Abstract art is starkly set apart by that one
little word: "abstract". With the creation of the abstract art style
(which in reality existed long before the term "abstract art" was
utilized), artists of the 20th century were given new license to explore the
freedom of the abstract world.
While the etymology of a word is not considered a definition, the origins of a
word are very important. The source and beginnings of the word abstract, and
when the term "abstract art" was created, are explained here:
ETYMOLOGY
abstract (adj.)
late 14c., from L. abstractus
"drawn away," pp. of abstrahere, from ab(s)- "away" + trahere
"draw" (see tract
(1)). Meaning "withdrawn or separated from material objects or practical
matters" is from 1550s; specifically in ref. to the fine arts, it dates
from 1915; abstract expressionism from 1952. The
general noun sense of "a smaller quantity containing the virtue or power
of a greater" [Johnson] is recorded from 1560s; meaning "summary of a
document" is from 1520s. The verb is first recorded 1540s.
1. Considered
apart from concrete existence: an abstract concept.
2. Not
applied or practical; theoretical. See Synonyms at theoretical.
3. Difficult
to understand; abstruse: abstract philosophical
problems.
4. Thought
of or stated without reference to a specific instance: abstract words like truth and justice.
5. Impersonal,
as in attitude or views.
6. Having an
intellectual and affective artistic content that depends solely on intrinsic form rather than on narrative content or pictorial representation: abstract painting and sculpture.
