Modern Abstract Art Demands Participation From The Observer

Modern abstract art is both celebrated and misunderstood. It is the epitome of artistic freedom of expression, using forms, textures and colors that often represent emotions or other intangible elements, rather than actual physical objects. It emphasizes a symbolism of spontaneity and subconscious meaning designed to transcend ordinary physical boundaries in a way that requires interaction.

By its very nature, abstract art offers a variety of styles and methods that virtually have no limits. In realistic painting, for example, a tree, a mountain or a person can only be viewed in certain ways that reflect the physical world. Abstraction allows for boundless possibilities that are essentially infinite in the number of potential representations.

Abstract expressionism was first widely recognized in the cubism of Pablo Picasso during the early twentieth century. Artists such as Jackson Pollock and Marcel Duchamp have been greatly instrumental in bring notoriety to abstract expressionist forms. Minimalist artists like Carl Andre use techniques that bring abstract concepts down to the most fundamental of forms.

These types of art can range from simple geometric shapes to intricately placed lines of random shapelessness. Colors can consist of the most basic of primary shades or may explode with hundreds of separate hues within a single work. Some pieces of modern abstract art utilize multiple depictions of a single entity, while others inject a mass diffusion of combined unique components.

Since modern abstract art is not meant to be an exact representation of reality, it allows the mind of an observer to interact in ways that traditional realism tends to discourage. In fact, its disassociation from reality enables a viewer to react in unique ways that are not clearly defined or even relatively expected. A different kind of involvement is required in order to interpret a meaning that is likely to be somewhat different for every individual spectator.

These abstractions can allow the mind to fill in the blanks in ways that many people find to be emotionally satisfying. For those people, the emotions go far beyond what they may normally experience with a straightforward depiction of a realistic and easily recognizable subject. For many, the essence of the art is its lack of definition and its ability to motivate the mind into action. It requires participation on the part of onlookers.

The effect of modern abstract art is created by patterns of forms, colors and lines that are removed from the original subject. In many cases, the painting or sculpture is no longer intended to bear any likeness to the idea that inspired it. It takes on a life of its own and, in fact, the work becomes the subject itself. The excitement of the art lies in its ability to be an individual entity rather than a representation or reflection of another.

It can also be said that modern abstract art is a simplification of reality that can imply much deeper complexities. The totally subjective nature of the art form provides distinctions between the two that are not always obvious. The effects rely strictly upon the engagement of the beholder who must supply the details that have been intentionally eliminated.