Abstract art and music - what is the common language?
It's not surprising that many people, who are not conversant with the language of contemporary art, become very puzzled when they encounter an abstract artwork. Their confusion is usually triggered by being confronted with an unfamiliar visual experience. Normally when people come across a painting or sculpture, they are looking for visual references they are familiar with. Such references may include landscape features, the human body or ordinary objects they see every day.
So when looking at an abstract art piece and their familiar visual references do not compare, they tend to become confused and bewildered. They are inclined to ask 'what does this mean?' rather than come to the simple conclusion 'I like it' or 'I do not like it'.
Why is abstract art and music perceived differently?
It is interesting to note that the very same people would not be confused the same way if they just heard a new musical piece. Instead of asking 'what does this mean?' they would certainly come to the simple conclusion 'I like it' or 'I do not like it'.
When hearing a new musical piece, people are not making comparisons with the natural sounds they hear in their daily lives, such as sounds heard in the bush, at the seashore, in the city and so on. They respond to the mood, the melody and the rhythm of the music instinctively. They either like or dislike the musical piece without resorting to reasoning and analysis or looking for a meaning. Their reaction is instinctive, intuitive and quite often emotional. It may even go straight to the heart.
This indicates to me that many people perceive abstract art and music quite differently.
Music is intuitively assessed and accepted or rejected, as the case may be, however, visual art is scrutinised with analytical reasoning, looking for a logical explanation. For some inexplicable reason the intuitive approach gets switched off by many viewers when it comes to appreciating contemporary art, especially the non-representational kind.
The parallels between abstract art and music
In this discussion I deliberately have chosen music for comparison. Even though abstract art and music are treated quite differently, I believe there are very strong parallels between these art forms. Creators of abstract art and music apply the same principles in their compositions and they rely on the same basic elements. Their common language is colour, tone, texture, mood, rhythm, harmony, contrast, balance, tension, counterpoint, integrity and so on.
The dynamics of the creative process in both art forms are directly comparable and the parallels are strikingly similar. Yet evaluation and understanding of music and abstract art are treated entirely differently.
Why is it so?
I do not know the reason for this curious divergence and the general lack of understanding of abstract art. As a contemporary artist, I wonder why this is the case and only have a few guesses.
I suspect the main reason may be lack education in the visual arts. There may be insufficient coverage in schools of any visual arts related subjects. Another reason may be the lack of exposure to such works of art during the formative years in a young person's life. Are any psychological factors involved? Is the undue emphasis on sports the culprit? Is the decline in general knowledge across the board the explanation? Please let me know if you know the answer.
In the meanwhile, lets enjoy the enjoyable, including the best of abstract art, without analyzing too much, without explaining too much or even thinking too much of the extremely high selling prices some artworks reach in the current art market.
