Modern abstract art - really - Talk about a con job

[packman]

.webp


Mondrian is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, and a pioneer of the modern abstract style, minimalism and expressionism and one of his most famous works has been hanging upside down for over 75 years.
....

But the work, “New York City I” — which features bright lines of red, yellow, black and blue tape on a white background — will likely continue to be displayed the wrong way, because to change it now could damage it.

“The adhesive tapes are already extremely loose and hanging by a thread,” art historian and German museum curator Susanne Meyer-Büser told The Guardian. “If you were to turn it upside down now, gravity would pull it into another direction. And it’s now part of the work’s story.”

The work was first publicly displayed in New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1945. Since 1980, it’s been part of the art collection of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf.


https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mondrian-upside-down-75-years-new-york-city-germany_n_635c3c0fe4b023ac31c54a45

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. What's con about it? Isn't ALL art in the eye of the beholder?

[Wingus Dingus]

2. Strips of tape on a dirty panel.

I'm sure it would look MUCH better if hung rightside up.

[Joinfortmill]

3. Rarely, do I find abstract art moving, however...

When it is, it is awesome. This doesn't do it for me

[Beatlelvr]

4. Yes, it's different things to different people

And I'm the first to admit my ignorance about art in general, but I think so much contemporary art is a con job. Many years ago I went to the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art. Their latest collection was about 200 cups and saucers, starting with tiny ones going up to very large ones.
That's it. They paid a large sum for that exhibition. I walked out laughing.

[TlalocW]

9. Many years ago

I went to the Chicago Modrrn Art Museum. I was there with a student group from my college. The pieces I remember were
1. Vacuum cleaners in a display case by hack Jeff Koons
2. A room with 64 oil drums filled with water in an 8 by 8 square that reflected a giant back-lit photo hanging above them.
3. A constantly running film of an artist destroying a hotel room but running backwards. The artist looked like one of the girls on the trip.
4. A painting of a seascape with a couple sitting on a bench. The couple were reverse mermaids. I quite liked that one as it actually took talent to paint.
And my favorite
5. A pile of pieces of paper 2 feet by 1 foot with a black border running around the edge of each sheet. The placard invited viewers to take a few sheets as that turned the work into a dynamic, ever changing piece of art. I felt the museum missed out by not selling pads of sticky notes in smaller but same ratios of dimensions with a little black border running along the edge of each sheet. "Take the experience home!"

[Kid Berwyn]

5. Mondrian was a genius.

I enjoy some of his works more than others. It all merits preservation, however, as there will never be another Mondrian.

[robbob]

6. There's a work hanging in Canada's National Art Gallery

“Voice of Fire”; it a massive panel with a red vertical stripe bordered by two blue vertical stripes. Does absolutely nothing for me, and I’ve seen it in person. When I was there a younger couple beside me were carrying on a whispered conversation about how if you stared at it long enough the colours started to shimmer. All I could think was, if you stare at ANYTHING long enough the colours start to shimmer. Try staring at a light bulb; that property doesn’t make it “art”, imho…🙄

[packman]

7. I'm selling "Discovery" for $1,000 a pop -

All works will be sent via e-mail - Pay Pal accepted

Copyright/Trademark protected - forgers will be prosecuted

[Genki Hikari]

8. It's only a con job for people too unversed in art

To understand it.

Mondrian was part of the De Stijl movement which believed art could be the essence of expression, and to do that, one must get to the basics--as in using only black, white and the three primary colors, plus only vertical and horizontal lines.

The concept mostly derives from Bauhaus, Cubism and Russian Constructivism, but is also a sort of product of its time of artists who were living in a neutral country while surrounded by the misery and destruction of World War I. So in a confusing, complicated world full of violence, shadows and intrigue, the De Stijl art works brought a near-spiritual clarity, something that spoke to a "universal vision" that could make sense across all borders and cultures. Many people were desperate for art that was simple, clean and "above" reality--and no one could blame them for wanting as much distance as possible, artistically, from the devastation of one of the most horrifying of wars.

Mondrian did write about this kind of art extensively. I'd start with his essay, "Neoplasticism in Pictorial Art." Should be easy to find since the copyright would have expired, long ago.

[electric_blue68]

11. Ty for the history on that! While I don't agree w the aesthetic it is understandable.

I like his work. There are other abstract artists I prefer.

I also make abstract abstract painting, assemblage sculpture, ad well as realistic drawing, and paintings.

[crickets]

12. Thank you for the background information on

an artist I've always enjoyed and appreciated but never known much about.

[hunter]

10. All the arts that "anyone" could do have to be done by someone first.

That's where the magic is, and this goes back to prehistoric times when someone first scraped a few lines on a rock.

When brightly colored tapes were new Mondrian showed everyone what art you could make with brightly colored tape.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

13. It's obvious to the most casual observer....

that one of those two guys is bald.........