The Abstract

October 4abstract,planetarium

I am thankful for the abstract. Abstract is loosely defined as something that exists in thought or mind but not having a concrete existence. It is an idea. It is a thought. It is composing something in your mind from something that may only be suggestive of that final composition. An abstract painting is one that may represent different things to every person that sees it. It is the interaction of patterns, colors, shapes, shadings, and "movement". I enjoy abstract photographs. It generally involves photographing something concrete but doing it, or manipulating it, in such a way as to make it difficult to determine the actual object(s) photographed. It may look like nothing representing the original. Sometimes, I like to take extreme closeups, reflections, or blurred images which are difficult to determine the origin.

The photo above, to me, is abstract. You may know what it is but it might not be obvious. This was taken at the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum Planetarium and Space Theater during a concert my son John and his band, The Lazarus Heart, played. A beautiful light show, projected on the arched ceiling, was constantly changing throughout the concert. I think this particular photo represents the limitless planets and suns in the galaxy. The fun in photos like these is to try to visualize the things that this splattering of colors might represent abstractly.

The photos below are of dying rose petals (top) and the bark of a crepe myrtle tree trunk (bottom), respectively.

October 4bthe abstract,dying rose petals

October 4cthe abstract;crepe myrtle tree trunk

abstract

you think my ideas

tend toward the abstract

you’d rather have someone

concrete and true to fact

but those thoughts and ideas

have a specific function

to confuse and bewilder so

to seem not as dysfunction.

© rt tulley