The question that arises when we talk about abstraction is, how can we aesthetically present something. Christoph Niemann, known for making some of the most amazing “The New Yorker” covers, was a control freak would sit on his desk and draw and design to come up with the perfect formula of creating art. But it isn’t about that. It’s about letting loose and experimenting; creating something new. He feels that abstraction is the most important concept of art. For him it means keeping only two or three ideas among thousand different ones. Those two or three ideas which are essential and that helps make a point. While the popular belief may be that abstraction is easy, it’s undoubtedly the most hardest concept. deciding what to get rid of and deciding what is necessary can be challenging. Like a child who draws things very dynamic and is not worried about getting stuck with right proportions and action, Niemann thought that, that was the final goal.
Niemann explains that if you wanna portray the idea of heart as a symbol of love then the easiest was to do that would be a simple red square. But he argues that people wouldn’t instantly recognise the meaning behind it because of which it falls flat. Then again if you make it too realistic it looks disgusting and true which makes you feel the complete opposite of love. So he soon realised that abstract art is not about something super simple like a box or one line. It is about communicating the exact amount of information which is required. It could either be lots of details, lots or realism or just a pixel.
Art is not about waiting for inspiration to pop up but it is about sitting at your desk, drawing and making decisions. It is the only way you can survive.
Aarushi Jindal 