How to hate abstract art

Growing up, I never really liked abstract art. I didn’t see the point of it. I thought it was much more impressive to paint or draw something realistic and make it look exactly like the source material. It took real skill to replicate something that way.

Later in life, when I was in college studying art, I was required to take art history classes. I began to learn all about abstract art, among other disciplines. As it turns out, there is usually a lot of meaning behind abstract art. Sometimes an artist is trying to push the materials and techniques, as well as trying to push the boundaries of what they can do. Abstract art is not random and thoughtless like I had assumed, and it often requires planning and calculation (unless you’re Jackson Pollock, but we can argue about that another day).

I really began to understand abstract art, and I found several artists whose works I absolutely love and admire:

And I realized that the reason I didn’t like abstract art was because I didn’t understand it. It’s easy for me to dislike something when I don’t understand it. I’ve found that taking the time to understand something can broaden our horizons, open our eyes, and allow us to see things that we hadn’t been able to see before.

If there’s something you dislike right now, I challenge you to research it and learn about it. And after that, I’d like to hear from you to see if your feelings about it have changed.

Do you like abstract art?