I once had a self curated exhibition where a man came in and had a good look around but kept coming back to one piece over and over.
He seemed a bit huffy though (sorry if this is you but it’s still one of my most treasured memories from a self exhibition) so I asked him if he was ok. He said ‘ I really like this one.’
(I said thank you), (he still seemed cross)…
Eventually I discovered that what was annoying him was that because the painting was abstract, he had no frame of reference to judge if it was ‘good’ or not, it wasn’t a ‘thing’ so he couldn’t say if it was a good representation of the object/scene/whatever.
We talked about him, maybe he found the structure calming, or he liked the feeling the piece gave him, or maybe he just liked the colours.
He went on to tell me about a historic battle on The Marches (sorry no dates, history not my strong point) and how it was misty and eerie and the armies couldn’t see one another and the sound was muffled by the fog. He described the atmosphere, how the soldiers must have felt. The sounds, the temperature, the smells….
He'd seen something in that painting that had connected with knowledge he had of a particular event in history and through the work could immerse himself in that moment.
That’s the power of abstract art. The unique and personal response of the viewer to a painting that means something completely individual to them.
I’d say that’s ‘good’ eh?
