(a)bst(r)ac(t)

If I put a big chunky triangle, translucent, superimposed effortlessly over a random image of banal scenery, would I be holy arty?

If I have one blank wall, off-white, captured in camera with a little dustbin on the side and put some big quote of a prominent figure over it, would it bomb the tumblr community?

Whatever your answer is--yes/no, I'd be still askin you this question:
What defines art?

It's simply impossible to do it. Art is a media to send subtle messages in a personal, very, very personal way. Nothing of art is universal, like good music or good movie, and different forms of art themselves require different degrees of understanding. Sometimes the target audience is really specific only a handful of chosen people could appreciate it.

Is art that complicated?

If you go back to Renaissance time, everything was made elaborate, dress full of details, many statues carved very carefully, and those grand buildings standing still, whom even if you spend one day looking at, will always leave something to scrutinise.

As time goes by, came an era where everyone gradually started rebellious movements, they bloomed and the people involved made stuffs that stand out, out of simplicity, which then pulled in more people who are tired of overwhelming little details. As a result, those forms of post-modern art have now become so popular, so far from what it was a few decades ago. On the other hand, more and more pieces of art lose their focuses, what kind of messages they are trying to send (which none most of the time) and bam boom, everything now could be simply called a piece of art. A single patch of red ink spilled over the paper. A typograph over a blur--made very blur intentionally-- image of lights.

Is art progressing, then?
In a way, yes; because we now gain freedom of speech, which allows us to consider more things as art. Who before Jason Pollock would dare to create empty-messaged-paintings?

And nothing wrong with that, because again, art is very personal.

I'd say that everything, every single thing, name it people, books, or art pieces, has its own positive value. There must be something good about it, if given emphasis, we'll need less effort in liking it. First impression counts, but a lot of things I adore don't always catch my eyes in the first few seconds or even minutes. Sometimes I have to dig and dive deeper to fall in love with many things and fortunately, I very much appreciate that natural process.

And I've gotta admit, some pictures with triangles and spaces distorted are helplessly irresistible. Don't faint, you've probably seen similar images of the one below for 372,096 times.



Peace, be cool. Put a triangle.

Pics courtesy of weheartit.com