Is this art? Mondrian - Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow

[@AndreaShlapakDistaso]

Thanks to your video I finally understood Mondrian! It's not easy to understand his art at first, but once you get it you fall in love with his paintings and the idea behind them.

[@artmeetsgeoff]

Thanks!

[@richardmattocks]

Mondrian’s “compositions” are classics. I’ve always loved his work. Such structure, so deceptively simple but with a undefinable “something” that makes it “right”.

[@artmeetsgeoff]

Many try to reproduce it, but there’s always something missing.

[@paolostaderini4455]

@@artmeetsgeoff Vero, manca il prezzo stellare stabilito dai mercanti!

[@tefkah]

very nice. i really started to appreciate mondriaan more after seeing some works of his in person, especially when put next to some other modern artists like pollock. things like the different widths of the lines and the one line not quite reaching the edge really made me appreciate the amount of thought that went into the painting. and that to me is what art is: communicating some feeling intentionally. not just something appealing or pretty, but some kind of meaning put to canvas.

[@artmeetsgeoff]

Yes indeed.

[@robertarisz8464]

"Yeah, but you didn't" - my favourite response to annoying people who were dragged into a museum by others and want to make sure to broadcast their displeasure to all by ruining the experience for everyone.

[@artmeetsgeoff]

Yes!

[@stitchfan_8290]

OK I made a replica in MS paint.

[@schizoidboy]

It looks simple, but in that simplicity there is complexity; the lines are exact and the colors play with the white spaces creating something that fits perfectly with our modern sense of style. I know one artist (a pop artist whose name I forget) included one of Mondrian's works in his painting and it just fits in with everything.

[@artmeetsgeoff]

It certainly creates something more than what a first glance would suggest.

[@magictooth2]

It's really easy to make this. This piece is overhyped. This is how: 1. Paint the canvas white, let dry. 2. Tape the lines. 3. Paint the lines white, let dry. 4. Paint the lines black, remove tape, let dry. 5. Tape the black lines where they meet the colored cubes. 6. Paint black on the edge of the tape where they're supposed to meet with cube, let dry. 7. Paint the cube in color (yellow/red/blue), remove tape. Anyone can do it. What happens here is the background paint seeps into the edges of the tape, sealing it. After it dries we add the color we want inside and because the edge of the tape is sealed with dry paint, none of what you apply on the 2nd layer will be able to seep through, leaving us with perfectly sharp lines.

[@derricksansome236]

“What are YOU thinking?” Love it.

[@artmeetsgeoff]

Thanks!

[@JayBenedictBrown]

Some other comment proposed this is pop art. I’d argue it’s the antithesis of pop art. Pop art requires enormous context. Campbell soup cans in my cupboard are not Art, but placed in the context of a world famous museum they become art just out sheer incongruity. Mondrian’s creations are nearly the ultimate in zero context. (Rothko may have mastered zero context by going completely formless.) So, there. Bob’s your uncle.

[@artmeetsgeoff]

Yes, it’s as if he was on a journey to remove context and representational clues.

[@Irgend_Sontyp]

Any child old enough not to produce some shaky doodle could make pictures like this or any of Mondrian's. For me, art also has something to do with making an unusual achievement. That is clearly not the case here.

[@enkhyy]

Yes, many children can produce interesting art. Now we can review the techniques, aesthetics and technical merits and discuss if it is "good" art.

[@bufboston1]

That you and many other people can identify this as a painting by Mondrian would imply that this is actually an unusual achievement. I would encourage you to try to make one of your own, maybe you will find you do this quite easily and you would have been correct in your judgement. I suspect you might find this harder than you thought.

[@absolutely_not_70]

Good job

[@007cheburashka]

I love your take on Mondrian, fun listen. 😆

[@artmeetsgeoff]

Thanks!

[@enkhyy]

I would suggest that visual arts are essentially the thoughtful arrangement of marks, lines and color. Yes, this composition is art. Perhaps you might delve into the genre of geometric arts and design.

[@artmeetsgeoff]

Thanks.

[@nuclear_candy]

Isn't this just pop art, like Warhol? (Not that his stuff is any lesser than regular art. It has a huge influence on our lives.) Also, it immediately calls to mind the Monopoly board. Thank you for these videos. You have everything you need to succeed as a narrator: you have a wonderful understanding of and love for your subject, you have a way of making art understandable for your viewers, and you have a British accent. Subbed.

[@artmeetsgeoff]

Thanks! Yes could be a precursor to pop art - influences all around.

[@paolostaderini4455]

@@artmeetsgeoff grazie ai mercanti, queste opere non sono in un museo perché valgono, ma valgono perché sono in un museo. Dopo il più grande visionario, Duchamp , c'è "le deluge"!

[@honeysucklecat]

I think it’s pretty

[@jayumble8390]

Such a beautiful composition! No matter what side you position to be the top, its composition is incredible. I've always loved this work. Oh, btw, yes this is art! Art has no boundaries. As long as a frame or focus of some type is put on anything, it becomes art. Asking this question is like jazz. People who think that bebop is the end all be of jazz music, limit themselves to everything that comes after bepop...which is like saying Dizzy Gellespie is jazz but Michael Brecker isn't jazz...ha ha ha ha ha, omg...you can see how pathetic this is right?! So, yes, this is art.

[@artmeetsgeoff]

I think so too.

[@jeremiahnoar7504]

"You create the meaning in your own mind" I think that's the laziest mentality an artist can have. Because of course we can create the meaning, that's what are brains are designed to do. You job as an artist is to create the meaning. Not off load that to your audience.

[@artmeetsgeoff]

I understand your point, but not everything is expressable. Perhaps he was trying really hard, perhaps he was being lazy. That pretty much sums up the whole debate about this painting. Thanks for commenting.

[@paolostaderini4455]

kitchen tiles

[@artmeetsgeoff]

Legitimate comment. 🙂

[@MrAlpinab7]

At best ! 🤣 everything is called art these days. Drink a bottle of whiskey, puke your dinner on a canvas and try selling for 20million. Some nutter might offer 30 million 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@nickdriessen6159]

No. It's not art. It's just a bunch of squares. There's no talent needed what so ever.