Abstract
| “ | The goal of abstract art is to communicate the intangible, that which eludes the photograph and normal seeing. | ” |
In visual arts, abstract refers to images or sculptures that 'abstract' from real-world forms and shapes.
Abstraction usually simplifies forms and shapes, ridding them from unneccessary and distracting detail. Besides simplification, abstraction usually also includes the exaggeration of features to emphasize whatever characteristics and properties the artist wants to stress. Finally, abstract art can also introduce totally new elements that have no correspondence at all to the real world.
Examples
For example, pictograms are typical and well-known examples of abstraction. In a pictogram, a human figure may be represented by circles and rectangles - a geometric approach to the simplification of shape. Or think of the earliest known visual artworks - cave paintings - which are generally very abstract. Or think of ancient Egyptian art.
Abstract art
The term abstract art is now generally understood to mean art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses color and form in a non-representational or subjective way. This is a different concept from the original meaning of 'abstraction' in art.
Abstraction and realism
The opposite of abstraction is realism, which means that the artist attempts to mimic in his artwork as many details and visual properties from the real world as possible.
Realism was first mastered and popular in antiquity (see e.g. Greek and Roman sculptures, or frescos found in Pompeji), died out with the fall of the Roman Empire, and was gradually reborn at the end of the Middle Ages, reaching its second peak in the 18th and 19th century. Then came the invention of photography which could create a flawless photorealistic image with the click of a button. This technical development and competition may have been the main reason why art turned away from realism in the 20th century and let artists explore other styles in various degrees of abstraction.
See also
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This page may use content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Abstract art. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. |
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