When you see abstract art, what goes through your mind? Do you like it? Do you understand it? Do you even think it is “real” art? The question is have you ever considered what “real” art is? How does a person determine what constitutes “real” art or “good” art?

The dictionary tells us that absract is : “of or pertaining to the formal aspect of art, emphasizing lines, colors, generalized or geometrical forms, etc., esp. with reference to their relationship to one another.” What does that really mean though?

While it is true that art is “in the eye of the beholder” and not everything is going to suit your tastes, you have to remember that art is a personal thing. People create art for themselves and through themselves, as a result of their environment, not to please others. At least, pleasing others is not the primary reason. It just happens to be a great added bonus, and the one that puts money in the artist’s pocket.

Many people see abstract art and say, “I could paint that,” or, “Even a five-year-old could paint that.” Have you ever tried? Abstract art once meant painting a real object with a muted effect that was more subjective than the true representation of the object. This was called impressionism. And if you think abstract art is a new fangled way to produce art you are mistaken. Abstract art has been around for thousands of years. Islamic and Jewish cultures have used abstract art for generations simply because the depiction of human beings in art is forbidden.

The easiest way to understand abstract art is to understand what purpose art serves. In the beginning, art was merely a way of depicting real forms in a manner that would give them permanency. As art evolved and abstract art in its myriad of forms came onto the scene, the purpose of art began to shift from that of portraying reality to that of evoking feeling and emotion. A way of looking at this is, if you have no recognizable images (in pure abstract art) for your conscious mind to process, then your subconscious mind can be left to take in the full feeling of the colors and patterns that are present.

Prehistoric art was always abstract. People were not trying to paint just the life that they saw it as, but also put into the imagery abstract things such as emotion, movements and sound. Children often paint the same way, with their drawings telling a story; what may look like random lines around the mouth could be the child trying to draw speech – the movement of the mouth and the sounds that are made. Today people are facinated with Australian aboriginal paintings, because they show a line of thought that has been all but forgotten in the rest of the world.

So next time you are wandering through the art gallery, don’t just stick to the portraits and other representational art forms. Stop and really look at the abstract paintings there. Allow yourself to get beyond the, “I don’t see anything” stage, and accept that you are not meant to “see” anything in particular. Then allow your subconscious to take over and allow your feelings to surface. You never know, you may find you will have a new appreciation for abstract art.

Has religion played a role in the development of art over the centuries? To answer this question, you need only ask yourself another question. Is there any aspect of culture that religion has not affected over the centuries? No matter how far back you go, even to the cave paintings in Spain and France, you will see religious overtones to the work. However, here we are going to look at Pre-Renaissance through to Contemporary art.

In Pre-Renaissance art, Christianity was at its pinnacle. Religion was unified and was woven into every aspect of life. Art was not about the artist, for it was believed that the true creator of the art was god, but about the artwork itself. Thus the paintings had hugely Christian overtones. They were created in order to direct the imaginings of humans to the divine.

As the Renaissance came along, paintings began to lose their Christian identity. Renaissance comes from the French word for rebirth and this rebirth was taking place in every aspect of society. With it’s beginnings in Italy, Renaissance art went back to the mythology and nature of classical Greece and Rome. It was during this time that oil on canvass made its debut and the time when there was a new class introduced into society – the merchant class. These rich merchants now had much influence over art and funded it extensively. Thus, the art world no longer belonged to the church.

With Pre-Raphaelite art, there seemed to be a desire to bring back the structure and religious nature of art. During the mid 19^th century, when Europe was in a societal upheaval, seven British artists created a group that aimed to bring back moral and noble ideals through their work. They went back to the time of late medieval and early Renaissance until the time of Raphael and renewed interest in detail and color. Thus, it was the aim of these artists to bring some normalcy and contentment back to European society.

Pre-Raphaelite art paved the way for contemporary art. This is, of course, the art of the 20^th century and it is an art that has a large political and social influence. Ushered in with oil on canvass, a hint of its past, contemporary art moved into the abstract by the middle of the century. Thus, in the modern art movement, religion in the sense of Christianity no loner plays a significant role. However, spiritual ideas may play a role in the sense of artists expressing their spiritual selves through their work.

As with anything else in society, it seems that the art world sways back and forth from religious and older ideas to fresh new outlooks and back again. It is the way of the world. It seems to be the way to slow change and hold on to the past before realizing we have to let go and allow the current to take us. Of course, this begs the question, what is to come next?