Abstract Painting is Back

Quite so, which can be either a weakness or a virtue depending on one's perspective. I think it's fair to say that we're still indebted to the 19th-century view that music's abstraction is not only something to be prized but also something to which the other arts should be envious, though the view does not extend much further back than that. It's been a fraught issue for music historians because it's a view that usually causes them to privilege symphonies over operas, chamber music over art songs, form over content and generally German composers over non-German composers. As listeners, historians are of course free to privilege whatever they want; but as historians, they have been taken to task in the last few decades for making the 19th century the paradigm for repertoire that came before it.

I don't know enough about art historians to know what effect, if any, the concept of abstraction has had on the way history has been told, but I'd be very interested to learn about it.

An exceptionally enlightened statement, Shapeless. I do consider music, especially German music, to represent the apex of Western "high" culture. The present-day bias of Asian musicians toward this music represents some support for this transcultural bias. And this bias is expressed by a cultural relativistist.
The abstract qualities of "modern" art is, to me at least, its claim to superiority. My father was visiting me just before he died. He was a professional musician (a violinist with the Los Angeles Philarmonic and an arranger and player for a number Big Bands of the 30s and 40s). During a conversation his eye focused on a reproduction of an abstract painting. He asked: "What is that?" (with a tone of challenge). I answered:"Think of it as visual music." His response, with a nod, was a simple "Oh."
I even rank our great traditional representational paintings in terms of their abstract qualities. Turn them upside down to make that determination.

I recall reading about an artist (it may have been Duchamp) who
ascribed specific musical notes to corresponding colours in an abstract
painting. This way, the painting could be 'played'. I am sure the music
was pretty terrible, but the idea appealed to me. (Then again, I am
not a musician!)

There was an A2K thread on synesthesia. Is that right?

I believe there was, JL, but that is not what I was referring to.

I know Duchamp experimented with chance operations and music. I think it was he who worked out a system of literally translating an abstract painting into music.

I once saw his successor, John Cage, in a lecture/performance. What
Cage lacked in any kind of traditional musical training, he certainly made up for in chutzpah! His 'music' was not like abstract painting in any way.... more like a completely discordant jangle!

I recall some of Cage's and Duchamp's writings. As far as I'm concerned they pushed art in a very unfortunate direction, i.e., the conceptualist approach where clever ideas rather than deep aesthetic values and feelings reigned.

This reminds me of an article I am presently reading in the New Yorker about Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor of the LA Philharmonic (and music director, I believe). I'd be interested in opinions.. his development in Los Angeles has been ... creative, to my non musical view.

That must have been a very satisfying conversation with your father,
JL. I once read a quote describing architecture as "frozen music".

Can you give us a link Osso?

I will allow, reluctantly, that the conceptualists did break apart our notions of what art and music can be comprised of ..... subway tickets, a tank of sharks, an audience shuffling in their seats, a taxi cab going by....

Well, the link is only to the abstract now. It will take a few more hours for the full article to show up at New Yorker.com.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/30/070430fa_fact_ross I found the lengthy article fascinating..

Reminds me of a quote attributed to Goethe that is outwardly about architecture but really says more about the German-Romantic view of music: "Architecture if frozen music." You're expressing something similar to Goethe, JLN... truly, you're a Romantic.


EDIT: After posting this, I just noticed Shepaints's reference to the same quote. Uncanny.

At least a couple of a2kers have (had) synesthesia, and there was at least one thread..


I think of Tartarin offhand.

I like the quote. Frank Gehry's Bilbao Gugenheim is a case in point for 20th century music.

Exquisite!

Picasso

In an amusing anecdote, I was reminded of this thread, and of the general favoritism shown to German classical music in the current canon, while listening to a classical music station today: the program was counting down the "Top 8 Countries That Have Contributed to Great Classical Music," or something like that. I caught them as they were revealing No. 4: Italy. As an example of Italian music, they played Respighi's Pines of Rome, a "Winter" movement from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," and the most Italian of all [drum roll please]... Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony.

Oh my God, somebody will lose his job.

abstract art
why are people always rediscovering abstraction when it never went away? only their feeble minds are on sabbatical when they choose to give credence to popular culture instead of art. i think it's a statement about our society. one i wish i didn't have to make.

(sorry about the late post--just came across this and was compelled)

http://submergingartists.blogspot.com

Great post, Contempo.
I have a good number of friends who do abstract painting. I and they have no interest in whether or not we are "with it" in terms of art history. Frankly, I resent the prescriptive power of art historians and critics. When abstract was "IN" many firgurative painters, like Benton and Hopper, were producing great work. During phases when abstract art was out of the limelight, submerged by the likes of Currin, abstract artists continued to do their creative thing. We were "submerging artists". Thanks for the link that provided that concept:

"Submerging Artists
Artists who sink or plunge beneath the surface, who live the (art) life independent of the prevailing 'tude that art = commerce. We get in the groove by making art because without it we couldn't exist."

How nice. I'm too old to be an emerging artist.

Hi everyone - I've been really busy and hardly looked in here at all so missed all this - enjoyed reading it though


And as someone who works abstractly and representationally - abstraction never went away!

Favourite representational painters of mine have a large abstract element to their work.

I'm with jln - work till it works!

I'm currently working on a series of abstracted seascapes and that's exactly what I'm doing



this is a winter one


How are you all?