Content: Representational & Abstract Isn't "pretty" art valued anymore? Although much art is pleasing to the eye, many artists believe that art offers more than a purely visual appeal — that it should engage our minds as well as our senses. It is actually quite a recent Western assumption that art is intended primarily for visual enjoyment. In the recent past in the West and in many non-Western cultures, an artwork's visual appeal could not be separated from moral, religious, social, political, or emotional concerns. Although many works of art today still appeal to our sense of beauty, many artists want their works to express much more than aesthetic values — their art may also convey their hopes, fears, dreams, beliefs, and ideas. Since these ideas are inherently challenging, so often are the images that express them. Art has the power to extend our ideas of beauty — so we may be surprised by the art that appeals to us. Surprise yourself What kind of art appeals to you? If you prefer art that compels you to reconsider or reflect on the world as you know it, you may be drawn to representational art. This type of art depicts recognizable people, places, and things to introduce a convincing but wholly original version of reality. If pure emotion or form offers you the immediate psychological or emotional connection you seek, you may be a fan of abstract art. Abstract art is composed of lines, shapes, colors, and textures that bears little resemblance to our everyday reality — looking at it, we may feel we've entered the private realm of the psyche. There are many examples of representational and abstract art — and hybrids of the two — available from NextMonet. Representation We can start by looking at some examples of artists whose work is representational: Peter Drake Susan Nichter Real variation June Felter When we look at images like these, we see that there are many variations within the broad category of representational art, particularly with regard to just how "accurate" or "true to nature" the images are. Some seem as accurate as a photograph. Others deliberately distort the forms and colors we all see in our daily world. A dose of reality When we judge an image solely by how realistic or true to nature it is, we may be misjudging it. Is there really a commonly accepted visual reality to measure the art against? Can any artist actually depict this reality accurately? Would an artist really want to do so? Reality is hard to pin down, and it may be beside the artist's point. One scene, many viewpoints Jerry Wayne Downs We go about our lives with the unspoken assumption that our experience of the visual world — the color of the sky, the shape of a tree — is pretty much the same as everyone else's. Yet, if we ask others what they see, we may be surprised by their answers. When we describe the aspects of an artwork, we discover that each of us notices and interprets the details differently. Where some notice a gathering storm, others might see passing clouds, and still others may make out animal shapes in the sky. When we discuss what we think and feel about a work of art, we are sure to find that we all have our unique interpretations. True to form Artists are visually sensitive, and their powers of observation are finely tuned. From observing the way light falls on their surroundings, artists know that visual reality is a shifting, changing phenomenon — not a static, objective certainty. They are also aware that it is impossible to depict in any medium, even photography, exactly what they see. Consider the following still life painting of a squash, and a close-up view of it: John Nava Capturing the essence From a distance, we can consider this image to be an accurate representation of reality. But from close range, we see that it is actually an interpretation or approximation of reality. The light that plays across the surface of the squash is suggested by different colors. No artist can literally paint with light on a surface; the artist must find a way to recreate the effect of light with pigment. The finished work of art is a representation rather than an exact replica of an actual scene or object — yet sometimes an artist's image seems to capture the essence of the scene or object. Artists make their images come to life by endowing it with their own vision, ideas, and emotions. This painting is so convincing that it almost makes us wonder whether we've ever truly looked at a squash before. This is a contribution an artist is uniquely able to make — the "value added" by an artist to our experience of reality. Abstraction Now consider these abstract works: Barbara Grad Martha Sedgwick A journey of discovery Nancy Simonds Abstract art can be more difficult for people to relate to than representational works. It gives the viewer less recognizable imagery or subject matter to go on. The meaning of abstract works is often elusive and open for interpretation, which can make us feel uncertain or even somewhat baffled. But in the absence of recognizable imagery, abstract art leaves room for us to draw our own conclusions and establish our own relationship to the work. Sometimes we find the meanings the artist intended, and sometimes we discover connections of our own. Feel your way Alexander Couwenberg Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian, two of the first abstract artists, believed abstract art could clearly communicate moods and emotions. Contemporary abstract artists would no doubt agree with them that color, shape, and line can communicate strong feelings. They are also aware that we all tend to assign symbolic meaning to colors and shapes. For example, we may associate a white room with a sense of calm and cleanliness, or a sloping hillside with a woman's hip. Abstract artists understand these psychological connections, and translate the "formal" language of art — line, shape, color, composition, rhythm, and balance — directly into moods, sensations, and emotions. Think about how your responses to the abstract artworks shown here are different, and how that response is affected by the various elements the artists use to create their compositions. Out of this world Michael Brown Some abstract artists start their work from an image or scene they find in the real world, but the more they focus on it, the more they appreciate its abstract qualities. Gradually, their work becomes a metaphor for the feelings and ideas inspired by the real world, rather than being a record of its actual physical appearance. Sometimes the original image disappears altogether, and we are transported into the world of the artist's imagination. Paint can be inspiration enough Other abstract artists find their inspiration in the elements of art itself: medium, size, shape, and structure, scale, and design. As they work, a form or idea emerges. In the 1940s and 1950s, critics referred to this type of abstraction as "art for art's sake." Critical interpretation of this type of abstraction was called "formalism," because it concentrated only on the form of the work and not the content. But this approach to abstract art is not a purely heady exercise in form — it is a sensual exploration of an artist's materials, and conveys a freshness and immediacy that still speaks to us. Next: Impressionist & Expressionist — Is there more than one way to interpret a work of art?