1/6 The Rules Of Abstraction With Matthew Collings

• 1/6 The Rules Of Abstr...
First broadcast: Sep 2014.
Documentary in which painter and critic Matthew Collings charts the rise of abstract art over the last 100 years, whilst trying to answer a set of basic questions that many people have about this often-baffling art form. How do we respond to abstract art when we see it? Is it supposed to be hard or easy? When abstract artists chuck paint about with abandon, what does it mean? Does abstract art stand for something or is it supposed to be understood as just itself?
These might be thought of as unanswerable questions, but by looking at key historical figures and exploring the private world of abstract artists today, Collings shows that there are, in fact, answers.
Living artists in the programme create art in front of the camera using techniques that seem outrageously free, but through his friendly-yet-probing interview style Collings immediately establishes that the work always has a firm rationale. When Collings visits 92-year-old Bert Irvin in his studio in Stepney, east London he finds that the colourful works continue experiments in perceptual ideas about colour and space first established by abstract art pioneers such as Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky in the 1910s.
Other historic artists featured in the programme include the notorious Jackson Pollock, the maker of drip paintings, and Mark Rothko, whose abstractions often consist of nothing but large expanses of red. Collings explains the inner structure of such works. It turns out there are hidden rules to abstraction that viewers of this intriguing, groundbreaking programme may never have expected.

[@spiralviper8158]

I like how the subtitles are sometimes inaccurate and say "yeah" now and then out of the blue. The video itself is abstract art

[@63artemisia63]

SpiralViper I very much DISlike how the captions are inaccurate, especially when they switch the gender of Collings’ painting partner, making HER fit neatly into preconceptions about which gender creates important art. She’s repeatedly referred t as “Mr.” Biggs.

[@spiralviper8158]

@@63artemisia63 yeah that's frustrating, both men and women make awesome art. it is an algorithm though, so not much point caring about its mistakes IMO

[@vermilliongecko]

yeah

[@elijahmombo2562]

@@63artemisia63 I'm afraid you're being needlessly sensitive, something the less polite people might call, a 'snowflake'.

[@elijahmombo2562]

Your comment is art.

[@YellowhatDick]

Abstract art is built on common language. It is a commonality by all that is made by a humans. Any mark, gesture, swatch of color holds a language. The color blue might elicit different feelings or thoughts in different people, but blue in itself speaks of human physiology/biology and our range of vision in the visible spectrum, as well as all the present manifestations of that color in life. An aggressive gesture mark might express anger, speed, the noncontinuous reality of time, or it could mean nothing at all. Abstract art can be an action, like a dance. It can be about the present, a moment immortalized in time. It can be just as readily about nothing. Something and nothing are opposing poles of the same dynamic. How far can you go in the direction of nothing, until you get back to something? If merit were only credited to meaning; how much meaning would a piece of art need to qualify? What level of insight has to be proven for praise? Everything is a sliding scale. Disgust, offense, repulsion, are just as readily explored in art. Art was never synonymous with beauty. Aesthetic language spans all language, even the negative. If art undermines the categories by which you set to access value, might art challenge those categories and question as to why you have them in the first place? Not understanding a piece isn't an attack on the viewer's intelligence. It might only be in conflict with where your values lay in art. Some people have trouble looking for meaning in abstract art. My question is why are they looking for meaning at all? What questions do you think art should answer? If a portrait painter painted a woman, with flawless technique; what would be the meaning in that? The beauty of women? Beauty of natural shapes or light? Is that enough meaning? Is that important meaning? Or maybe, just the skill, merits the praise. Thinking like, a child can do it, or I can do it, isn't a valid critique on talent. Someone who says this is scribble, is more than welcome to buy the supplies, scribble and try to sell it. The term Starving artist is a stereotype for a reason (representational or not). Do we know how long this man has been drawing? Did he go to school? How many has he made? I guarantee, if an art school graduate and someone who never draws were both to scribble; the art school student's scribbles would be more appealing in a variety of subtle ways. The marks would have more confidence, the way the line interacts with the available space, more considered, and the balance of mark making between compression and space would be thought out. Every man can throw a punch, but a trained boxer doing the same kinetic action yields a much different result. There is plenty of representational art that people would say is bad. A beautiful landscape may express the beauty of nature. But for a person that was ever lost in the woods, they would say this is a lie, saying that nature instead is brutal and unforgiving, impersonal and uncaring. Meaning can be vast or narrow. Graphic designers, for ads, work to have narrow meaning. They want to tell you what to think without variation from their purpose. Abstract art is vast. Every person approaches and has a different experience with it. This is why people collect together in galleries with wine, but don't collect around billboards. If you have spent your life trying to decode abstract art, maybe try the polar opposite and decide there is nothing to decode; that there is nothing to get which is sitting outside or your intellectual range. It can be something that you totally get because there is nothing to get, and in that nothing can be everything, if you decide that too. A beautiful flower tells you all it wants to say. There is no more to decode, than there is a sunset.

[@kokosrslytv]

Remember watching this 2 years ago and being taken aback by Klint's work, so pleased to have finally seen them in the flesh, absolutely amazing!!

[@epictetus9221]

I also saw a large Af Klint retrospective a while ago. It was kind of breathtaking,.I hadn't realized how massive scale and scope of her works are.

[@gooeyst.ranger8562]

Ive never felt so visually connected to an artist as an artist myself, hilma af klint, a kindred spirit.

[@sadbadmac]

She shows clear signs of schizophrenia... I'd be careful listening to those foreign voices in your head lol

[@blayasblay3941]

@@sadbadmac To be fair, we hear voices in our heads all the time. I mean, if you can 100% all the time choose every single thought in your head i bow down to you master.

[@blayasblay3941]

@@ezicarus8216 Are you dumb? Voices in your head means you talking to yourself..

[@josephcambron7060]

What a horrible artist!

[@Moodboard39]

@@sadbadmac lol

[@annip5573]

Thanks ever so much for uploading and sharing this documentary!

[@kjarts]

thanks for your page, always waiting for new great docos. Lovely to see Collings back with something new. Bravo

[@gaulpict]

Thank you v much for upoading - missed this the first time round, always enjoy Matthew's docs.

[@greenartstudio4804]

Great Documentary !!!

[@LunaSmithArt]

Great video :) Spirits are all around us and in us. You can feel them each time you get lost in the music, fall asleep at the beach or paint.

[@LunaSmithArt]

@Stephanie Logan Wow, haha, I haven't heard about them. I usually go to the beach with my chihuahua, so I have perfect protection, she loves to chase birds, even if they are bigger than her.

[@georgeedward1226]

Photography changed everything. If you wanted something to look realistic, taking a photo was easier, faster and more realistic. Artists simply started painting things cameras can't see.

[@veronica_._._._]

Actually Impressionists first started painting things that cameras could capture, but the eye couldn't, like action in media res. Artists were incredibly excited by the idea of the camera as sketchbook, and the camera was restricted to monochrome too, so artists started bigging up colour! Look at paintings of moving water, rivers, lakes, oceans, before the camera was invented, and the after! this went from a symbolic depiction to realistic. So many impressionistic paintings suddenly choose to depict boating lakes made "choppy" by a breeze, (Da Vincis sketch book are full of drawings of eddies and spirals, this is true, but that was him grappling with proto science not with realism) 101 ways artists loved cameras, finally expressionism and "sketchiness" and experimentation could be embraced, and that eventually, eventually meant abstract too. Yay for photography and Yay to what AI will bring us!

[@leelootz1]

absolutely grateful for this series of documentaries! thank you!

[@chicit1]

So grateful of the uploads!

[@wendyschneider4490]

Helmet of Clint, one of my favourite artists.

[@Lijanah]

you mean Helma Af Klint ?

[@abominablyawsm]

@@Lijanah I think they were making a joke about the subtitles. It's captioned as helmet of clint instead of Hilma Af Klint

[@Beth1300]

I'm still trying to work out who the hell Suzanne is...

[@SingYourselfWell]

@@Beth1300 bahahaha

[@SingYourselfWell]

bahahaha, exactly....

[@BRUTHAWAR]

I'm more of a portrait artist ability wise, but I kinda fell in love with abstract art after years of being an art instructor for youth & found it more accessible for some of them. Abstract art makes one focus more on the main elements of ART such as composition, contrast, complimentary colors, texture, movement, etc. It's a great exercise for ANY serious artist.

[@ezicarus8216]

... emotions. Abstract art is pure emotion on canvas. If you have a student who paints portraits too sterile, you now how to set them free...

[@Moodboard39]

Yea, colors bring out the beauty

[@paulrouhan7288]

It is a sensational art with its own rules.

[@PRAKASH-cm1vo]

What a wonderful documentary !

[@debrathain]

I love the comments! Thank you everyone! Truly inspired! Liked the documentary too! ❤️ thank you!!!

[@annereilley4892]

0:54 "black square" is clearly hung upside down. They need to fix that mistake.

[@annonomysperson9664]

Stephanie Logan Easy. I was standing on my head.

[@jmontgomery1178]

I know, right? I saw the same thing right away.

[@victorlehtinen196]

It s not upside down, it is hung on its side. It needs to be rotated once, to the left. 😂

[@thesauce57]

Its actually facing the wrong way, it should be hung the other side facing outwards.

[@jmontgomery1178]

@@thesauce57 Hahahaha!

[@dingelingeling666]

Matthew Collings is like your favourite Uncle explaining something tremendously confusing in a very understandable matter. Every time i watch him explain something, i would like to paint a canvas with him cause we are so complementary in our styles. Would be a great experience!

[@gemmaorourke_artist]

This video too funny! Comments below enhancing the mirth. What joy it brings tonight. Gratitude for cast and commentary.

[@jellokween1680]

I love this man 😍

[@kimiskanvas]

I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary and video. I clicked the favorite and the watch again so that I can re-watch it and learn from everything you said through the repetition. I have not learned this much about art since taking "art appreciation" in school and that was all about Christian art in the early and middle ages. There turned out to be NO TIME for learning about any modern art in the private school I was attending at the time. I thank you SO much for sharing this.

[@lisengel2498]

Beautiful concept - to look for some visual metaphor that is great enough to touch on the feeling of reality

[@agent5758]

I love that idea of abstract being a way of a soul to express its human experience in simplicity, you can see it in a lot of the art shown

[@ezicarus8216]

Could be

[@epictetus9221]

Thanks for the upload!

[@redbinary]

Bonus Rule: Many people aren't going to watch something with a commercial before and then every following 3 minutes.

[@cactusbro1527]

Adblock Plus, Extension for Chrome ✌

[@Acquavallo]

I love you for posting these, I love you so much

[@taran333tula]

Acquavallo Thanks..Love U2..

[@LEOCHRIST100]

Acquavallo I LOVE YOU AS WELL MY DEAREST! LET US HAVE LUNCH AND HUG!

[@Acquavallo]

HUGGSSS!!!

[@elsiemaynard8327]

Acquavallo 7

[@zippy-zappa-zeppo-zorba-etc]

Aisle of view two.

[@raimondasmarciulevicius7599]

Art Documentaries & Matthew Collings, good job. Together we are stronger! :) :)

[@sheilatrunzo4423]

I see that this video has sparked a vibrant discussion of what is abstract art, and so it succeeds in the 100 yr discussion of what abstract art is. Must say that there were some entertaining moments when reading the subtitles. So many interpretations of the presenter's lovely accent, and they truly detracted from the quality of the video.

[@geirbalderson9697]

The 'painting ' at 2:20 is a quilt! My Granny made them!

[@petethorntontv6928]

Wow, amazing art. I remember when I visited France many years ago and saw Mona Lisa. I've always wondered if she smiles or not...

[@jimihendrix1967]

I really ilke abstract thinking but if you look at early drawings of abstract painters you will realize that they are really good at drawing form nature and figurative painting. So in my opinion abstraction is a process where artist is trying to abstract the subject from it's visual reality and adds a new value to it by using new shapes which symbolizes the subject.

[@Jennifer-ex5wy]

Very well said..

[@phillop6076]

BINGO!

[@keepyourshoesathedoor]

Agreed.

[@pablopicoso]

Something like that. Imagine you get so good at drawing or shooting a basketball. At some point it’s repetitive and boring. So you challenge yourself by making it harder for you. Paint or Shoot with your eyes closed or put obstacles in the way like working with restrictions of depiction.

[@Moodboard39]

Yea, exactly

[@susanhazard632]

She was listening to her family and friends in Spirit. None of us truly die; our physical body dies, but not our spirit. He is speaking of his own opinion. Klint was a medium, and I know of what she spoke.

[@patriciabrickell4005]

Painting with the spiritual voice is the intuition within

[@timross3841]

"Whoever heard of rules in a knife fight?" - Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.

[@sylwiadrozd9899]

incredibly engrossing and enriching documentary on such a mysterious trend in art:)

[@St.Linguini_of_Pesto]

I'm loving the abstracts shown: first, fourth & fifth.

[@upgraddeupgradde2364]

Abstract art is a direct reflection of one's deepest most intimate subconscious.

[@gayapalmer7158]

Who are you? I am so curious. I have printed out your sentence and it is posted in front of me at my "Art Bar" in my home studio in NYC where I create my abstract art ("AA") as a constant reminder to get out of and get into my head. Your simple insight has inspired me. It keeps me moving forward. I thank you from my deepest most intimate subconscious.

[@ezicarus8216]

@@gayapalmer7158 I paint without being here. You can't reach me if you talk to me when I am painting, I'm not holding the brush.

[@Moodboard39]

Carl Jung

[@windowsight_official]

Abstract artists are the embodiment of free creative spirit. However, "amid complicated and potentially confusing works there are hidden rules", especially when you take your time to decode it. Thank you for such insightful video series. If you're interested in taking a closer look at the artworks of famous Early Abstract artists, we've created the entire video for you to appreciate the deep meaning behind each piece.

[@MaeBelleArt]

What wonderful creativity - a joy to view! Sending my support 🔔

[@danlightened]

I don't wish to comment on the content of the video, but here's a question to those who denounce abstract and 'modern art' in general. In music and movies, there are sounds which sound sad, scary or cosmic while in nature these sounds might be non existent. Then how come we have universally come to associate these sounds with certain emotions? The way jazz speaks to us even without vocals, lines, orientation, colors, shapes and space between them speak too. And while it might not say the same thing to everyone, it says something which is open for interpretation and that's the beauty of it.

[@sweetnesslight5656]

Abstract art is just an extension of the artist's thoughts, emotions and feelings.

[@sweetnesslight5656]

@vattenträdgård 👍🏻💓

[@karensteele-hart9782]

Wonderful learning experience. As a lover of abstraction I wish others to understand a type of sensing &connectivity that what ones sees or experiences - this form is another way of perceiving reality..that of the unknown being a major factor much of the time. Also basic elements such as line color shape etc become dynamic in a different way than realistic depiction.

[@tavgahawrame4471]

THAT IS IMPRESSIVE EXPLAINATION OF ABSTRACT ART..FEELING AND THOUGHTS ARE EXPRESSIVE THROUGH SHAPS AND COLORS

[@harishwala5882]

It is Experimental and Improvisation... Hello from India 🇮🇳.

[@MelliaBoomBot]

My new path I think for this year. Just gotten into Abstract Art..in fact I got to obsessed with finding the stuff on the web about 5 weeks ago I was going to bed and lying there almost naturally hallucinating. I found altho I love colour, pen seems to be what my spirit prefers. I went wild when I found out about Kandinsky...what a charming and interesting series. Liked and saved.

[@lean4real_11]

Mellia Boom Bot follow ur heart it knows best

[@KeyDyer]

My brother gifted me a large Kandinsky print as a kid - it has hung in my room for decades now and I still find new things in it. Truly a master.

[@roxanneroxanne7232]

Abstract art is simply “ a person whom desires to create their own reality “ a way to control shapes and colors in reality and tell your story within those pictures and wanting to leave those feelings in a physical form ( reality) My opinion but who am I but a abstract artist........

[@purrfectpomodoro]

thanks RR - best simple statement about the form i've come across...

[@EclipZeMuzik]

dude you're amazing i love this!

[@AngelasMixedMediaArtist]

Beautiful thx 😊

[@ArcturusGold]

Rule Number One: There are No Rules.

[@josephspiteri6178]

+ArcturusGold That is the beauty of it.

[@3Driuz]

Rule number one of abstraction is: You do not talk about abstraction

[@Ruthavecflute]

Rule 1: The Doctor lies

[@_yellow]

Or rather, once you have learned the rules only then you can break them.

[@johnnewland2409]

Uh ... could you please repeat that ...?

[@DuxLu]

Abstract art has been around for thousands of years - it's decorative.

[@Doppe1ganger]

What is it decorating?

[@yavrielsechelle7431]

@@Doppe1ganger The space it's in.

[@johannbrandstatter7419]

Rules of Abstraction ? Planned chaos ? The end result mostly looks exactly like that. Perfect though to cover the chicken coop !

[@carinpeterson4552]

Jimmy Wrayge....!!! it's maybe the best work you've ever done! Not that I am an expert but I was greatly moved! Just amazing, beautiful ~expressing AND evoking so much emotion. Deft, powerful and delicate strokes. You KNOW I just love my "Children Banned from music lessons in Iran"....and even tho it looks great in my apartment. .... I'd sure love to live with one of these new pieces for a good long while!. How about a swap 😉 But seriously ...wow! Congratulations, it's a wonderful collection and I'm coming in soon to see if live!

[@philipbohi983]

I love hearing people discuss abstract art. It reminds me of my parents trying to explain the crazy shit I did at school that they put on the refrigerator. Them: Our boy was really digging into his creative brain here, and expressing himself through the use of negative space. Me: I got bored and quit to play tag instead.

[@ezicarus8216]

Explaining art, poetry or creativity is very stupid and done by the opposite kind of people that created it. Ones with a need to classify and organise the disorganized.

[@bettef9188]

You're both pretentious as fuck.

[@ronpatton5172]

Abstract art is about how you feel and less of what you see so look within yourself.

[@gudguy97]

We say the same thing, we should look within ourselves and we dont want to see the abstract art bullshit

[@jeffreyolson2139]

@@gudguy97 Then don't look, no one is forcing you

[@gudguy97]

except for the morons who enforce their views that abstract art is a real art

[@patriciabrickell4005]

Thanks for the informed learning

[@sheiladunnell3942]

Love this type of painting.

[@lukasz2965]

where is the rest of this doco!

[@cornishrooster]

"this work is by lube off pop over" I'm dead :D

[@carlacrafford180]

@Stephanie Logan And Cézanne written as SUZANNE??!!

[@janmarbol]

You know, when you "lube off", you later "pop over", like that.

[@raneyheald3891]

I'm trying to clean off the soda I spewed all over my monitor...OMFG!!!

[@BCBeastiality]

Lmaoo

[@Apollo_Blaze]

As an artist I cannot imagine having someone else pick out my colors...that's half the fun for me when envisioning/starting a new painting...as is sometimes me changing them as it goes along.

[@edwardferry8247]

Klint also was a classically trained artist. The translation into spiritual beauty (balance, form, colour, light) to the beholding eye came from deep learning.

[@cyndlbrown7717]

This is so inspiring. I’m ready to paint 🙌🏽

[@bluesque9687]

Don't waste too much ofyour time... Artists are born, not made. And, this documentary only shows how it has all gone downhill! If this inspires you and not disgusts you then you are not an artist! Maybe it is just a hobby of yours...

[@shereewhite2503]

This seems like such an interesting video but I find it difficult to watch since he keeps making unnecessary breaks in his sentences and now I can't stop reading the comments like it.

[@SunnyDisposish2]

Oh gawd now I can't unhear it

[@MaestroTJS]

Fuck ing...hell.

[@sara.r304]

lol i . thought it. was. just me.

[@douglasyoung8376]

May be if you are a fast talking spewing verbal diarrhea American but for serious Art students and those on the Autistic spectrum, it is perfectly delivered with meaning and not in a fast food Mc donalds way. This documentary will only appeal to students who are highly intelligent and patient enough to really understand what is being said. So if Mathews narration is too slow then perhaps you all need to learn how to slow down and spend less time on social media and expecting things to be delivered instantly as seems to be the case with all the under 35's nowadays.

[@ayyotube5224]

😂😂😂😂😂 better to watch and read at the same time

[@jan-martinulvag1953]

To create is to express into existence what already exists . Therefore you know what to say before you say it. Talking without knowing what you are saying is an activitity that does not do anything but failures. I learn from your mistakes so please continue with it.

[@erinstanger416]

Kandinsky is my favorite artist. I have several of his prints in my home.

[@Gerryonthetube]

Who on earth wrote the subtitles for this programme? Not someone from the BBC, I hope!

[@BigHenFor]

Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, most subtitles are digitally generated nowadays, and aren't edited by a human being any longer. Blame Neoliberal politics around the BBC.

[@possiblyadickhead6653]

@@BigHenFor not the BBC but the owner of this channel which is not owned by the BBC lol

[@lm7092]

How arrogant of Collings to decide that AF Klint is or is not in touch with spirits. He does not know anything about the universe. None of us know for sure what may be the extent of unperceived reality. Most of humanity believes in spirits of some kind. After telling us there are no such things as spirits, he orders us to keep an open mind. Love Klimt and Kandinsky BTW.

[@susansusskind6798]

Very interesting and informative

[@5eA5]

Fantastic!

[@MOSSZEEtHeEXCAVATIONProject]

Whats with the " YEAH" subtitles ? LoL

[@bridge12582]

yeah

[@msvladyslavap]

😂

[@pebblebrookbooks4852]

Yeah, huh?

[@gavinnaylor786]

She puts an apron on him, mixes some paint and makes him stand around painting crappy art, detailed to her every whim. That's way more creative than the usual sub/dom thing. Have to give them that.

[@gperson1967]

G Note : I do believe they both wear aprons.

[@mypronounismaster4450]

Yeah, this is like some weird fetish couples version of Andy Warhol. Have someone else make a bunch of crap for you.

[@MaestroTJS]

lol, that's hilarious

[@hardstyle3196]

Lmaooooooo

[@jerrydavid4615]

Lol

[@imlmartinez32]

Love this!!

[@How2sOfDesign]

very interesting doc..

[@monikamagdalenas.4882]

Helmet of clint? Some of the mistakes in subtitles made me giggle a little bit :-D

[@fbales]

It’s his opinion. I respect his opinion. You can disagree and yet be respectful. Try it sometime.

[@ArcDevErik]

What does it mean, to respect an opinion you disagree with?

[@bethbartlett5692]

Artists can be well served by the basic studies/understanding of: Quantum Physics, Philosophy, and basic or intro to Logic, these serve to strengthen the Creative Juices, as the open the mind and support *"Infinite Possibilities" Spirit or Soul is *energy* and energy is eternal - Quantum 0hysics. Avoid limiting the possibilities. Quantum Physics also proclaims that "Thought proceeds Manifestation", therefore I proclaim, *"The Bang came 2nd"*... Limitless potentials when mind is truly - wide open.

[@david55gou]

Thx so much!

[@explorerelka]

The subtitling is hilarious!

[@chrisdurrill9563]

I find it funny that Mr. Collings's work , what I've seen of it, is rendered regularly by many friends and relatives of mine who quilt. So, who is feeding off of whom? Oh well, off to take a nap on what appears to be what Mr. Collings's designed, but my great grandmother executed.

[@BigHenFor]

Your granny did not live in a society with hordes of people moving to and fro. Squint - the main visual tool for artists working with hue and value - and you lose detail but shape hue, and value remain. Now, go up to a high building from which you can see a busy pedestrian street. Everything is reduced to a moving pattern of people. Now, squint. All you have is a moving pattern of shapes, hue and value. This painting is an abstraction of that IMO. Art is a language, and the artist isn't replicating reality. Rather he's communicating something he's understood about that reality. That's why it's abstract.

[@donvinicio6857]

I AM TRIPPING BALLS ON ACID WATHCING THIS THANK YOU

[@clag8685]

Really like this abstract. Great fun. I do like the black and white best. Thankyou

[@Jefferdaughter]

Interesting... but so many points to disagree with. Rules may exist, but many artists, whether working in a non-representational or representational style, rely heavily on their instincts in their use of color, composition, etc. People may only glance at a Mondrian, yet his works are among the most widely appropriated for product packaging and other uses. The illusion of layering in the work by Popova (squares morphed???) is acheived not so much by the 'angles' or the juxtaposition of the forms, but by the use of strong contrast between the white form seen as 'floating' on top of the image and it's wamer color. This white is warmer than the white used as the 'background' color in this work (and is also warmer than the white Mondrian usually used as a 'ground' color in his paintings).

[@Jefferdaughter]

+Jefferdaughter - How could an artist who is also a critic miss the use of warmer versus cooler whites to help creat the illusion mentioned above (in the Popova painting of geometric shapes which appear to be layered over on another)? Abstract art obviously existed before the era mentioned, if not in the recognized tradition of Western art. More importantly, the role of representational art - not just as what was 'acceptable to most people' - but as illustration in the service of the Church or wealthy patrons, was not mentioned. Abstract art, and other forms or art less concerned with 'how things really look' such as Impressionism, came into ascendancy as the photograph replaced the need for artists who could accurately record the appearance of people, places, and things.

[@ShawNshawN]

great points Jeffer

[@michaelowen8]

me: Trying to learn abstraction The clip: 2:14 me: Is that a sign?

[@abominablyawsm]

😂

[@williamcecil5280]

Kandinsky's painting is inspirational!!!!

[@stevenr.millerjr.miller2036]

Thank's! Steven Miller

[@paullangton-rogers2390]

The BBC trying to tell us the 'rules' of abstract art with a non-abstract artist *laughs*

[@colleenbee1298]

He just said “art isn’t made from visions” and threw Hilma af Klint’s art out the window and now I can’t watch the video!!!!!

[@dinastuart2239]

He said, "Art isn't made JUST from visions." You stopped watching a video because YOU missed a word he said.

[@davidward4329]

Abstract art = creativity , hunting for the infinite. Question reality . Great video

[@olena.dymytrenko]

great rap, man

[@paulmorgancollings7833]

Remember watching this many years ago. It's still the only other person I've been aware of with the identical spelling of my surname, apart from family of course. Greetings from Hertfordshire.

[@artiste1954]

What happened? Why did it end so abruptly? I wanted to know more about Kandinsky.

[@nickn2794]

Hi! I'm an art history student, what would you like to know?

[@olena.dymytrenko]

​@@nickn2794 how is he doing, 4example

[@akhdi1]

Abstract art is visual thinking / 5 / 29 / 17

[@milcotto4153]

Now I have to watch the other five videos too! :-)

[@bethbartlett5692]

Rule #1: "There are No Rules" Freedom is a Choice. Art is expression, from within, and always there's choice.

[@Sturnburn772]

That whole theosophy segment screams occult

[@MrSmallblackdog]

The subtitles are pretty abstract too..

[@phutainguyen7807]

thank you so much

[@imnedmonton]

Conceptually fascinating; multiple artist painting. That gives me a light bulb. Now I just have to find the toggle. Stay safe. ♥♥♥

[@michaelwardrip1894]

Im so confused... tell her to pick up a paintbrush and do it herself.

[@jadeblades]

remoobko

[@4seasons546]

Michael Wardrip Hello i believe that if she were working close she would lose the perspective of the whole. By watching the colours go on from a distance she’s looking at the entire painting 🖼 and this helps her decide what colours & textures to add where . But yes I understand your point!

[@MrPisster]

It's probably his name that sells art. Remember the TV show Remmington Steel?

[@63artemisia63]

Michael Wardrip She would have to change gender first, because clearly the CC person knows a woman can’t make art, since s/he keeps referring to her as “MR.” Biggs.

[@keepyourshoesathedoor]

Lynn Duvall It’s not M.R. Biggs??? Omg.

[@hdrake1000]

Thank you for this. You educated me on Hilma af Klint. Up until today I had never heard of her. She's one of a kind, isn't she?

[@kayem3824]

The music put on these kinds of documentaries distorts the impression of what you see.

[@udomatthiasdrums5322]

love it!!