In this unit we are going to learn about Abstract Art and how artists express their feelings and emotions through art.
Artists can be inspired by many different things, such as emotions and feelings. They can also express themselves through art using different styles.
Abstract art is art that does not try to show objects in a realistic way. Abstract artists do not use reality as the subject in their work. They focus on the basic elements that make up art. They use lines, shapes and colours to express emotions and ideas. People can find their own meaning in the art.
Frank Stella is an American abstract artist. He has been experimenting with abstract art for more than fifty years. Stella uses lots of materials, such as wood and metal, and mixes them with his paintings. He creates shaped canvases (lienzos), that incorporate the use of space as an important element in abstract painting.
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| Noris Ring, Frank Stela, 1982 |
THE ARTIST
Frank Stella (12 May 1936) is an innovative abstract artist. In 1959, at the age of 23, New York´s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) showcased four of Stella´s works alongside other important American abstract and expressionist artists of the time. His early works took a minimalist approach to art and mostly consisted of geometric lines and shapes. Over the decades, Stella has experimented with different materials, lines shapes and colours to transform traditional, flat paintings into complex shaped canvases.
SPEAKING ACTIVITIES:
Name and describe the elements of art in this artwork:
- lines,
- shapes,
- colours,
- texture,
- forms,
- space...
How do the lines, shapes and colours in this artwork make you feel?
It make me feel... confused, excited, happy...
More questions...
Where can you find repetition of patterns in this artwork?
Choose a word from each word pair to describe the sensations that this artwork expresses:
- calm / exciting
- loud / quiet
- fast / slow
- energetic / peaceful
How is this artwork different to other art works you have studied?
What feelings and sensations do you think the artist transmits about Formula One?
- Norisring is a Formula One racetrack in Germany. This artwork, Noris Ring (1982), is a part of a series called Circuits, inspired by the twists and turns of Formula One race tracks around the world. In this series, the artist uses a variety of lines, shapes, colours and forms to express the sensations felt at these exciting sporting events. Stella designed the large-scale artworks and then skilled metalworkers cut and joined the pieces together. Then Stella painted each piece in bright colours and patterns to express the energy of his favourite sporting event.
In this video Frank Stella explains why he began to create "shapes canvases":
Other famous abstract artist is Wassily Kandinsky. At the begining of the 20th century, Wassily Kandinsky was one of the first artists to create completely abstract paintings. He believed that colours, lines and shapes represented different feelings.
Kandinsky was also a musician. His love of music influenced his art. He believed that he could see sounds and hear colours. Like other artists of the time, Kandinsky believed art could express ideas and feelings in the same way that music does.
Look at one of these paintings:
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| Orange, Wassily Kandinsky. 1923 |
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| On the points, Wassily Kandinsky, 1928. |
SPEAKING ACTIVITIES
What feelings does Kandinsky express in the painting?
Watch this video about Abstract movement and Wassily Kandinsky:
Finally, in the following video you can watch different Abstract paintings
ELEMENTS OF ARTS AND FEELINGS
Colours, shapes and lines represent different feelings:
One of the most important element of art is the line:
Colours can be associated with feelings and ideas. What colour do you associate with these sensations?
Listen to the audios to complete the activity on page 7 of your book (Abstract art project):
Clair de lune (Claude Debussy)
Ride of the Valkyries (Richard Wagner)
Play with quizlet and learn the colours and lines feelings...
