Thinking on Abstract Thought

For me truly great art comes from unique perspective. An original idea from someone who cannot paint well for example, still goes further than an artist who paints a bowl of fruit in seemingly perfect but uninspired replication. Take this quote from Michelangelo for example:

“A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.”

-Michelangelo

This idea extends well beyond just painting of course. That is why I consider almost anything art. Look around you right now, every object you see that is man or machine made started as an idea in someone's head. This quote from comedian Stephen Wright is funny yes, but there is some truth in it:

“I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas, I just think about it.”

-Stephen Wright

Or take the paintings of Mark Rothko for example, who didn't care about the color and design relationships of objects, but rather the emotional response from the viewers to his 'color field' paintings. (And if you've never seen a Rothko original in person than you've never seen a Rothko).

A lot of people are completely anti-abstract-art or indifferent to it. I say to you - of course there are some lame money-grubbing artists in the world who paint cheesy, decorative, uninspired, artwork that they might call 'modern'. When I talk of modern art I am not speaking about those artists. Real art comes from the soul and is not about making money or impressing critics or galleries. Real modern art is an unrestrained method of expression, where one is free to define or not define the principles and application of ideas on a multitude if not infinite set of levels.