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submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

After decades as a representational painter, in her seventies Alma Thomas turned to abstraction, creating shimmering, mosaic-like fields of color with rhythmic dabs of paint that were often inspired by forms from nature. The artist had been fascinated with space exploration since the late 1960s, and her later paintings often referenced America’s manned Apollo missions to the moon.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_Thomas

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[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

If anyone knows how to interpret this painting, what to see in it, please let me know because it simply looks like "huh..." to me.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

(This is all my opinion only, for the record)

This being non-representational, it's not like a visual story being told. Nobody should try to interpret this for you, IOW. It's more about feelings and impressions and an overall gut reaction. A human trying to express themself. If you don't "vibe with this", then it's just not for you.

Most all art made after 1970 doesn't do anything for me, for instance. I still look and post what I can, every so often. I just liked this painting for the blues and the way the artists used the little blocks of paint.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

Thank you for answering! And thank you for posting such a varied selection of art here so consistently!

Your answer was exactly what I was looking for, confirmation that I'm not missing something obvious.

After looking at it for a while, I'd say what this looks like to me is the view you'd get from a darkened doorway (or window) and seeing a glimpse of a sunset/sunrise over distant mountains. All covered up in an unconventional semi-pointillist technique (that apparently was pretty pervasive in her work, I'm learning) and lack of details.

That kind of scene would evoke a feeling of wanderlust mixed with either regret or anticipation (sunset/sunrise). But it's all very vague and full of alternatives.

I think that the comparison of abstract art to classical art is sort of like comparing quantum physics to classical physics. Not in the difficulty rating though; classical art is incomparably more difficult to get right.

Whereas classical art & physics deal with crisp, clear representations that delight in trying to be as precise as they can be, abstract art, like the physics, describes fields of probabilities and multiple paths/interpretations that overlap and interplay. Abstract art doesn't want us to admire a thing, but a hopefully cleverly crafted cloud of possible 'things' it could be suggesting at once using just a few vague strokes.

The viewer could collapse their own personal waveform on one interpretation but I think you're right, we're supposed to admire the fog, not try to see through it.

this post was submitted on 23 May 2025
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Wander the gallery. Look at the art. Be polite. If you feel able please post some great art :)

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