What Is Abstract Art?

Summary

Abstract art became a dominant art form in the 20th century, though viewers can find it difficult to understand because it does not necessarily depict recognizable objects. Instead, it emphasizes elements such as color, shape, composition, and the relationships between forms.

The video argues that abstraction grew from the idea that a painting’s formal qualities can matter more than its subject. An artist might focus on how a tree is represented—or dispense with the tree altogether.

Origins and influences

Abstraction developed out of earlier artistic movements that challenged traditional representation:

• Fauvism and Cubism rearranged observed forms.
• Futurism responded to technology and industrialization.
• Surrealism moved away from ordinary depictions of reality.
• Dada embraced irrationality and experimentation.

Kazimir Malevich’s geometric paintings, including Black Square, pushed abstraction further. The upheavals of the 20th century also encouraged artists to seek forms of expression suited to a rapidly changing world.

Kandinsky and approaches to abstraction

Wassily Kandinsky helped formulate theories of abstraction. He believed art could convey the essential character of a subject without depicting it realistically, using visual forms to create an equivalent experience. His thinking was influenced by music, philosophy, spiritual ideas, and possibly synesthesia.

The video presents abstraction as a broad practice with several possible sources and approaches:

• Impressions of nature: An observation of the world prompts an artwork that conveys something of its essence or emotional effect without necessarily resembling it.
• Improvisation: The artist creates freely, without a physical subject as a guide.
• Inner feelings developed into a composition: The artist reflects on an idea or feeling and gives it form through deliberate arrangements of visual elements.

Ways to interpret abstract work

The video describes three approaches that can help viewers interpret abstract art:

• Reduction and simplification: Removing nonessential details to express a subject in its most essential forms. Constantin Brancusi’s sculptures are given as an example.
• Construction: Arranging basic forms into a composition that does not represent a recognizable reality. Kandinsky’s paintings are cited as examples.
• Spontaneity and chance: Reacting to the work as it develops and making use of the medium’s natural effects, such as splashes and drips. Jackson Pollock is associated with this approach.

The discussion connects spontaneity and chance to materiality: art that emphasizes the physical qualities of its materials and the act of making.

Public perception

The video notes that abstraction was often intended to be rational, secular, and accessible beyond audiences with specialized knowledge of religion, history, or the art world. It contrasts those ambitions with the art form’s modern reputation as elitist or disconnected from everyday life.

The video ends by suggesting that abstraction’s declining public standing was shaped by events after World War II, including an ideological campaign in America, but does not explain that story further.

Creators and contributors mentioned

• Joshua Reynolds
• Kazimir Malevich
• Wassily Kandinsky
• Constantin Brancusi
• Jackson Pollock
• Michelangelo (referenced in a comparison)

Art movements discussed

Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism, and Dada.