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Jurate Macnoriute
Abstract Art and Spirituality
Some
individuals who
believe and spread the doctrine of abstract art have main argument that
abstract art is as if more spiritual than art of old masters, because
it like music does not depict anything, artistic content
depends on internal form rather than on pictorial representation. But
from
times of Wasily Kandinsky to now this enthusiasm changed itself into
light despair.
Is
really
abstract art more spiritual than old art? After
examination of 171 abstract art examples of 171 authors I found that
87.7% from them have no any clearler trace of spirituality.
12,3%
of abstract
artists can be related with spirituality and at
most they builded
images deliberately using the golden ratio (Mondrian, Touchon, Tąpies).
After analysis of spiritless abstract art
(Hartley, Messenjaschin) I came to conclusion that noticeable trace of the
golden ratio does not exist in
such
works of art.
By way
of
creation and associations I classified abstract
art in
such
groups:
- Greatly
enlarged texture of some
surface (Jackson Pollock, Peter Young, Lawrence Stafford, Sam Francis, Carl
Gliko, John
Koehler, Stephen Beveridge, Robert
J.
Wolff,
Stanley Boxer, Tony
Berlant, Kristine Keheley, Steve
Rubin,
Yehan Wan).
- Greatly
enlarged small details of real
world (Clint
Mallard, Massimo Castronuovo).
- Random
rough-and-tumble lines rigmarole (Dan
Christensen, Max Weber, George
W. Hart, Beatrice Mandelman, Jim Wrinkle, Michael Timothy McAlevey,
Rick Angeloni, Patrick Ngoho).
- Rigmarole of
rhythmically arranged lines
(Sr.Robert Oblon, Brice Marden,
Franco
Luppis).
- Detail of Oriental hieroglyph (Franz
Kline, Robert Motherwell).
- Vertical
straight lines (Daniel Buren, Bridget Riley, Ralph
Humphrey, Ed Moses, Peter Lodato).
- Horizontal
lines (Agnes Martin, Emily
Kngwarreye).
- Vertical and
horizontal straight lines
(Piet
Mondrian, Mark Rothko, Richard Diebenkorn, Ned Evans, Julie Karabenick, Cecil
Touchon, Kristin Calabrese, Henk
N. van
Dijl, Sean Scully).
- Oblique
straight lines (Oli Sihvonen, Don Sorenson).
- Schisms of
straight lines (Nicholas
Krushenick).
- Random dabs
like on palette of artist (Nocturnal
Splendor. Clyfford Still, Guston Philip,
Jack Jefferson, Fred Martin, Paul Freidin, Darby Bannard, Terrence
Keller, John Seery, Noah Landfield, Mark
LaRiviere).
- Splash of
paints (Merlin
Emrys, Ivo Perelman).
- Compositional
scheme of some picture (Edward Corbett,
Cheryl Kelley, Marilyn
Kirsch, Jackson
Dembar, Frank
Ettenberg, Antoni Tąpies,
Michael
Goldberg, Milton Avery,
Paul
Jenkins, Lenore Jaffee, Stephen Duren, Ben Stack).
- Detail of some picture (Christopher Dodds,
Cheryl D.
McClure, Joost
Sirag, Claire Merigeau, John Hall, Greg
Cope, Ken Showell).
- Collection of
symbolic signs (Robert
Terrell, Louis Catusco, Emmerson
Woelffer, Sherry Walter).
- Emblem (David
Novros, Leslie Lewis, Wendy
Lehman).
- Cubistic
allusion to things (Patrick Henry Bruce, Morgan
Russell, Marsden Hartley, Ronald
Davis, Ray Parker, Thibaut
Dancette,
Willemijn Bouman).
- Surrealistic
allusion to things (Adolph
Gottlieb, Kermit
Davis, James Brooks, Laddie John
Dill, Rod Schneider, Patrick
Mills, Martha Brooks Marshall,
Jack Lembeck, Chastity Arnold).
- Photography
or realistic picture deformed
to
rigmarole (Maarten J. Jansen).
- Imitation of
gemstone (John Griefen, Lindy Bradley, Graham
Peacock, Martha Friedlander, Lauren
Olitsky, Francine Tint,
William
Pettet ).
- Collection of
circular geometric forms
(Frank
Stella, Herbert Bayer, Tom Holland, Edward
Avedisian).
- Collection of
various oblique planes,
possible
with textures (Zoomer, Clifford Singer).
- Collection of
wires, bars, shanks and
other
things of scrap-iron, also called installation (Anthony Caro,
Peter
Reginato).
- Minimalism
(Barnnet Newman, Lorser
Feitelson, John McLaughlin,
Ellsworth Kelly, Gregory
Bogin).
- Rectangles
placed
symmetrically (Mark Rothko, Nicholas Wilder).
- Optical
effects made from collections of
2D or
3D alike shapes (Youri
Messenjaschin, Mark
Robertson).
- Deliberately
using the golden ratio
(Mondrian, Touchon, Tąpies)
We may only
wonder how
simple
and easy
is creative process of abstract art. In
record time I have also created a lot of abstract images and a dozen of
Web pages for your entertainment (enter).
I
tried to illustrate some possibilities of its creation, and only
you can say, do my images yield to artworks of regular abstractionists.
Thus
quality
of abstract
art is
in easiness of
making: no needful art training, hard and long work, nature, models. We know facts when abstract art was successfully
made
even by elephants, cocks, monkeys,
and
other animals.
Abstract
art's
negative aspect is insipidity for too little stock of information
containing
in it. If we try to assoctionism with levels of spirituality, we shall
have some
difficulties. For abstract art's informational poverty possibility of the show of meaning or
purport
is dificult enough. Thus using means of abstract art the fourth level
is achievable hardly. The supernatural or ghost also can be depicted in
abstract art
poorly and poorly it can be understandable by viewer.
Thus we may conclude that abstract art is poor not only by its form,
but also by its content and spirit.
Some aspects of beauty (nice combinations of colors, values, lines) can exist in abstractionism, but for too simple, non
informative, boring abstract
art's essence these aspects are
decisive doubtfully. Some quality
of abstract art lies in its use for decoration of
fictile tiles, wallpapers, textile,
and other wares. Therefore abstract art may be called the mean of
decoration in applied arts.
Expression of feelings also is limited in
abstract art by limitation of expressive means.
Abstract artwork may be compared and
identified
with a little detail of a picture of some old master. Consequently its
really
worth is equal to little part of worth of a picture of an old master.
Some humorous people like Duchamp or Damien
Hirst came to other extremeness -- change of painting into ready mades or cadavers
of
animals put to float in a tanks of formaldehyde.
What is better in art: painting free from
entity (abstractionism) or entity free from art (ready mades, installations, performances, etc.)?
In my opinion the best way is third -- painting in harmony with entity.
But for this needful hard work. Number of artists liking to work hard
diminishes speedily. Soon skilled
artist will be rarity.
All articles
on theme spirituality of art
-
Introduction
to Spirituality of Art
-
Characteristics
of Spirituality
-
Differences
Between Sacred and Unholy Arts
-
Spirituality
in Various Art Styles
-
Goodness
and Evil in Art
- Halo in European Art.
Recognition of Picture Figures. Semantic Level of Art Analysis
-
Proportions
of the Golden Ratio and Whole Numbers Determining Character of
Spirituality in Art
-
National Spirituality
-
Particularities
of Spirituality of Women Art
-
Spirituality
and Mental Illness
-
Abstract
Art and
Spirituality.
-
Gallery of parodies of modern art creation
- The Closing Section of Research Into
Spirituality Of Art
Copyright
© Jurate Macnoriute
THE SECRETS OF
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