There's an interesting critique article on modern abstract art i read today that i thought i'd pass on because it might be of interest for some of our users. The author asks the question, why does so much new abstraction look the same?
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The articled talks about "Visual Muzak," which is very similar to what I called "Visual Karaoke" in this article.
"Modern abstract art" comes in various flavours, with basically two families: abstraction based on/rooted in fabrication and manipulation, "experimental," "paint/pixels pushing," by far constituting the largest body of work seen today (also called "thin art"), and abstraction based on perception ("experiential," not "experimental"), which is directly stemming from one's experience of "reality."
The latter is what I have been focusing on for over half a century.
My old friend and mentor Mercedes Matter wrote well on this, and her writings had a huge impact on the world of Art, and of Art education (still being felt today). This article, published in the NY Times in 1973, is very clear on that, and it is only one of the many shots she took at a very sad situation (in that regard, I am a pussycat compared to her).
Most people work with the goal of attracting attention, they are like vaudeville comedians "acting" with their eyes on the public ("camp" as Mercedes called it).
Others work from an inner necessity, they do whatever they can, regardless of circumstances, and would do exactly the same work even if forever alone and stranded on a desert island (that should be the yard-stick by which one measures the worth of one's work).
Satisfying the craving for constant novelty is immensely shallow, it is based on a very cynical view of life: if "Life is a bitch and then you die,' then, surely, one must constantly manufacture "new things" if only to (attempt to) keep boredom, and the fear of death, at bay.
Contrast that with Giacometti's "I could paint all my life the same chair..."
"Zombie Formalism" is inevitable as long as people will confuse Art and "The Market."
Here's a sample of Mercedes Matter's drawings: