How to appreciate abstract painting

Due to the lack of art education in Asia, abstract art is alien to many people. I will try to explain it.

A. Form -- In my third letter, I explained what a painting consists of. Abstract painting possesses all the same elements -- form, color, line and composition. We all know that a football or a full moon is round, but so is a geometric circle.

B. Color -- Please look at the collage by Miro. Besides the varied and attractive forms, the color scheme is thoughtfully and orderly arranged from black, red, blue, green, umber, yellow and white, plus pasted newspaper cuttings. It looks truly rich and tasteful. I could never tire of looking at it. The leading black color is well balanced and full of variety. The rest of the colors and forms are also well balanced and are not repeated. Moving from left to right, both sides complementary to each other and give a feeling of tremendous movement. I mentioned in my fourth letter that there are lively and dead looking paintings. Miro's painting is indeed energetic.

C. Line -- This kind of hard-edged color-field was advocated by Matisse early in the 20th century. In this picture, the bold center lines and the lined edging the different colors are all solid and energetic looking.

D. Composition -- These various shaped black masses serve as pillars which form a strong feeling of unity. The various red patches are dominant and the other less prominent colors are well balanced. The yellow and white serve as highlights. Please note that all the color patches and forms are unique -- nothing is repetitious -- this shows how a true master excels others. The most important thing in composition is that unity should not overshadow variety and variety should not to spoil unity.

E. Feeling of Mystery -- The problem with realism is when you open the door, you see the mountain in front -- that is all you see and can be boring. Abstract painting is a lot richer and leaves plenty of room for imagination. It also enriches aesthetic taste. To truly judge esthetics, real life must be kept at a distance. Do not try to find a story in an abstract painting, that is what novels are for. When buying a bird the customer chooses a one that sings well, but does not ask the bird what song it is singing.

I wish to remind you that Chinese calligraphy is another form of abstract art. Both painting and writing are derived from the same source. The theory of writing is used to paint and the technique of painting is used to write (see illustration). Thirty years ago, when I was giving lectures and demonstrations at many universities and colleges in the Unites States, many people asked me if a Chinese artist ever painted an abstract painting? My answer was yes. Chinese calligraphy reached its peak about 2,000 years ago.

Talk to you next time.