Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Unique Qualities of Original Abstract Paintings

To think of a subject in the abstract is to think of it in the purest terms.  Abstract paintings are, in a sense, art in its purest form.  Color and shape operate independently of historical or visual context in abstract expressionism and filter down in a wide range to impressionism, the style which has abstract elements merely tingeing the edges, so to speak, of the final work.  Abstract painting and its unique qualities may make us realize our desire for purity and a chance to choose an abstract painting for our home is not to be slighted.
So, let us consider color.  Unless you are color blind, and even then you will have a perception of color that is simply skewed from the norm, you will have noticed that color evokes emotion.  How does the sunset affect us as it blends gold and yellow, blue and purple until the perfect black of a peaceful night is achieved?  Doesn’t it soothe the spirit which has been striving all day long making a livelihood, doesn’t it return the spirit to the tranquility of a restful evening?  Black, the presence of a color than implies the relaxation of night, is also termed the absence of all colors.  A completely believable conundrum in the world of art, as is the color white, said to be the presence of all colors.  Moving onto the spectrum of the traditional red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and finally violet, these colors are rich in their powers of evocation of emotion.  Red, for instance, can flare us into hot anger or portray the wistful emotions of love, as when we give a red rose to the love of our life.  How heartwarming is the yellow of a sunny kitchen’s décor or the soothing expanse of a healthy green lawn?  What about the blue of the ocean’s expanse or the violet of a neon sign, showing the way to happiness and cheer inside a comradely tavern?  All these colors evoke emotions within us without having to be explicitly depicted in an abstract painting.  An abstract artist will even paint to your specifications, using your favorite color to the proper degree in his commissioned work.  Too much, he says, will make you tired of your favorite color, and you surely do not want that!  The experts agree that color is delicately used in art and only for a specific effect.
Shape in abstract art is more difficult to define than color’s effects, yet still it can be done.  A circle’s unending quality can signify the cycle of nature’s renewal, spring to summer to autumn to chill winter, slowing but not stopping our steps as we move through the days of our lives.  A triangle, the most stable of shapes, may signify the viewer’s most salient point of stability in life, a relationship or the iconic nature of religious faith.  A square at its basic symbolism could be the physical home in which we live, or, even simpler, the room that holds that which is nearest and dearest.  Polygons of any stripe may evoke thoughts of the varying interests in life, multiple areas of pleasure that make our days bearable.
Abstract art, far from opaque, becomes the medium in which art speaks to us and clarifies our most intense desires.  Having a piece of such art in the office, home or giving abstract art to a valued colleague or family member enables us to share our desires for a full life with the world in general.





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