Various modern paintings have discarded accurate and realistic modes of art in favor of abstraction, which is seen through formalist art criticism. Everyone has a different opinion about art, while others enjoy realism; some tend to be more attracted to abstract forms in that style and perception become evident and defined differently by everyone. According to ………. (………) abstract art usually lacks concrete form as it comprises a series of shapes that are consistent and do have a distinct meaning, although they appear attractive on canvas. On the other hand, realism represents real and accurate pictures of things, places, or objects where the artists try to make them look as real and precise as possible. Although these two forms of art seem opposite, they start from an idea of something such as realism taking a picture of something skillfully and duplicating it; abstraction, on the other hand, begins with an accurate description and morphs it into it something unrecognizable. In this case, the abstract technique used by the artist utilizes the visual language of form, line, and color to create a composition, and hence it is a matter of opinion of which type of art is better. However, most of the modern artists find abstract art more attractive to the audience as it looks simple and yet complex to decipher as it makes one work on the meaning of the form, unlike realism, which is more of a show of technique and skills that meaning.
The old painters sensed that it was better to preserve their pictures’ integrity as they envisaged a situation where their pictures will no longer have relevance as seen in the modern world today, where artists have taken over the realism space with abstract art. Besides, realism signifies the enduring presence of flatness underneath the vivid illusion of the three-dimensional paintings that were the essential success of their craft (…………..). On the other hand, the modern abstracts have neither avoided nor resolved the contradiction of realism, but they have instead reversed the terms and forged a new technique devoid of meaning. Besides, in abstract art, one is made aware of the flatness in the picture before they are made aware of what the image means such that the viewer will struggle to find meaning in abstractness. While in realism, one sees the picture itself and the meaning behind it before gradually noticing the flatness in it. In this regard, most modern artists have chosen the ideal route as it imposes critical thinking of a view without necessarily abandoning the recognizable principles of objects within the picture. Therefore, what the modern artists have abandoned in the realism art as they progress into abstract forms is the representation of space as abstract images have by themselves filled the spaces and made every space available to the artists.
James whistler
James Whistler was a realistic American artist in the gilded age and was averse in moral illusions and sentimental values in his paintings that led to the ‘art for art’s sake’ credo.
Figure 1: The Arrangement in Grey and Black by James Whistler (1871)
Whistler created the ‘arrangement in grey and black’ that was popularly referred to as Whistler’s mother in 1871. The art was considered a radical for its unsentimental portrayal of the artist’s mother, Anna Whistler. The paintings aesthetic arrangement of color and shape brought about popular cultures through realism. Whistler’s work is an excellent example of an accurate and realistic picture as the painting shows a real human being who happens to be Whistler’s mother and hence bringing about the sentimental value to the audience (……….). Whistler creates a hyper-realistic art based on real-life given his training during the gilded era and becomes a true master of the craft. During this period, artists studied nature and its surroundings. They were more attached to their own life and what was happening politically during that time with the maintain aim of the painting being to bring out the realism of the world. Most of the realistic pictures do not have much meaning as they are distinguishable. Besides, through accurate paintings by Whistler, one can trace back history and have a tri picture of the nature of work, lifestyle, as well as the political situation. For instance, from the painting, one can easily depict the mode of women dressing and their way of living, and hence the picture brings out the true meaning of the time.
Marsden Hartley
Figure 2: Winter Chaos by Marsden Hartley
Hartley is an abstract artist whose pieces consist of paint splattered on a canvass. While the shape of these arts is entirely organic, they still show a color theme, movement, and composition. Besides, the picture sets a mood of the artwork, which may be happy or sadness depending on the color used on the canvas. Although Hartley’s abstract works can be perceived differently, they portray warm and vibrant colors that give off a cheerful feeling. Besides, the outline of tall brown trunks and the green branches visible in the flurry of the brush strokes make up the winter chaos. The blue and pink sides that fill up the rest of the canvas show the winter storm that envelopes the mountain landscape. According to …………. (……….), Hartley’s art provides an essential impressionistic style of art rendered in the landscape scenes which distinguishes artists and make their works uniquely their own. The painting, as an abstract, also exhibits a lifelong theme of work that grows inspiration from personal experiences of nature, stormy winter, and rough terrains. Modernism gives a continuing direction that makes the paintings couscous of itself and becomes one of the most purely visual experiences that exists against visual experiences as they are the modifications of associations. In this regard, it is upon the artist’s literal optical nature that the artists set themselves to undermining the shadings and modeling everything that consists of realism through shading and modeling.
Georgia O’Keeffe
Figure 3: Jimson Weed by Georgia O’Keeffe
Georgia O’Keeffe was a realism artist who also did some forms of abstract art that were realistic. O’Keefe wanted to give the world something else that was between abstract and realism seen in the painting of nature. In this case, a flower that was growing around her house. In a realistic and yet tactile quality, O’Keeffe depicted the flower as the people associated with her in her work. O’Keeffe was an American female painter who came up with innovative impressionist images meant to change the perceptions of nature. Through natural charcoal drawings and watercolors, O’Keefe managed to transition from realism to hybrid abstractness with her work comprising of oil paintings and watercolors that represented modern art (…………..). As time went by, O’Keeffe, please become part of the American contemporary artist’s inner cycle as her work was displayed in various galleries as abstract works. As the work produced by O’Keeffe in the 1920s was about realism as she depicted the real nature and in form, she began to hover enticingly the margins of abstraction in an act that was not entirely non-representational with her painting works of 1930s. This art was part that supported formalist art criticism as O’Keefe magnified the subject by emphasizing shape and color and bringing more attention to the tiny details within her paintings, as shown in ‘Jimson weed’ painting.
Overall, the modern abstract paintings try to fulfill the impressionist version of optical as the only feeling and sense that the abstract picture can evoke. However, from Whistler’s realism work to Hartley’s abstractness, it is clear that both paintings have meaning, with the main difference being the form and how the meaning is interpreted. In realism, artists such as Whistler portrays the true nature of events as they show their skills and techniques of duplication as there perfectionism determined by how well they can duplicate the original object. In this regard, the realism paintings end up giving a real representation of the object with limited meaning that does not go beyond what the audiences see. On the other hand, abstract painters such as Hartley portray their work in a complex combination of colures and fills that utilize the whole space of the art. In these paintings, the meaning is dependent on the viewer as it varies from one person to another. An essential aspect of abstract paintings is that they bring out the feeling and mood depending on the brush strokes and the color used. Nevertheless, art is a science of convergence where the mind’s science is presented as a mere accident as depicted by abstract images. At the same time, other forms show the exact and accurate representation of the object. It is therefore clear that abstract art evolved from realism and still has meaning to society.