ABSTRACTION

= does not show the subject at all as an objective reality, but only his idea or his feeling about it.
= Abstract means “to move away or separate”

HISTORY
= In Chinese painting, abstraction can be traced to the Tang Dynasty painter Wang Mowho is credited
to have invented the splashed-ink painting style.
= It began in 1940s in the United States.
= The main characteristic of abstract art is that it has no recognizable subject. Other Abstract Artists
painted with emotion and randomness hoping to capture their emotion and subconscious thoughts
on the canvas.

 WASSILY KANDINSKY
= Russian painter and art theorist
= generally credited as the pioneer of abstract art.
= taught at the Bauhaus school of art and architecture from 1922 until the Nazi closed it in 1933.
= Father of modern art
 The Cow, 1910
 Landscape with Factory Chimney, 1910

 JACKSON POLLOCK
= a major figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement.
= his technique of pouring or splashing liquid household paint on to a horizontal surface (‘drip
technique’), enabling him to view and paint his canvases from all angles.
= It was also called ‘action painting’, since he used the force of his whole body to paint, often in a
frenetic dancing style.
 Pollock, 1952: Blue Poles

“Bird in Space”By Constantin Brancusi

- An abstract sculpture

WAYS OF PRESENTING ABSTRACTION

A. DISTORTION
This is clearly manifested when the subject is in misshapen condition or the regular shape is twisted
out.
 Draped Reclining Mother and Baby by Henry Moore
 Mother and Child by Jose P. Alcantara
B. ELONGATION
refers to lengthened, a protraction or an extension of an art.
 Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne by Amedeo Modigliani
C. MANGLING
Subject or objects are cut, lacerated, mutilated or hacked with repeated blows.
 The Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso
 Self Portrait by Han Xiao
 D. CUBISM
This is clearly manifested when the subject is in misshapen condition or the regular shape is twisted
out.
 Violin and Candlestick by Braque
 Three Musician by Picasso
E. ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
Characterized by gestural brush-strokes or mark-making, and the impression of spontaneity.
 Convergence by Jackson Pollock
 Autumn Rhythm by Jackson Pollock

SYMBOLISM
• The artwork is more subjective and conventional.
• refers to the visible sign of something invisible such as an idea or quality.

 FAUVISM
= It is derived from the French “les fauves,” which means “the wild beasts.”
= the last part of the 19th century which emphasized spontaneity and use of extremely bright colors.
 Henri Matisse, Open Window, Collioure, 1905, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
 Georges Braque, 1906, L'Olivier près de l'Estaque (The Olive tree near l'Estaque).
 DADAISM
= A hobby-horse is a child’s toy consisting of a wooden horse mounted on a stick.
= With this etymology, we could say that Dadaism is system of art which is per se “nonsensical.”
= it strives to have no meaning at all.
= Meaninglessness of the modern world
 Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917
 FUTURISM
= Love of speed, technology and violence
= Futurism was presented as a modernist movement celebrating the technological, future era.
= Representing the motion in modern life and the technological triumph of man over nature.
 Retro Futurismus, Klaus Burgel
 Natalia Goncharova, Cyclist, 1913
 SURREALISM
= Child of Dada
= Unlike Dadaism, it shows new and higher reality than that of daily life. Magical world is better than
reality.
= To shock audience and show what artists consider as the deeper and truer part of human nature.
= It attempts to show what is inside a person’s mind as well as the appearance of his outside world.
 Christopher McKenney
 Rumors of Spring by Aarron Laidig