The Case for Abstraction | The Art Assignment | PBS Digital Studios

For much of human history, people made art by trying to represent the world as it appeared around them. Until about 100 years ago, when a bunch of artists stopped trying to do that. It was shocking then and it still upsets and confounds today. How are we supposed to deal with art completely removed from recognizable objects? And why should we? This is the case for Abstraction.

[danielcookman]

As a physicist, what struck me was the connection here with mathematics: from my perspective, maths IS abstraction in the realest of senses. Take, for example, numbers: when we first learn about numbers, we think of three beans or four cars, i.e. numbers as an adjective to describe. The first major leap of abstraction we teach is that four is not just a describing word, but also an idea, an object in itself that has properties attached to it (addition, subtraction, etc.).
As the maths gets more complex, we continue to describe certain ideas (e.g. the concept of a vector) as objects, which of course from the literalist's perspective is absurd: how can you have a number just exist in the world?!

All of this isn't coincidental. We use maths precisely because it strips away any of the guff (i.e. unnecessary context) not needed to solve the problem. Want to add to add three beans to two beans? Well, it's exactly the same question as if you were talking about cars or anything else: what matters is the number, not the thing itself. By doing this, the tools we have left are not only incredibly efficient (algebra, calculus, etc.) but also can have the context built back into them with ease. The case for abstraction in mathematics is then self evident!

Funny, how different fields of thought end up closing upon the same idea.

[jadethegingergoblin]

I remember being an art student in college and sitting in my art history class listening to the teacher talk about abstract art and thinking, "This is both stupid and ugly, and it doesn't depict anything real. What's the point?" But stated in this video was something I hadn't considered then: There are things that are real that can't be seen. And those are as deserving of depiction as the things that can be seen. Very informative. Thank you.

[lks]

This makes me thirst for a crash course art history course.

[cropcircle]

This is an incredibly dense 9 minutes! There needs to be something like a 14 episode Netflix show on all this because seriously, there's that much to cover. Not only is there a lot of material from an arts perspective. All of the artists involved in these movements were incredibly interesting and dynamic people. Not only did their work become iconic, but their associations were vast and influential.

[thebigbison]

When you think about it, abstraction art is like the instrumental genre of music. Realistic art is like having lyrics in music feed you the message of the song. While abstraction art, is more of instrumental music. Just a thought...

[MrMattyHoff]

They need to start teaching art like this earlier in elementary school! It would be so interesting if in elementary school, teachers didn't underestimate the ability and willingness of kids to learn about art that isn't "heres how to make a butterfly out of a paper cup". I feel like society's opinion on art would be so different.

[katyspencer]

I think its interesting because as a 15 year old abstraction is so ingrained in our culture and art that it seems bizarre that there ever was not. It's always a good reminder that your world isn't yours and wasn't always the same

[thesilvercell]

Would like to see a The Case For video about Realism/Figurative Art/Representational Art and especially on your take on where it stands in the very progressive influx of art/artists in contemporary art. I love this channel, by the way! Thank you! <3

[hellokittyskittles]

this was one of the most satisfying videos I have ever seen. I'm an artist myself and abstraction is one of the things I really admire but doesn't come easily for me. I work really hard to make the images I do and sometimes they don't work out. I've had several people ask me why I even try and well now I'll just show them this so they'll understand the beauty of abstraction. thank you for such a wonderful and inspiring video

[driesketels]

This is why I love this century so much. Great art videos in high quality video format delivered to your doorstep for free on YouTube.

[TASmith]

All art is both abstract and realistic, it's just a matter of perspective, and of degree. Most people enjoy both in an artwork, up to the point where they go to extremes. You might not notice the abstraction going on in an Inness or Caillebotte, but your eyes enjoy putting the pieces together into a recognizable image. Thank you Sarah for putting this video together and introducing me to some great new artists. I'm just going to add in one little quote from Stapleton Kearns just to play Devil's advocate, and maybe add an additional perspective to the discussion:


“When I go to the museum, I often find myself standing behind people who talk about psychology. Many people mistake painting for psychology. They know nothing about painting, but they learned about psychology in school. So they talk about their feelings and how the artist must have felt. They discuss the various pathologies of mental derangement and vicariously imagine themselves as decoratively insane, well only a little, nothing too unattractive. They are happiest in front of the work of obviously tortured artists or paintings that lend themselves to speculation on the ideas of Freud. It is a little like the fable from India about the blind men examining an elephant. Each grabs a different part of what must have been a very patient, docile animal and speculates about the larger beast. One holding the tail supposes the animal is very like a snake, another hugging an enormous leg says the elephant is more like a tree…”

[war-qviv]

Abstract art is beautiful in its ability to create not what others know but to create the unknown in a way that is knowable

[madLphnt]

rhythm, balance, unity, line, focal point, illusion of space, color, illusion of movement, texture, shape, value, texture and pattern. you can just go down the list and find a multitude of individual examples of each within every one of their paintings. its just amazing

[LuckyLifeguard]

I love these "The Case for...." episodes!! thanks so much for creating and sharing C:

[ZeinaIan]

I have never seen myself as someone who liked abstract art but after watching this I have realised that so many of these works are beautiful and thought provoking, I guess I do like abstract art.

[EARSandelbows]

I know that abstraction like fun patterns on plates or the carvings in picture frames have been around, but I wonder how it felt to look at a cubist painting for the first time. I remember in 2010 or so when I first heard dubstep. I hated it, because it felt like my brain was melting a little bit, but I knew that it was too interesting and engrossing to NOT bleed into all other kinds of music. And now it's easy to listen to. When I see abstract art, or art where the colors are strange like the painting at 1:16, I am totally unbothered. You could make that highlighter yellow with eye tricks and zebra stripes and I won't be fazed. I wonder if van gogh made people's brains feel all melty.

[thewillowworld]

Retirement can be the kiss of death, because life before was structured and it's assignments came from the path we chose. PBS - Art Assignment has given me new direction and a totally engaging scaffold by which my story can be supported. Thank you PBS, thanks you YouTube and so many more thank you's to all the artists who now inspire my re-entry to cerebral engagement.

[mnesvat]

What truly captivates me about abstraction is the uniqueness brought forth by its creator, alongside the inherent similarity within their body of work. This distinctive blend of personal expression and thematic consistency is something rarely found in other genres such as realism or naturalism. It's fascinating to see how abstract artists convey individuality while maintaining a coherent style across their creations.

[sharashik]

I can’t even keep count of how many times I’ve watched this video. I really really love the way you explain the topic

[scottoconnor]

As an artist who does a lot of abstract paintings I really enjoyed this video. You don't waste any time going over the history of abstract art and the artists who started it, did it and some who probably still do it. Its amazing to me that it really only took off and became a well known and widely accepted art form in the early 1900's. The history of art in itself is quite fascinating but how abstraction fits into it is very interesting. I had to watch this video twice since it moves so quickly but I think I learned something both times so it was worth it. "What's strange may be the period when humans did not embrace abstraction" - Well said