Tennessee Technological University - Appalachian Center for Craft - Clay Studio

Vince Pitelka, 2006

The Issue of Abstraction: Some Things Consider

"Reality has always been far too small for the human imagination." - Jacqueline Ford Morie

Throughout history around the world most artwork has freely expressed the wonderful potential of human imagination, using abstraction and symbolism to empower specific narratives.  In all cultures children start out as artists, creating abstract imagery intuitively and spontaneously.  This inclination will always continue naturally unless it is subverted or discouraged.

In our Western culture the Classical humanism of ancient Greece and Rome celebrated the idealized perfection of the human form, and encouraged pictorial realism in all art.  The emergence of Christian humanism of the late Middle Ages led to the revival of Classical humanism and pictorial realism during the Italian Renaissance, backed up by the full power of the Catholic Church.  With these two pinnacles of Western civilization setting such powerful precedent, it is little wonder that abstraction has struggled to find its place in Western art, especially in the perception of the general public.

Abstraction in art can simply be defined as the alteration or interpretation of a subject to suit the artists needs or intent, and under that definition almost all art is abstracted from reality to some extent.  The copying of reality without interpretation or abstraction is a matter of rendering skill and involves little creativity or imagination. 

Nonobjective abstraction refers to completely abstract artworks with no overall objective or recognizable content.  This type of artwork demands a lot from the viewer.  When we view pictorial realism in art our response can be completely passive.  All we have to do is stand there and let the imagery deliver its message, which doesn’t require much imagination or initiative on our part.  This is not to malign realistic pictorial art, but our enjoyment and understanding of realistic imagery depend on the artist’s rendering skill and our familiarity with the pictorial information, rather than our willingness to actively use our intellect and imagination.  Abstract art is appreciated on a different level, and places much more responsibility on the viewer in order to actively experience the work.  The appreciation of abstract art can increase with education and experience, but neither are necessary.  The minimum requirement is a keen eye and an open mind. 

A comparison with music can clarify all this.  Non-objective abstraction in visual art is like instrumental music.  To say that realistic pictorial art is somehow more valid or effective than abstract art is just like saying that music that tells a story with words is more acceptable than instrumental music.  A piece of instrumental music is an abstract composition of musical form: pitch, tone, volume, duration, repetition, rhythm, unity and variety experienced through sound.  A nonobjective artwork is an abstract composition of visual form: line, shape, volume, space, value, color, pattern, texture, repetition, rhythm, unity and variety experienced through sight.