What is non representational art?

This site is intended to help answer this question by providing a variety of resources: conceptual definitions, examples, explanations of the history and development of non representational art, theories, critical assessments, and so on.

The term “non-representational art” can be used in several different ways. In the most basic sense it refers to a type of art that does not attempt to visually portray an object or scene from the world in a realistic way. Artists who create this kind of work typically use some form of abstract imagery, geometric shapes and forms, or invented symbols to make their points. The result might be similar to what you would see in a dream or a fantasy.

Tone:matter-of-fact

Non-representational art is as old as art, but the term only came into regular use in the 1960’s. Around that time, abstract painting was enjoying its greatest period of popularity and criticism of the kind that non-representational art invites – that it is too hard to understand, incomprehensible, all look the same etc – was making artists feel defensive. It was important to have a phrase that clearly differentiated abstraction from such things as surrealism or the paintings of children.

The term non-representational is thus strongly associated with some of the most famous names in 20th century art: Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Walter De Maria and Robert Morris are just a few who have been called non-representational artists.

This is both because they were pioneers in the movement and because describing their work as ‘non-representational’ gave it a legitimacy which would not otherwise have been granted by critics and curators.

Such is not always the case with non representational art . . .

Non representational art is a style of art where the work is not intended to resemble anything in the real world but instead uses lines and colours to create a feeling or convey an idea.

Non representational art has existed for thousands of years, be it paintings on cave walls or stained glass windows. However, it was not until the cubist movement in 1907 that non representational art began to have a significant impact on the art world. At that time, traditional painting was rejected as outdated and worthless. In its place, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque released their ground-breaking work, which used abstraction and colour to create an emotional response from the viewer. This new movement soon swept across Europe, with artists such as Wassily Kandinsky creating abstract works of art in Germany and Frantisek Kupka producing similar works in his native Czech Republic.

Towards the end of the twentieth century, this abstract style became popular amongst many more artists and spread around the world. The most famous exponent of this modern style is Jackson Pollock whose paintings were created through random movement rather than line drawing. This new way of creating artwork opened up a whole new method of expression for painters who were no longer restricted by themes or ideas they needed to depict realistically.

Nonrepresentational art is art that does not attempt to copy or mimic the visual world. At best (or worst) it may be described as “abstract.” Nonrepresentational art is not representational for a number of reasons:

– It is often said that visual art is supposed to represent things realistically, and the non-representational artist simply ignores that convention.

– It can be argued that non-representational art is a rejection of the status quo, because all forms of art through history have been representational. Those who create nonrepresentational works are challenging and broadening the definition of what counts as art.

– Representation mimics reality in order to convey meaning. Non representation appears to ignore or deny meaning, or even existence itself.

– Some artists find representation so boring they have to invent new ways of painting, drawing, sculpting and so on in order to express themselves.

– No one knows what an elephant looks like anyway. Who cares if it’s accurate?

A non-representational art work is a work of art intended to be an abstraction. This does not mean that it does not represent anything. It means that it does not represent anything identifiable, or at least anything specifically identifiable.

It is a common feature of non-representational art that it can be interpreted in different ways, or it can have different meanings to different viewers. The artist may have had something specific in mind when they created the piece of art, but they may also have been hoping that people would find personal meaning in their work.

Tilted Arc by Richard Serra is a good example of non-representational art. A steel wall has been constructed and the top has been cut off so that it forms a curve and is therefore no longer horizontal. It has been placed at an angle on the site where it was erected which suggests that the artist wanted to deliberately contrast his verticality with the natural horizontal line of the horizon beyond the wall.

Tilted Arc is controversial because some people believe that its presence makes them feel uncomfortable, as though they are under attack from the intimidating presence of the wall, and others feel that its presence makes them feel uneasy because they are being forced to confront their own thoughts about how man interacts with nature.*

Non-representational art is art that does not represent any recognizable subject. This type of art is often difficult for people to understand, as it can be hard to interpret the meaning behind it.

Non-representational art has been around for thousands of years, and was common during the ancient times. The ancient Greek sculptor, Phidias, made many sculptures that were non-representational in nature. One of his most famous pieces is a statue known as Athena Parthenos, which was a representation of the goddess Athena. His works are some of the earliest examples of non-representational artwork created by humans.

Towards the end of the 20th century, non-representational art started to become more popular again, as artists began experimenting with different types of media and techniques used to create their work.*

All non-representational art is abstract, but not all abstract art is non-representational. A landscape that is abstracted through the use of color in a way that creates an imaginary view, but which depicts no actual scene, would be considered non-representational.