Do we need a visually perceived reality to be the subject of a painting? Can we still represent the spiritual balance of the cosmos with the most basic of color and form?

I should probably add that abstract artists often work on series and or bodies of work that explore certain subject matter, so seeing just 1 piece in that body of work may not be enough to get the full picture of what question(s) the artist is posing. If this was the only work Mondrian ever made, no one would know his name. Frankly, this is not even close to one of his best. It's just another attempt to explore the questions he's asking

Yea, it's never the gotcha they think it is. I think most kids are better at creating art in general than most adults. They aren't jaded or hindered by self doubt or expectation. Unfortunately, at a certain point, most people lose that ability. I keep a piece or two from all of my family's childhood art. I have a wonderful drawing of a bridge in a city with a shark swimming in the water underneath. That cousin is now an engineer who designs and builds bridges around the world. The art isn't "special" in any way other than a wonderful insight into who he is, and I love that about art.

Edit: I should add that the bridge is meticulously drawn with a ruler on graph paper. He was 8.

It was always really hard to pinpoint the difference between art and design. Until a wise professor told me that art asks questions and design answers them. I'll have to call her up and let her know it's even easier than that. If the orientation is obvious it's art, if it's not obvious it's design

That whole banana on the wall saga has been one of my most difficult art experiences. I'm still trying to find my footing. Originally, I was angry because while I could read [what I thought was] the intention, "the contemporary art market can encourage slapdash, poor quality work and while it may be good for a moment just rots in short time," it seemed to me to be the type of statement and project that would intentionally garner negative attention and why would this artist throw so much shade and force so many of his peers to defend their work and their passion.

Then i found out the artist was Maurizio Cattelan ... and all of a sudden I felt like the joke was on me the whole time. I fucking adore Maurizio Cattelan and think he's an incredible artist. Now I'm thinking, is that the point?!? I didn't like it until I found out it was him and now I'm like "shit, it's definitely worth 30k lol" with art it's true that the artwork is just one tiny piece of what you buy, what you really buy is a connection to the artist, and with contemporary living artists it's a way to support them and help continue their career...

so is that what he meant?? Did he intend for all of this inner turmoil I'm going through? If it was just some dude I would have totally just brushed it off as shit, but his status has absolutely swayed my understanding of the work, and now I like it??? But it still is a punch line for art haters... but it's also a lightning rod and he can withstand it...? I don't know I'm still so lost on this one. The one thing I know for sure, the art that sticks to my ribs like this ends up being my favorite. Art is supposed to make you think, make you feel, make you question yourself and your reality and by God he's certainly done that for me...

I know you didn't ask for all that lol i think I've just needed to rant about that for awhile now

Damn, that line is fuckin good. I'll definitely steal that for the next time a thread about art pops up and I have to go to battle again

That's a little better, but too much focus on me and not on your hatred of abstract art, you're getting distracted. Could you try again, but this time focus on why colors and shapes are for stupid little kids, like me, and not big smart adults, like you.

Edit: Also, my username makes it pretty clear I am, in fact, a pretentious cunt and an insufferable prick, so that's good news! You're not wrong about everything! ;)

I both envy and pity you lol you are quite the enigma

I can't tell if you are vehemently for or against these protests lol or maybe you aren't vehemently for or against anything due to, ya know, our bleak unavoidable apocalypse. You've just left me with more questions than answers. The only thing I know for sure is that I should not have read that before bed...

Edit: oh shit you're the same person?? Lmao with that bleak ass outlook why do you give a shit about our artistic heritage, save the art but implement population control? Damn, you go hard Brian Mincey

It's no wonder to me that anti- abstract art people always use the same tired "kids can do it" trope...

Yea, kids can do it! Better than most adults. Some kids are actually phenomenal at it. That doesn't diminish its importance, kids can eat and breathe and shit too, and that's all pretty fuckin important.

You're absolutely allowed to like what you like and not what you don't, but (and this is the only reason i responded in the first place) you asked why it was important, I answered, and instead of addressing, literally, anything that I wrote you just jumped into telling me why you don't like it. No one's trying to force you to like it. So like, why ask the question? Did you even want an answer or did you just want to have someone primed to read your lazy critique?

Lastly, I'm sorry. I know you're probably a great person, and I feel like I just ripped into you, and I really don't mean anything personal about it. I think I foolishly got my hopes up that you were actually interested in an answer to your question and couldn't resist this retort. Godspeed, keep being and doing you, just maybe next time come at me with a less cliché critique. Really dive deep into your dislike, I wanna hear it lol ;)

I like paintings of my dog, he's cute

Would you rather us all walk around in grey tunics, live in square buildings, listen to scales, and look at portraits of kings?

Art like this is important because it creates visual trends that persist through time. The influence of this art and artist can be found all over the world in every facet of life. If you don't think style and expression are important then I guess you wouldn't care about this art or any abstract art, but even still the impact is undeniable, from architecture to fashion, from music to tv and film. Mondrian and his work have been influencing aesthetic culture for over a century. Many people see that impact as important or interesting.

Edit: to be fair to you, this particular work in question looks like a cracked-out rip-off and is certainly not one of his best or most important individual works, but his body of work in general is one of the most influential in recent(ish) history

As an art lover, I agree, but as a planet lover, what's the point of artistic heritage if we fuck our planet to extinction? At a certain point drastic measures are all that's left. Are we at that point now? I hope not, but clearly these people think so.

Long answer, short... it doesn't matter, it's just kinda funny.

A slightly longer answer... all things equal, may as well go with the artist's original vision. Usually, the hardware on the back of the work dictates how you hang it, so it could have been an error at the framers or some random assistant, or an art handler, but if the artist didn't put any hardware or other indication of orientation then it is likely not vital to the purpose of the work.

You're crazy