Art Encyclopedia - Abstract Art

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Abstract Art
Currently abstract art is generally used to describe art that does not depict objects recognisable as being in the physical world. Abstract artist use colour and form in a non representational way usually to depict a certain emotion or mood that they want to convey to the viewer.

In the early 20th century Cubist and Futurist art was also described as abstract art. In Cubist and Futurist art the artwork depicted real objects existing in the physical world, but the objects where reduced to their most simplified form with only an allusion to its original physical appearance. To avoid confusion between these two definitions more precise terms such as "non figurative art", "non-objective art" or "non representational art" are used in modern day art discourse.

Some well known abstract artists from art history include Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko and Franz Kline. Some of the important current abstract artists are Yuko Shiraishi, Sean Scully and Callum Innes.

Abstraction indicates a departure from reality in depiction of imagery in art. This departure from accurate representation can be only slight, or it can be partial, or it can be complete. Total abstraction bears no trace of any reference to anything recognizable. In geometric abstraction, for instance, one is unlikely to find references to naturalistic entities. Figurative art and total abstraction are almost mutually exclusive. But figurative and representational art often contains partial abstraction.

Both geometric abstraction and lyrical abstraction are often totally abstract. Among the very numerous art movements that embody partial abstraction would be for instance fauvism in which color is conspicuously and deliberately altered vis-a-vis reality, and cubism, which blatantly alters the forms of the real life entities depicted.