Becoming Abstract

                                          Becoming Abstract

                                                     Louis Kahn
            As with seasoning on food, a moderate amount of abstraction suits many people's taste.  To examine that claim, please look at a watercolor painting of the surviving columns of the temple of Apollo in Corinth, Greece.  Fittingly, Apollo was the divine patron of the arts and sciences.

              

       The painting was done by the architect Louis Kahn. In his travels, he made drawings and watercolors of scenes that appealed to him, usually related to architecture.
     In what way is Kahn's watercolor becoming abstract?  Were those the colors of the columns?  Note that some white or black is understood to add to or anchor an artwork.  Do you agree and do you see it here?  Were the far columns at the spacing shown?  Or widened to show between those at front, but still be believable enough?  The very fact that the subject is a ruin gives a sense of melancholy or loss and departs from the original shape. Next, observe the vantage point he chose -- sideways towards the corner so the further columns recede downward.
     The colors seem dramatized but believable under some lighting. What lighting?   Kahn has taken liberties with the colors for contrast and strength.
     Note that Kahn appeared before in this blog. To see or review background of his parliament building in Bangladesh, just use the search area with magnifying glass icon and use the search term: Kahn. 

      For convenience though, we show a view of the building.                         

                       

      Note the surrounding water. The red building in the foreground contains residences for members of Parliament. 
      We also have a few images of the interior of Kahn's parliament building.   See one of the interior halls with a person for scale.              

                            

And contemplate the central assembly hall.  Note the web of hanging lights, although the photo is lit by natural light coming in from above.

                         

     

In a sense, is all architecture abstract? We realize it doesn't depict nature and is a man-made construct.

     The whole of Kahn's building is thought provoking. It seems there are great cylinders and boxes surrounding the even greater cylindrical central part that houses the assembly hall. Each great outer space appears as if a giant fantasy hallway or passage, or ante chamber.  Is the purpose for the delegates to feel a sense of awe, responsibility, and lofty mission?

     Note the great solidity and massiveness. The influential modern architect Frank Gehry said that Kahn had an almost mystical relationship with materials.

                                                   Anke Roder

         A landscape in the Netherlands is closer to abstract due to the flat land, sea, and sky.   The woman Dutch artist Anke Roder has a series and a book of such paintings. 

  One                     

and another that more clearly shows the beach and is brighter in a hazy way.                          

                            

        Those two examples are of calm, closely related colors and tones, but the basic composition also succeeds with stronger combinations.  For the second example, I originally had a painting with the horizon line near the middle from top to bottom.  That is considered dull and to be avoided.  A horizon near the top one third or the bottom third is considered more attractive.  In the future, keep an eye out for that and see if you agree.

     On YouTube, you can find an accessible method to make paintings of that kind and see a greater variety.  Search for the title: Easy abstract Dutch landscape paintings.  It is one video of a series called Imperfect Paintings.  Many color combinations work for land, sea, and sky.

      The video shows how small works of this kind can be done by finger painting, which is surprisingly effective.  And why is that so?  Our brains must be conditioned to interpret horizontal bands of color as land, sea, and sky.

                                                      Emil Nolde

          Everything the German Expressionist artist Emil Nolde produced has a somewhat abstracted poetic quality.  See his two smoldering steam boats on the sea.  Can you find the boats?

                   

 Observe another -- the sea off Alsen Island in Denmark.

                              

How did he make all those colors work and be unified?

His flowers seem breathing and mysterious.

                            

                                                 Richard Mayhew

        The black artist Richard Mayhew made large landscape paintings from his memories and imagination.  See the one below that is more representational than most of his works but I found it attractive and wanted to share it with you.                    

                                      

And a darker work.                            

  

       So what is acceptable as ground, vegetation, trees, and sky?  Must the colors be subdued to make it work?  How much detail can be suppressed or, in fact, must be suppressed?

                                                Andy Warhol

      Warhol was thought of as a pop artist. He made multiple images based on celebrities --- Mao or Marilyn, and consumer items --- cans and boxes.   We will look at a different side of his work. It is said  that he saw a magazine photo of flowers that captured his imagination.  

      He made many, and here is one                                  

and another in black and white. 

                            

     How are they becoming abstract?  Colors?  Background? Shapes?  Can we see the stems?   Are the flowers all in the same plane?

      As with all conceptual art, the original idea  of the work was a creative act.  The execution counted of course, but once done, other people could make fair copies.   That is the reason that provenance is so important in authenticating an original and justifying (?) its consequent high price.

                                                   Paul Gauguin

        Many other artists, though not known for nearly abstract works, occasionally produced one, for instance Blue Trees by Paul Gauguin.  

     

                                          

          One might think the trees in front were a bad idea, like prison bars.   Notice, in the landscape two of the trees are on the far side of the path, hence further away, but somehow the space is flattened (or is it?) and the four trees seem to form a unit (or do they?).  Can you will to see it either way?  Note also the blue and orange complementary colors.  Does the orange path work?  And there seems to be a person or something behind a tree.  Is that a plus or a minus for you?  Overall, how successful?  Does it grow on you?  What does that mean?   

       Which of all the works you have seen do you like the best?  Can you analyze and express why? 

                                                      Pareidolia

      Some artworks are abstract but we can find. or imagine within them, familiar real world images.  There are examples around the world and beyond.  For instance: the man in the moon, or the big dipper in the sky, or the man in the mountain.  That "man" is a natural stone outcrop that looks like a man's profile.

     Have you seen images in clouds, marble grain, or wood grain? You will have more fun finding them than by me showing them.  Or ask a child to help you.  Leonardo saw these images and recommended them.  

      Comprehending these mind-created images is a phenomenon of our perception called Pareidolia. That is, when confronted with something ambiguous, we impose a meaningful interpretation on what we see (or hear or feel). 

    A local artist made the image you see below.  You can see it is composed of paper scraps on a painted substrate.

                                    

       I see, the photo shows too much texture and edges.  If you saw the work, you could back up until the white all merged together as one shape -- not seeing the pieces.  Please use your imagination.  Can you see any thing human?  I don't want to reveal my impression just yet.   Observe and find something of note before continuing reading.

     Let's look at the other characteristics.  The fuzzy ball of black wooly paint strokes increases the contrast with the white and makes the blue seem further back  -- overall, like floating in space.   The top and bottom of the white part are straight but not parallel.   Is that good?  Or better if they were parallel?  Why?   Some of the edges are straight and some are torn, hence irregular.  That is a kind of edge contrast.  The work is composed of different materials and the paper is quite flimsy.  Is that a defect?

      The white part looks to me like a rugged nosed man looking left and a bit of hair sticking out at the back under a flat topped hat.  The bottom part looks a bit like a collar going slightly down. 

       Further, you can turn your head or turn the artwork and make new interpretations.

       Does it look like the artwork succeeded?  What does success mean for an artwork?