I have often been amazed that some people refer to images as "abstract" as opposed to realistic. I was once asked of an image that had a flower and the moon against a black background; "is that the real moon?" I replied of course it is the real moon! I of course did not say that I actually took the image of the moon from the parking lot at work during the full moon, and the image of the flower was taken in France some years earlier. Through the magic of photoshop and my creative instincts the image was "rendered" as opposed to "captured".To me "abstract" means an image that one cannot tell what the image is. In other words an image where color and light define the palette and not lines. The image on the right is definitely not "abstract" in my opinion. While it is obvious that I have manipulated this image by make it more saturated and contrasty, it is obvious at the same time what the image is, namely a water lily captured in Monet's Estate in Giverney, France. My thought in altering the captured image was to give it more life and also to capture some of the color of the red flowers in the background.
Whether "abstract" to some people or "realistic" to others, the only important thing to me when I look at any image is "do I like it or not?"
Until next time, live well and prosper
Dennis
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ReplyDeleteRecently, I read lots of books about art history and theory. According to the books, in general, there are two types of abstract paintings. The first type, sometimes referred to as "pure" abstract art, has no reference to any figurative reality: all you see are shapes, colors, lines, patterns, and so on. In some cases, the design itself might be pleasing to the eye, and we might look upon the painting as nothing more than a decoration. But I know, indeed, a great deal of abstract art is not particularly pleasing to the eye. However, people have trouble understanding and appreciating this type of art.
ReplyDeleteThe second type depicts real forms in a simplified or rather reduced way - keeping only an allusion of the original natural subject. Although what you see may not look realistic, it is close enough that you can, at least, get an idea of what you are looking at. Monet's beloved series of paintings called "Water Lilies" are this kind of paintings. These paintings depict the garden at his house in Giverny, where your "Water Lily" photo was taken. Although the objects in the paintings don't really look like lilies, or water, or clouds, they are close enough that you can get a feeling for what you are seeing.
In my opinion, this image is not abstract image, but the other one, "Lily Dream", is abstract image. The milky white full moon and the pearl white water lily are not only moon and water lily, but also represent the pure love and heart!
By the way, honey, I like this image very much! The light, the reflection, the depth, the color contrast, and the feeling of the vague background make the image great!