Abstract vs. Nonobjective Art I

I am mildly nonplussed when one of my art friends corrects me while discussing abstract art. The preferred term, I am informed, is Nonobjective Art. As I understand it, abstract art, as we know it today, arose from late 19th century art movements and initially represented varying degrees of deviance from representation of real objects. This, in contrast with earlier ideas of art which held in high regard exacting verisimilitude in painting, often drew the ire of art critics and collectors. As the art form developed, abstract art became increasingly independent of reality - to the extent that in some works there is no recognizable reality. This is nonobjective art. But even this becomes problematic as we'll consider in a later post.
The two paintings here are abstracts. "Larry, Daryl and Daryl" (2007), a 20" x 73" encaustic triptych, may be considered nonobjective. "Kiss in the Forest" (2008) is an abstraction of reality. It is oil on canvas and 30" x 40".