I have to admit that I came late in life to appreciating abstract art. Early on, I thought it was the type of art done by people who had no artistic ability. My general impression was that it was probably done better by a 12 year old.
I was in my late 50s before my wife, who was extremely interested in art, got me involved in an art appreciation group called The Collectors Club at the Clay Center in Charleston. At that time, I still wasn’t convinced that abstract art was really art. I was more inclined to art such as the great masters like Rembrandt and Caravaggio, or the French impressionists like Renoir and Monet or the post impressionists like Cezanne and Van Gogh. While I still think that Van Gogh was one of the world’s greatest artistic geniuses, I have learned to appreciate other styles as well.
For a long time, I thought abstract art could be done by anyone with a can of paint and a brush. I’m ashamed to say I was not shy about expressing my opinions about abstract art. While this included such recognized masters as Picasso and Miro from the early 20th century; my specific scorn was held for the mid-century artists known as abstract expressionists.
I will now admit that I was completely wrong about this. And for those of you who know me, you know how hard it is for someone as opinionated as I am to admit to being wrong. But my wife, as she most frequently is, was right about this. It just took me awhile to recognize it.
We began going to art exhibits and museums and saw a lot of mid-century art. Initially I was resistant to it. My thought was that if I can do it, then it certainly can’t be art. And I really thought that I could do it.
The specific target of my scorn was Jackson Pollock and his drip paintings. At the time, I didn’t realize that he was a formally trained artist who had even studied under the famed muralist Thomas Hart Benton. He was adept at sculpture and ceramics in addition to representational works in oil.
When I finally took the time to truly examine his drip paintings, I recognized that there was something there. I just couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.
I thought, just to satisfy myself, I would give it a try. I bought some canvases and put them on the garage floor. Since many of the abstract expressionists worked with house paint, I bought several different colors of enamel house paint. I also bought a stylus similar to what Jackson Pollock used. I laid out my canvas and began to drip the paint.
I was really surprised, but his paintings had a coherence and a uniformity and a visual impact that I could not achieve. No matter how many times I tried I could not get my paintings to look like anything other than a drip cloth.
I spent a lot of time thinking about this. I decided this form of abstract art required a talent I didn’t understand. It was more than just paint poured on the canvas. It was paint poured on a canvas with a purpose. It created an effect that I could feel but couldn’t duplicate.
My initial thought was if I can do it, it is not art. Since I couldn’t, maybe it was art. The more I reviewed it, the more I realized that there was a plan, a vision, and a feeling that produced an overall sensory experience. This was not something that occurred by chance. It was something created by a person with an artistic vision I didn’t have.
I may not have convinced you, but I have convinced myself. This is art. Look at it with an unprejudiced view and you may come to recognize it as well. It is never too late to learn about something new, even if that something is 70 years old. Try it, you just might like. Call me; we can talk about it.
Even More Fun With AI
By John Turley
On June 18, 2024
In Art, Commentary, Humor
Since I’m easily amused, I’m still playing with the AI image generator DALL-E. I wanted to take some time to show you just how easy this is to use. All these images were generated on the requests shown below. The only ones I’ve modified or edited are the ones in the series to demonstrate an edit. You will usually get two versions with each request. You can save either one or both. You can generate up to 50 images a day. I’ve hit my limit more than once.
I generated the image above using the following command. In a cartoon style, generate images of a man dressed as an artist, wearing a beret and a smock, and holding an artist palette and brush. On the easel, have a computer screen with a picture of the same man.
It only takes a little bit of change to get a completely different feel to your pictures. I created the image below basically by saying in a realistic style as opposed to in a cartoon style.
Generate an image in a realistic style of a man dressed as an artist with a smock and beret, holding a palette and a paintbrush and standing in front of an easel with a computer screen in a messy studio.
Now, let your imagination soar and see what you can come up with. I’m going to make up a few commands now and see what develops.
In a surrealistic style generate images of a young boy with pale green skin and feathers on his arms soaring with fantastical eagles over a fantasy landscape of canyons and forests.
In a realistic style, generate images of an African American woman in a sophisticated business suit and carrying a briefcase. Place her in a whimsical background with fantasy creatures, such as elves, fairies, and unicorns.
In a steampunk style, generate images of a doctor examining a patient with a stethoscope. Have the patient have a third eye in the middle of his forehead.
In an abstract style, generate images of a man and a woman sitting in chairs facing each other. Have the man smoking a cigar and have the woman with purple hair.
In a style reminiscent of the French impressionists, generate images of young people in colorful outfits, dancing on an outside patio.
In a cubist style generate images of baseball players.
DALL-E offers the capability to edit your pictures. However, as you’ll see from the series below it actually generates new pictures with slight variations based on your requests for edit.
In a cartoon style generate images of a young man walking down a sidewalk on a sunny day. Have him in a suburban neighborhood with trees and flowers and well tended lawns and houses.
Change the neighborhood to urban with cars parked on the street and the sky overcast.
So far, the changes seem to be fairly consistent and go along with the general style we requested. Let’s make a couple of big changes and see what happens.
Have him look disheveled and scruffy. Make the neighborhood run down with trash in the streets. Have him carry a whiskey bottle and a cigarette.
I think it’s right on with this one. It got the feel I was looking for.
Now for my last picture, I’m going to let my imagination run wild and try to come up with these strangest and most bizarre images I can imagine and see if DALL-E matches or exceeds my ideas.
In a dystopian style with a post-apocalyptic background, generate images of an emaciated Santa Claus jumping rope while talking to an Easter Bunny with vampire fangs and a leprechaun with claws. Add any other menacing characters you think may be appropriate.
I couldn’t decide which one I liked best, so I decided to use them both. I’m not sure what it says about me that I like these images.
I couldn’t resist trying one more edit. I asked DALL-E to generate the above image in cartoon style. It sent me this response: I encountered some issues while trying to generate the cartoon-style images. Please let me know if you would like to try a different request or if there’s anything else I can assist you with. Perhaps it thought cartoon style would attract children and the subject matter was a little too ghoulish for kids. After tweaking the prompt a couple of times, I got the following image:
Maybe they were right the first time.
Give it a try. I think you’ll have as much fun as I do.
Doctor’s orders!