Thursday, January 06, 2005
Abstract paintings and music
Many people, who are not conversant with the language of contemporary art, are very puzzled when encountering an abstract painting. Obviously they are looking for visual references they are familiar with, such as recognisable features from a landscape, the human body or everyday objects.
So, when the familiar depiction of the world they usually see is missing, they are confused and bewildered. They tend to ask, often with a sarcastic slant, 'what does this mean?'
It is interesting that very few venture to come to the conclusion 'I like it' or 'I do not like it'. Even though they would say exactly that if they just heard a new musical piece. This indicates to me that unfamiliar music and paintings are treated differently in people's minds.
With music, people are not looking for familiar 'natural' sounds they hear every day, such as sounds heard in the bush, at the seashore, in the city and so on. They just respond instinctively, like or dislike the song without reasoning or looking for meaning. And I am assuming lyrics are not used in this exercise.
I deliberately used music for comparison, as I strongly believe there are strong parallels between the two art forms. Both abstract art and music use the same basic elements and features when creating a 'piece': compositional integrity, colour, tone, texture, mood, rhythm, harmony, contrast, balance, tension, counterpoint and so on.
The dynamics of the creative process in both art forms are directly comparable and the parallels are strikingly similar. Yet responses to music and abstract art are often vastly different.
I do not know the reason for such divergence, I can only speculate if education (or lack of it), past experience or psychological factors are involved.
So, when the familiar depiction of the world they usually see is missing, they are confused and bewildered. They tend to ask, often with a sarcastic slant, 'what does this mean?'
It is interesting that very few venture to come to the conclusion 'I like it' or 'I do not like it'. Even though they would say exactly that if they just heard a new musical piece. This indicates to me that unfamiliar music and paintings are treated differently in people's minds.
With music, people are not looking for familiar 'natural' sounds they hear every day, such as sounds heard in the bush, at the seashore, in the city and so on. They just respond instinctively, like or dislike the song without reasoning or looking for meaning. And I am assuming lyrics are not used in this exercise.
I deliberately used music for comparison, as I strongly believe there are strong parallels between the two art forms. Both abstract art and music use the same basic elements and features when creating a 'piece': compositional integrity, colour, tone, texture, mood, rhythm, harmony, contrast, balance, tension, counterpoint and so on.
The dynamics of the creative process in both art forms are directly comparable and the parallels are strikingly similar. Yet responses to music and abstract art are often vastly different.
I do not know the reason for such divergence, I can only speculate if education (or lack of it), past experience or psychological factors are involved.
