Original Abstract Art

Original Abstract Art

Pop art was an art movement that initially occurred in the United States of America in the early sixties. The epicenter of this art phenomenon was New York, the city confirming its trend setting leader position. Although this movement strongly erupted in the early sixties, the attempts of change started during the late fifties in the work of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. These painters wanted to replace the abstract mode of artistic expression, aiming at making the art's message easier to be understood by the public. The first pop art paintings contained easy to recognize images of common items. The purpose of incorporating these objects was to mock the gravity, the metaphysical dullness of abstract expressionism that had started to become out of fashion. Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg introduced amusing objects into the first pop art paintings: flags, maps and targets or stuffed animals and rubber tyres for the latter artist. The pop art movement become famously known for their main feature: mockery and irony.

Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein were the most representative artists for this new art stream. Their pop art paintings were characterized by their original display of popular culture's symbols: advertisements, media images or even comic strips. These new, colorful, lively pop art paintings were strikingly opposing the gravity, the spirituality of abstract expressionism. Consequently, these kinds of pop art paintings become very popular among the art loving public and among the art critics community. But the abstract expressionism continued to be highly appreciated, despite the pop art paintings' mockery.

Although the pop art movement was popular and influential it proved to lack the strength of completely supplant the abstract expressionism, but it determined the birth of two new schools of abstraction: color-field painting and minimalist art. The color-field painting movement (mainly represented by painter Helen Frankenthaler) minimized the influence of abstract expressionism's old features into a style completely committed to the use of pure color.

The American art of the sixties remained in the art history books as a period of constant rivalries between different competing styles and ideas. Yet, the pop art paintings represented best the ideas and the symbols of the American lifestyle in the sixties.

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Brain training suggestions?

I am a 20 yo male with an extremely dominant left brain. I can remember instructions, statistical information, and data that I have read and/or heard months and even years after the actual date that I recieved the information; but it is next to impossible for me to visualize anything in my head before doing it. I can put together original ideas and thoughts together, but I don't really have to think about them, they just kinda' come out. Whenever it comes to any form of art or abstract thought though-- whether it be poetry, drawing, painting, or sculpting, I am truely without an oar. I have tried without success to find something online on my own. Does anyone out there have any ideas or resources that one could use to balance the way that the mind views things? Any advice or direction would be appreciated. Thank ya'll in advance.

Nutrition plays a big part on our brain. Lecithin (I like the granules) plays an important part in all of our brain cells. There are too many good nutritional books to list any. However, I wanted to address another part of your question.You say that you can put together original ideas and thoughts kinda' as you do them... I have always worked that way and I have found nothing wrong with it. I do excellent work in many fields. I count it a blessing and never have suggested anything was wrong with me. In your art work, maybe you would do well with abstract. Try this. On an art canvas board draw different sizes of circles, squares, diagonals, lines, etc. Use anything to make the lines smooth and formed, like plastic butter cups, glasses, plates, etc. Sit down with your paint and paint them any color that you like. Finish the product. That first lesson and one other started me on my way to abstract. I love it. With still life, put a picture before you and draw what you see and paint it. Art like poetry comes with practice. Some people are visualizers, some don't need it. But I am sure you have visions or ideas of the goals you want to achieve. Those are necessary. PS Read the art book title is something like, Drawing from the Right Side of your Brain.