Abstract Art - Essay Example

Abstract art can simply be described as the product of expressionist action that is only guided by the creator’s self-thoughts (whether conscious or subconscious).  Michel Seuphor, a historian of French Art describes it as any art that is only differentiable as a “deliberate disorder” as against the principles of harmony and order of composition in other artworks.

The origins of abstract art are traced back to America and Europe at the end of World War 2. In its infancy, it was synonymous with the works of artists like Willem de Kooning and Arshile Gorky (Auping, Michael, and Gibson 56). The abstract method can be described as a matrix. Some identifiable common characteristics include:

• Unique expressionism - the artist’s innate ability to express intrinsic feelings with elements of reality in the world
• Conveyance of limitless and varied information, which is defined and differentiated between the audience
• Stylistic mix of different styles and genres of art harmoniously

Discussion

Keith Garrow, born in England in 1962 is a modern-day abstract artist. He graduated in Fine Art in Nottingham in 1987. His work primarily is heavily influenced by American Abstract Expressionists like Jackson Pollock gives equivalent importance to both the finished work itself and the expressive, creative process behind it. Despite the ambiguity synonymous with all abstract work, his composition stands out for me since the abstract forms can be clearly seen in the final work and evoke different reactions and meanings in different people. The abstract forms revolve between abstraction and figuration, providing the observer a launch pad for their imagination to tap into deeply buried personal past events as well as emotional resonance.

This piece immediately captured my attention. In the painting, I perceive two persons, a pool and a snake. Viewing the painting horizontally from left to right and imposing some sense of geography in the same order, you can see the snake with its fangs widely stretched Spitting blue-like poison. Slightly above and below the pool is a boy. The painting draws to mind events of the unfortunate pool incident that cost the life of my beloved childhood friend, John. Ten years ago, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, while swimming, as was our tradition, John bizarrely started oozing blood from his nose. The pathologist was later to affirm that he died of an acute heart attack caused by a rupture of the heart’s wall. I remember vividly how I had vowed not to lose the lap race and was so consumed with this, as not to notice when John almost 3/4 pool length ahead of me was struggling. The red anvil-like object almost intuitively takes the form of my selfishness, and how it lies above the head of the boy is pain-strikingly evidence of my guilt for losing him. Can you spot me, the white girl doing a stroke?

I have not stepped into a pool almost two decades later following John’s demise. Ironically, for such a tall lady, I find adept difficulty stepping into any water body that inch anywhere above my knees. The painting in a nutshell unlocked memories long buried in my subconscious and the green traces represent, to me, the possibility of my rising above the incident. In equal measure, as they ebb away, so does my desire to get back into the pool in the near, foreseeable future.