whatever they create is somehow art, and meaningful in someway that some people just can’t possibly understand. And if you don’t understand, it’s almost as if they look down upon you for not being as ‘perceptive’ as they are…
Or maybe he was pissed because it was just different, and he actually COULDN’T relate to it. He couldn’t find any meaning or purpose, though the artist might have spilled his soul into the piece. – Which would relate to the case of early impressionists, who were shunned from realism art galleries because their work was simply different, or ‘barbaric’.
… thinking it was too bright or distorted and such.
So those words,’nonobjective’ and ‘abstract’ are very deceitful. They can be used to describe what simply cannot be described, in the purest fashion… or they can be used as walls that people use to hide their ineffectiveness from the community.
July 30th, 2009 at 8:32 am
If you have nothing to say, you can’t create art. Period. Meaning will come in waves if you create, even if you don’t mean to, there will be a subconsious effort your mind makes to externalize all of the internal shit that goes on. That statement above is pure ignorance. Now thats whats up.
February 12th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Art is about expression. Just because a form of art doesn’t fit into a general category, that doesn’t mean that it’s defective. In my opinion, a true artist doesn’t comply to the traditional methods. Innovation begins with breaking rules. If you try to create any form of art using formulas, the only outcome would be a piece that is (for lack of a better word) white bread. Be it painting, drawing, music, poetry, sculpture, writing, or any other form of art you can imagine, art should be an expression of the artist. Many who cannot seem to express themselves in the same ways the majority of people do, tend to produce works that some may consider groundbreaking and beautiful. Just because this art is different than that which people are used to seeing, doesn’t mean there isn’t a meaning behind it. If abstractionists had nothing to express, their lips would be closed and their hands would be idle.