Modern art for Christians ?

So, Freepers (especially Christians), what do you think of this work by Barnett Newman from his Stations of the Cross series? Actually, it's only one of the stations: the first, when Jesus is condemned to death. There are 14 more (including Be II which is number 15 and has some red on one side). They are all as abstract as this, black and/or white strips (zips) on raw canvas, and I'm not sure they are as moving as they should be. I know the Abstract Expressionist spiel about angst, etc., but these seem a bit bleaker than the works of Rothko (whose work I love, but it took me a while to do so).

"It is too bad that so many art schools are filled theoretical postmodern "bleep" because that is what is "in." Robert Hughes, Time critic and author, once said that as many artists graduate from art school each year as there were working in Florence the entire 15th century."

We should go back to a Master-Apprentice education on some trades. To many teachers at schools can be nothing more than people who failed in their trade in the private sector and refused to fine something they were better at.

I only draw as a hobby now, I still don't have the love for it that I used to.

I'm sorry that your love of art was suppressed so soon. However, the bright side is that you may be earning a higher life style as a non-artist. And the really bright side of it, for FR, is all the wonderful insights you share here.

Sometimes I think that those who really have something new to say will keep saying it, regardless of whether anyone is "listening" (or "looking"). (And I have to think that it will be in a personal and somewhat abstracted style, since realism has been done ad infinitum. But maybe I'll be proven wrong; my prejudice is toward abstraction, although it is more difficult to understand.)

This may be a reason not to have quite so many grants; do they just help lazy artists who wouldn't otherwise make it?

By the way, this first Station of the Cross is quite large, something like 3' x 4' (although I don't have the exact measurements here), not just 8 1/2" x 11".

I think of getting back into drawing and painting from time to time, right now I'm helping my fiancee raise her 4 daughters so I have no time. Just now I had to go settle a dispute. I work for my father so that job would be there regardless, it'd be nice to have some supplemental income though!

Realism has been done and is being done, true, but it's still not accepted back into the mainstream of the "art culture". Realism only exists in the art fringes, posters, tattoos, album covers...that's what my goal was anyways, but noone gives out grants and endowments for album covers. My bias is against abstract because of what the instructor said to me, although I can still appreciate some artistic value and creativity of some of it.

Incidentally, the instructor had a piece in the gallery on campus... it was a 6"x 10" x4" wooden box painted white and given a title based in chinese mysticism if this helps to further elaborate my disgust for the instructor and his "art."

The biggest problem in the art world as I see it is this, there aren't enough "talented" artists and too many "B.S." artists.

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