Whats Abstract about Art?

My daughter and her friends from MMU (Multi Media University, Cyberjaya) has just for Alor Star to pick up a car for one of them. I had the opportunity to show off some of my most recent painting that i am working on and am happy to see that had a good response of what they saw. It is the taste of the younger generation that matters where my art is concern of late as i head towards working on the so called abstract works. It has taken me a long time to give in into what many today considers an Abstract Art work which to was in the past nothing but something anyone who claims himself to be a good artist but cannot paint worth his salt. There are very few masters who paint abstract paintings while also being great at doing the basic styles of drawing and sketching what is real life or realism as in paintings especially those of scenary and  human figures. Yes nothing is etched in stone when it comes to Art or creativity and anything goes to the point that today we have "Junk Arr'. Whoop dee dooo!! and Why not?

"I want to point out that there is more than one meaning to "abstract". The modernists have tried to collapse two important senses of the term into one, to bolster their (as we saw above) ludicrous claims. For modernists, "abstract" means "non-objective" or "non-representational" or "non-figurative". For them, abstract means that which does not have any meaning outside of itself. In a very real sense "abstract" modern art is actually meaningless. From the modern critic's point of view, the more meaningless it is (the more "abstract") the better. Now, this is not to say that some "abstract" shapes or blobs of paint cannot be aesthetically pleasing. An oil slick can be pleasing to look at from the right angle - no matter whether it is in a puddle or on a prepared canvas. But they cannot say that an "abstract" modern work is meaningful in any real sense. It is whatever it is, a blob of paint or a block of color - no more and no less"
.The people who are splashing paint on a canvas in pretty patterns, or brushing it on in aesthetically pleasing color combinations, are not doing anything abstract. They are merely depositing little tangible blobs of paint that do not stand in for anything at all.

I genuinely believe that people have derived a sense of aesthetic pleasure from some of their creations. But they are not in fact works of art. The most beautiful of their color fields cannot compare to a field of primroses. They are not works of art, no matter how beautiful, because there are no real abstractions in them, there are no meaningful selections from nature, no great activity of mind. They may mix colors prettily as they please (most of them aim for ugliness) but without selection based on knowledge of the forms of the real world they do not make works of art - and they are not artists.

At best they are craftsmen, with shoddy skills and unmethodical training. Ask yourself with an unbiased mind: What Rothko nebula or Pollock drip painting is more beautiful than a fine Persian rug, a Fabergé egg, or even a finely carved picture frame? The artificers of these three objects are craftsmen - but even they are not fine artists. Where do the legions of modernist smudgers, smearers, and splatterers rank?

The intense public relations and educational indoctrination by people with BAs, MAs, or PhDs after their names creates an intense human compulsion to just go along. All of these authorities tell us that these drips and drabs are great works of art. We are all vulnerable, especially during youth, to being intimidated by prestige. For a time, some of us can come to believe that it is our duty to accept the proclamations of these authorities. If we do not understand, we blame our own ignorance - the alternative for many is too sickening to think about....

But it is not likely that if you can remove the blindfold of ego-investment, that you will not eventually come to see that even the best Rothko, using the most wonderful color combinations, can ever begin to hold a candle to Rembrandt. And you will realize that the real masterpieces of "abstract" art are not by Rothko, Pollock, or DeKooning - they are by history's finest masters of traditional realism."

-- Fred Ross,
Chairman of the Art Renewal Center®


Perhaps it is old fashion but I still maintain that like all else in this life anything that is worth its weight in gold is something that has merit from every aspect of its value and this especially  includes the track record of the creative process. A good understanding and perception of Art History, Philosophy of Art or the Aesthetics, a good amount of experrtise in handling the mediums and techniques that brings forth accurate renditions of nature that a lay person can identify wtith without being hoodwinked by so called "accidents" or hidden messages...bla bla! If and when one has accomplished at being a "Good Artist all round including being able to tell art stories in a formal as well as informal art scenario then abstract art has a meaning deeper than all that one has accomplished, it is the crown of one's long journey into what is creativity: it is the sum total of one's artistic talent or what is being an Artist. Untill then Nahhh!!! The guy who becomes an overnight popular artist is no more than a con artist who has discovered what sells and usually does not last too long in being an artist.
As one of my favorite Masters of old wrote...
"From the age of 6 I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was 50 I had published a universe of designs. But all I have done before the the age of 70 is not worth bothering with. At 75 I'll have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am 80 you will see real progress. At 90 I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At 100, I shall be a marvelous artist. At 110, everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokusai, but today I sign my self 'The Old Man Mad About Drawing.”

― Hokusai Katsushika  

 I am not claiming that at the age sixty three i have mastered my techniques or perfected my styles, however I am merely sharing my thought about something that had been a bother to me as an artist in this day and age. One of the reason for what is transpiring in the contemporary art scene is the fact that Art has become a lucrative asset to have financially speaking. Who needs a meaning to a work of art when there are works that would sell for good prices and does not need for too much analytical  aesthetic values. Contemporary art buyers are mostly ignorant of what it is that they are paying for other than the fact that it is what is selling well in the market. Rarely does one find a well versed art buyer who has extensive knowledge over the subject of art as most rarely has the time to do their homework like reading and understanding a work of art. 

"Nobody who has invested much time down
a blind alley likes the messenger who shines
a light at the brick wall up ahead."