About Abstract Art And Titles Of Paintings?

Question

When viewing most modern art, art that is less figurative, less representative, how important is the title of the work to you in your assessment of the work’s value? Do you ever feel the title is non-essential, or perhaps thrown in as an afterthought? Do titles, based on your personal viewing experience, often (or perhaps rarely) reflect the message the artist is conveying? Or perhaps it detracts from the paintings itself? Perhaps you feel abstract art doesn't need titles?

More importantly, does the title ever enhance the work, enabling you to better understand where the artist’s life, mind and heart was when the painting (or any other modern art) was being created?

Here is an example. Does the title add to or detract from the value or message the artist has to offer? Does the title fit the painting? Does the title influence how you see the painting and feel what the artist is trying to say?

http://pics.livejournal.com/unmired/pic/00036wa6/g16

('Down The Tube')

Answer 1

Sometimes the title helps me understand where the artist is coming from. Sometimes the title eludes me. Sometimes it is better for me to not look at the title at all and decide what the meaning is to me alone. For me, if I don't get the meaning within a minute or so, the artist hasn't done a very good job of getting his meaning across.

Answer 2

By abstract I will assume that you mean Abstracted, because there is a slight difference. If what you mean is abstracted, there are a myriad of artists to choose from. But if you mean abstract, as far as I am concerned there are none. I only know this because I spent an entire year trying to find one. Every artist that has abstracted the human figure, retains representational elements of the subject in his/her painting. A completely abstract portrait would use colours and forms that may allude to, and connote "portrait" or "person", but will never include visual elements that are in and of themselves representational. I am still working on a body of work that will hopefully be considered, by more than just me, as abstract portraits. They are based on the colour theory of Yves Kline, and by the study of icons, forms, and even synesthesia by people such as Kandinsky, Malevitch, and Carl Jung. If you are at all interested, I can point you to a place where some of the preliminary work can be viewed. Willem de Kooning probably came the closest to a completely abstract portrait in his Woman series.

Answer 3

at the end the title is a name to an object that offers a myth to be built around it in Auction houses and museum

Answer 4

i really hate it when i see "untitled" on any piece of artwork....the title helps give it meaning and understanding.