Since its inception in the early 20th century, it has been through many phases since. Abstract Art is the art that has released itself from the constraints of representational art by representing emotions, ideas and narratives without a medium of the words. Abstract painting is a way of telling stories through color, shape and form and this article looks at the evolution of the abstract and how it can tell stories.
The Birth of Abstract Art
From the pioneers Wassily Kandinsky who is generally regarded as being one of the first to create entirely abstract works around 1910, through to Claude Monet, the father of impressionism, we see the beginning roots of abstract painting. Instead of being limited to this representation, Kandinsky believed art should be used to evoke emotions. Bold colors and dynamic forms were his tactics upon which he communicated feelings that could not be expressed by words. Artists such as Kazimir Malevich and Piet Mondrian also developed abstract styles alongside him, using geometric shapes and pure colour to depict their artistic visions.
Through time, there have been several different styles, and one that came about in the mid 20th century was Abstract Expressionism. Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko took painting as an investigation into the physical act of painting, and feeling. For example, Pollock’s drip paintings permitted the canvas to become a space for energetic expression; Rothko’s color fields asked viewers to undergo profound emotional responses to swathes of pure color in large scale.
The Language of Abstract Art
Colors, shapes and textures communicate the meanings of abstract paintings, without the subject. Every element acts as a storytelling tool, so warm colors can tell you to feel passion or energy, while cooler tones tell you to feel calm or sad. This is versatility, which empowers stories to not be contained on one level but rather a few.
Abstract art typically hits you emotionally right away and viscerally. But colors or forms of something will attract viewer attention, even if they feign no meaning themselves, and viewers will be attracted by them based on their own personal life experiences. This dialogue between artwork and observer allows each person to have his/her own understanding of the piece. In this respect, abstract art is a collaborative story telling experience which involves the artist and the viewer in the process of telling the story.
The Role of Emotion in Storytelling
Abstract painting is about emotion at its core. When an artist is creating, they are tapping into their feelings and through color and form are able to express complex human experience that might be difficult to read and understand verbally. Large canvases by Mark Rothko such as the ones filled with vibrant hues were meant to evoke basic emotions like tragedy or ecstasy. He thought art did a good job of being a straight shot to those sort of feelings as close as possible to a spiritual experience for the person who was looking at it.
Abstract art is distinguished from other visual expression by its emotional resonance. It is suggestive, not in a patronizing way; it invites introspection and invites the viewer to work at his own feelings to the work. The reactions to each encounter with an abstract piece are based on personal history and mood, and are therefore deeply personal.
Conclusion
The evolution of abstract painting itself is part of a wider movement towards societal acceptance that art can still transmit meaning without having to represent things. The abstraction allows artists to create a power storytelling medium that works across linguistic barriers. Abstract art tells stories, much more universally relatable, through colors, shapes, textures. And when viewers encounter these works, they are doing so in what is actually an ongoing dialogue, in which they are to engage with their individual view and emotion. This, then, is how abstract painting not only tells stories without words, but also how it raises our understanding of the human experience itself.