A Study On The Value Of Abstract Painting

The dissertation considers Shitao and Wassily Kandinsky’s theories on painting.While contemporary art has a tendency to limit the concept of the ‘abstract’ into theEast/West binary, I intend to overcome this by studying the meaning and value ofEastern and Western abstract art based on its ‘spirit’ or attitudes. To this end, I identifiedmodernism as a starting point, as this period actively emphasized the study of WesternPaintings, and abstract art is some of the most representative art of the period. Theacademic project here is to understand the attitudes reflected in abstract art, and thefactors/parts visible in the formal expression that make the work ‘contemporary.’I focus particularly on the Eastern spiritual value-system that is ingrained inWestern abstract painting, and explored Eastern philosophy’s strong influence throughan analysis of Shitao and Kandinsky’s work and their artistic approaches. The changesand expanded access to the ‘East’ in the20th century enabled West’s understandingEast’s way of thinking as a new system of consciousness. Eastern philosophiesincluding Zen ideology were influential in channeling concentrated inner impulses as‘abstract’ and ‘unique’ methods of expression in works of art. The West found new waysto reconfirm the meaning of human existence and art through appearance of nothingness,and emptiness, ambiguousness prevalent in Eastern philosophy.In studying the philosophical attitudes and contexts in approaching the ‘abstract’ inthe East and the West, the methodological similarities and differences are made visible.I pay particular attention to the formation of Kandinsky’s abstract painting whichsymbolized the line and the color as new possibilities in painting based on the “innernecessity.” Kandinsky attempted to create a new artistic language with geometricexpression, using chords that maintain balance and harmony in music. Eastern paintingswere influential in this process. There are similarities in Kandinsky’s powerful lines andbrushstrokes coming from his view of the ‘inner-spirit,’ and the visual expression of theideal and infinite space in Eastern paintings.On the other hand, conceptual-centric culture in the East has a deep relationshipwith Eastern philosophy and is a continuation of it. Through this we know that theabstractions arise out of perspectives on nature and conceptuality that are informed by Eastern philosophy, and which take a form of liberated and creative formal expression. Ifocused on Shitao’s ‘single brushstroke theory’ to confirm these abstract elements inEastern painting. Shitao developed a unique style as he emphasizes on importance of abrushstroke as a representation of artist’s mind and attitude referring toself-determination, self-realization, spontaneity and universality.My attempt is not to define or evaluate Shitao as an abstract painter but to focus onhis theory and aesthetics representing a contemporary approach in abstract painting.Rather, I attempt to explain the aesthetics of Eastern painting analyzing Shitao’s ‘singlebrushstroke theory’ in relation to the changes of that the society was experiencing then,and the trending towards unique styles. This will serve as a clue into abstract elementsin Eastern painting. Specifically, I focus on Shitao’s development through Easternmodern art’s early emphasis on uniqueness and individuality.Shitao’s theories on painting, the non-specificity of inner fundamental nature ofabstract art, leads to new visual language in terms of its methods of expressiveness andsentimentality. In doing so, this aesthetic paved the way for artists to express their ownunique style through lines and colors. Abstract painting denies the physical presence ofthe universe but pursues the expression of metaphysical world. This is a critical elementin contemporary art that drives us to reach for uniqueness of inner-self which is arealistic and an autonomic necessity.Overcoming the East/West binary and based on ‘universality’ of art, we canconfirm the value stemming from the abstract spirit and the meaning of art from Eastand West through endless questions regarding ‘nature of art.’ I present the direction ofcreativity that art needs to take for the new epoch. Through this dissertation, I hope thetrue value of the art could be re-evaluated as discovering the connection between theeastern and the western abstract paintings with the aesthetics of inner-mind. Throughthese aesthetic similarities I would like to suggest a vision for a value system and thefuture for discordant art in the east and the west.