Arthur Dove, Essay Example

Arthur Dove once said “A good breeder idea…goes toward what is meant by modern painting…To save the finest and breed from it is better than saving all.  That is what ‘Modern’ in the real sense means.” However, modern art in 1958 varies significantly from what we consider modern art to be today. If one visits the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, they will find a variety of pieces that many art critics claim deviate from what one would call art.

While the abstract art movement is a component of modern art, many fans of other forms of modern art fail to appreciate it. One example of this is a painting entitled “When Two Colors Meet” by Ellsworth Kelly. This image consists of a blue rectangle running vertically and a red rectangle running horizontally on a grey background. This contradicts Dove’s opinion, as many viewers claim that there is no real meaning between this type of art. However, those who appreciate this modern art form claim that the meaning of it can be found in the individual interpretation that each viewer assigns to it. Overall, it may have meaning for some and no meaning for others.

A second sample of modern art that falls into this description is “Colors for a Large Wall”, also by Ellsworth Kelly. In this image, the artist uses a variety of squares of different colors to make up a larger square. When I see this image, I do see the artist’s creativity and imagine that he might have been feeling complex emotions when he painted it. To the untrained viewer, however, this piece may seem uncreative. Therefore, the meaning that a piece have is a consequence of opinion of both the artist and the viewer, and these opinions may deviate significantly according to the individual.