Finding meaning in abstraction
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 พ.ค. 2020
- Joan Mitchell, City Landscape, 1955, oil on linen, 203.2 × 203.2 cm (Art Institute of Chicago 1958.193, ©The Estate of Joan Mitchell), a Seeing America video
speakers: Sarah Alvarez, Director of School Programs, Art Institute of Chicago, Beth Harris, and Steven Zucker
The last line about letting things just be themselves is great. I’ve met people who really like concrete answers and ideas, who don’t necessarily like open-ended questions or theories. But I’ve also realised that I also need to let those people be who they are - I like theories and abstract concepts and ideas, and they like concrete ideas and concepts. One isn’t necessarily better than the other. Abstraction needs concrete-ness, and vice versa - and in this way I can just let those ideas and people be.
That was unbelievably insightful and I thank you. I am amazed at how a TH-cam video on abstract paintings can completely change my views on art.
I really liked the last line. Thank you for the video!
Sometimes, we don't need to understand. Just feel it
Best comment
Fr
Knowing when it (City Landscape) was painted has more relevance for me. I was six years old when this was painted. This gives the whole concept of the image a fresh and energetic authority a later work simply doesn't have. I'm bowled over by the sheer amount of detail in this stunningly beautiful work. How fortunate any private owner would be to possess one of her works.
Just like with most abstract paintings, I just can't explain why I feel so happy when I look at a painting like this one.
I understand your point. I've had similar experiences in which an abstract work gives me big feelings without knowing why. Unlike in other aspects of my life which are very logical and reasoned, with abstract paintings I am totally comfortable without understanding why. It's a safe space for me.
Just love you folks....your exploration of individual art objects as well as concepts is always a pleasure to watch and listen to.....
At 4:01 & 4:14 - incredible! "What did it mean at that moment (especially considering post-a World War)" + "Music Without Words" ...so few words. Yet, so much delayed gratification in our tardiness of experiencing the context they way you two had explained it. Thank you both, on & on and before, so much!
I find abstract can be equally appreciated two fold. One is the techniques used (objective) and the meaning portion (subjective). Just a thought as many make fun of the latter. Love the channel.
That comparison with music without words is simply perfect. Poetry is music too but all words.
Incredible painting
A fabulous work by a giant of abstract expressionism.
Great conversation on abstraction! Thanks!
Before even knowing the name of this piece, I thought it looked like an incredible traffic jam.
I really liked what the guy said about the title and also the last line
The comparison of abstract art to instrumental music at the end was brilliant. I feel like I'll be viewing abstract works with that metaphor in mind going forward. I prefer representation as a general rule, but I do like the unique challenge that looking at abstract art presents.
Thank you for saying so.
@@smarthistoryvideos You're very welcome. 🥰 Thank you guys for making such amazing content.
Hmm very interesting I actually immediately saw a city scape even before the title was revealed.
I see it as expressing moments, and feelings, the connection of the hand and brain. And to let it just flow free. To enjoy the amazing gift of expressing on canvass the joy of moving your arm and limbs and built colour in it as further expression, and then the finished product and hearing people's interpretations! 😉
Lovely programme !! Frankenthaler piece is wonderful.! How about peter lanyon,ivon hitchens Ben nicholson Patrick heron ?? More programmes please. Please. Madly yours. Warren
very good
Why can’t we make our own meaning out of abstract art? Perhaps for some, it’s enough to look at colors and layers and brushstrokes . But I like to think about the emotions it evokes and what it might be, at least to me. I saw a big block wall as on a a city building, with easy chars in front and people arranged closely together having a highly animated discussion, perhaps with several conversations going on. Maybe no one else would see this or need to, but I enjoy exploring meaning. What I’d really love to understand is how to make good abstract art.
wow for such a great channels, the comments are very ignorant and stupid. photorealism in art will never resonate for me. Most often a narrative will literally be described in a classical painting: depictions of christ, classical scenes of rome. Abstract art conjures a world inside your own mind every person will interpret such a scene differently. Photorealism in NOT art it is skill. Art is transformative, applies the human lense and twist and distorts concepts and emotions for us to digest visually. Every art movement since neo-classisism has been a revolt of their parents generation and a disregard for the arbitrary standards set by governing bodies, and 500 years on we are still in the same place its incredible to me. Great video as usual Smarthistory, i see so many of these comments on art which people choose to dismiss it frustrates me...
Also, in every art medium a clear image is never rewarded. Good art makes you WORK to find meaning, it's what causes the aha! moment and is it's power. The best TV shows have you guessing and questioning all throughout as it stimulates and teases your mind! Abstract art is more beautiful, working with simple colors, shapes and brushstrokes paradoxically allows our creativity to unfurl... Creating meaning from meaningless objects is a beautiful and powerful skill.. also also why restrict yourself to a realm of imagery in which a camera can already capture perfectly? Picassos reaction to the camera was to incorporate multiple perspectives and points in time to deliver an image rich in energy and life. How can people be so dismissive of abstract art? rant over for now... grrr
"420 lmao dude"
@Ivan the Novice Why take such a definitive stance "I do not think that is possible" all art is abstract but lets clarify were both talking about non representational art. Would you mind referencing a specific painting which has moved you so I can try to see your point. I'm struggling to understand how your language can be so black or white "they have faux meaning". Romantics, expressionists & impressionists found the restrictions and guideline of art to be suffocating. Why depict a scene where the shadows are from this world where red breathes so much more emotion? Also, author intent is nice in that it helps us to connect the dots in the artwork and the context of the piece but it not necessary for art to be transcendent. How can you look for meaning in classical art where the meaning was spelled out for you?
@@cambojuan yea nice rebuttal
@Ivan the Novice Sure! I personally am a much bigger fan of sculpture and architecture than painting, but I love Wassily Kandinsky’s abstract paintings. I like Composition viii, which is like translating music into a visual medium and my favourite is Yellow-Red-Blue. What I like most about abstraction is how individual elements are arranged on the canvas to represent emotions, music things that can’t be seen but influence every aspect of our lives! Plus, I really enjoy the use of color in abstract paintings, they look very visually appealing to me.
That was good
Nice video. I liked the comparison with lyricless music, however if I were to use that comparison I'd probably emphasise a less structured form of music like Free Jazz or some of John Cage's work rather than a general 'music with no words'
😊😊😊
I can see the city in the paint
I know there's a place in the art world for abstraction expression. I can sympathise given the previous context of formalism in galleries (especially during the 50s when the world was so rigid in terms of social adherence). The problem I find in appreciating these pieces is the deliberate lack of meaning. If we are to appreciate these works by the artist's original intention, we may as well be staring into puddles and invoking our own meaning. The problem with post-modernism in art is that it ran with this singular idea in the rejection of meaning and became preoccupied with medium and context. While I'm sure some people appreciate this form of art, it feels like an inside joke. When understanding that joke, it comes off as voiceless, infantile, narcissistic and masturbatory. It's like : "we get it, and we got it 100 years ago". Call me old fashioned, but I prefer art that actually dares to say something.
Try reading about it. Ultimately, reading about art won't make you enjoy it, but coupled with a developing familiarity you can find a true value to it. And that's the thing, it takes time just like anything else in life worthwhile.
@TheVerticalGardener Ideas may not always be articulable in verbal language. Expression is also a term I find misleading for most visual art. It implies there's something 'inside' the artist getting pushed out onto the canvas somehow. It's just not the case though. What the viewer sees is what the artist saw. Finding the order the artist was looking at is the fun part.
this is nutrition for me
I always use the criterion -if I could do a painting like this myself it's not great art.I feel I could do most of those abstract paintings myself if I spent enough time dripping and sloshing paint on.However, the great realistic type paintings -a totally different matter -you need real talent!
Every 80 year old pensioner in a Sunday drawing class can paint a realistic landscape. It takes some cohones to set aside 1000s of years of figurative painting and be like "you know what, I feel like focusing on the paint of it". All this time later people still find that incomprehensible. But if you think painting bushes and sticks is a more impressive artistic achievement you do you
Every artist that initially tries to 'drip' and 'slosh' paint quickly realizes that it isn't easy as it seems to come up with something worthwhile.
@@mikefink5847 nothing worthwhile genius . Anyone could throw paint 🎨
@@Moodboard39 Well. Yes. Everyone could throw paint. But I think he was talking about how you can control the throwing, or let the freeness and controlness communicate somewhat.
Man: Look at that blue...
Woman: I like the pink...
*somewhere in this world a millennial just had a stroke*
Ha! We were laughing at this ourselves.
I'm never going to be convinced this is good art.
It's ok that you'll never be convinced
Its ok, everyone has their opinions abt art, plus no one rlly needs your validation anyway.
Art just may not be your thing
Still not a huge fan of abstraction, I understand the reasons for it. But if I don't connect with it or inspired by it, I am not going to enjoy very much. I mean I can connect with expressionism and impressionism meaning and artistic skill but not this.
I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum, I love abstract art because I see it as raw emotion and feelings.
Agree, I have done an honest effort, but I can't appreciate anything of value in abstraction... I wonder how art historians and academics can enjoy by looking at this kind of art. To me it's not human, maybe that its what it aims to be, dehumanizing.
I’m not a fan of all abstract work, but I definitely dont think that it isn’t real art. One of my favourite artists is Wassily Kandinsky, the pioneer of abstract art. I really like how shapes and colour can be combined to create something that looks random and can still inspire an emotional response. His paintings are like « seeing » music and I that that capacity of abstraction- to represent things that cannot be seen or things that are not truly present but mean so much to us is why I feel abstraction is a great form of art!
@@cambojuan is nuts lol
@@devisankhla4788 I could see something in this art .
The same rules that old fashion paintings have that make them masterpieces the same rules abstract painting have.compozition colorations energy.you have to see the same thing with music.music is simplefide compear to the classical music bat how many masterpieces have been composed with simpycit.sow there is only the lack of methodism that is sacrificed for the expression.copying the method of an abstract painter leads you to nowhere bat makings a renaissance painting method is the only way to achieve it.bat I do think that there are masterpieces in abstract art de Kooning or kappel might seam childish to some people but they need a real painters skill to be made.sry for my English not my language