Vacancy

The tension between abstract and figurative art has been ongoing for over half a century. This painting exploits that tension. Both the brightly colored stripes and the black and white face vie for dominance. The girl's eyes engage the viewer and yet remain out of reach.

"Vacancy", Oil and acrylic on canvas, 30"x40", 2006

Abstract vs Nonobjective Art II

David Hirschi makes moderately sized seemingly monochromatic paintings "without referents outside of paint, color and support." His paintings arguably meet the definition of nonobjective art. But, as a viewer, some of his blue paintings remind me of skies at certain times of the day and year - an abstraction of some reality. I, in effect, have made a nonobjective painting abstract, without even touching it! In this sense the idea of abstract vs nonobjective art becomes more than academic. A work of art is not complete until the viewer interacts with it. Since many viewers may interact with a work, a particular piece is always in process. Another way to look at it is when a work is finished by the artist, the work is as an infant. Over time the piece matures as a viewership responds to it.

Mark Grtojhan is well known for his colored pencil abstractions which he often subtitles "Butterfly". This 2006 encaustic on canvas (30"x24") is an homage to Grotjhan (my intent). So is this painting an abstraction of Grotjhan's work, an abstraction of butterflies or nonobjective? You decide.

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".