First, What Is Non Representational Art?
To understand the impact Non Representational art can have for therapeutic purposes you must know what it is. Some call it abstract art, yet this common name does not fully capture what it is.
All art resides on a relative scale of realism to stylized art.Non Representational lives within a spectrum of stylized art.
The key to it name is that the art does not represent real world or life objects. Therefore its composition in art can take on any aspect, ratio, or form which the artist desires.
The emphasis of the art is often more emotionally focused. Elements which offer a compliment by comparison, or by contrast through Juxtaposition communicate its story.
In recent modern history, its foundations can be had within the latter end of the Art Deco period where Non Representational began to gain momentum.
While it was not always the most popular form of art, modern technology through digital mediums has allowed a significant increase to its use.
Therapeutic Art For Mental Health Benefits
Please understand this is not intended to be a puff piece on home decoration. As an artist I have my own focus within art, yet I do take all art forms in with a passion. Having said this there are real reasons for the use of this art within a home.
To realize its benefit we must look into how it impacts our world and minds. The greatest impact within my opinion is for mental health. This is not as wacky as it may sound to some out there.
These university references will aid in understanding importance by perception and also the ethical significance.
Those who suffer from anxiety, emotional stress, or other mental ailments can find it helpful.
The entire premise of the art is based upon emotional expression rather than being representative of some physical form.
With the vast numbers in types of mediums within art, we have many ways in which to express. Additionally by mixing these mediums we can tell different parts of our story.
The key in using this art within ones home for this purpose is to find pieces which speak to the subject of those emotions. The one who is afflicted with these ailments should be the one to select the art.
What it means to them may altogether be different than the artists intentions yet that is perfectly fine. After all, this is about how the artwork speaks to the individual in need.
When one suffers from anxiety, depression, or similar ailments, there really is no way for words to capture what is felt. Likewise there really is not a way for words to console enough to bring someone out of that place.
Where words fail often art can reach them.
This is something that must be personal to the individual. It really is difficult for someone other than the one afflicted to select the pieces which will help them.
What they see within the work will determine how it impacts them. Often within different frames of mind the same work can have multiple meanings at different times.
While it is important to verbally communicate with others, professionals, and to follow all medical advice, this is not the sum of the whole. Despite communication what is felt must also be processed in its own way.
Artists often have the privilege to simply be crazy, I should know for I am one. If it works for us there is no doubt it can help those who are not as far gone as we are.
Here is where art steps in to aid in this process allowing for one to have another form of help in recovering. Emotion can be attached to a non representative meaning in ways words cannot describe.
How It Works To Improve Health
To know how to best implement this art form we need to trace a little bit of history. What you discover will impact many aspects within your home and often in good unexpected ways.
This is a level of expertise all the garbage marketing of home decor completely misses. It takes an artist to know this stuff apparently.
The foundations of Nonrepresentational Art go back a long way. Yet its key use for our time had its beginning in Monochromatic Art.
This developed in the West around the 1950’s. Color was a primary vehicle of communication with hidden geometric shapes. The artwork relied heavily upon juxtaposition within the art, and among the pieces collectively together.
Clearly there is more to it than merely throwing paint on a canvas.
Early versions of this art would take a canvas and it would be painted one solid color.
The artists would often use a slight variation in the color to then create a very faint image often geometric in nature. Its purpose was to require the observer to focus on the work and hunt for the shape.
Since those days the meaning behind the word monochrome has been changed dramatically. Yet from this beginning modern abstract principles were developed.
Often a deeper meaning was hidden within works. It may have held no shape, rhyme, or reason for the casual purveyor passing by. Its point was to cause reflection and require interpretation.
Some educated elites wish to claim that nonrepresentational means that the work is devoid of any shape for form. They then move one step forward towards realism in a term called geometrical abstraction. In other words the work begins to take on some kind of geometrical form.
I say they are too full of it with their books. They claim to know the purpose of art and too few of them have ever succeeded at being artists. To each their own, nevertheless…
All works contain a geometry of some form or shape. It may not be a complete shape or form but rather a partial one.
Stop for a moment and think of someone who suffers from emotional ailments. The internal geometry of life as so to speak is incomplete, just like the art. Yet they are still there as a person.
While it may not be always conscious to the individual suffering, they in many ways are doing the exact things the artists from the 1950’s wanted people to do.
It is as if they are looking for that meaning, searching for the hidden forms or shapes within life. Yet in this case they are using its broken geometry to create a definition for themselves.
Not everyone may connect with art in a way that benefits them. Not everyone likes pizza either, all things are subjective to tastes.
Yet for some it may aid greatly in ways they may not have expected. This art form is definitely a good tool for use in family time creating together and remaining close to those you love.
How To Decorate A Room Or Home With This Art
Here we really need to step away from all the HGTV garbage. Consider an artists perspective.
We again go back to the Mid 20th Century Modern Art. The artists of that time knew their work and saw its evolution across time. We need to see what they did.
Often the works they produced would be in series. The arrangement on a wall would have a purpose. Some artists would not consider one canvas as the work but rather the sum of all the canvasses combined.
Therefore it was only when the whole of all the individual pieces were formed on the wall, like puzzle pieces coming together, that they would call it complete.
There was a flow to their geometry and system. It was masking that hidden meaning they wanted people to search for.
When decorating a home with Nonrepresentational Art the same approach is needed. The sum of emotions are not often quantified by one canvass.
Rather there are lows, deeper lows, with the attempt to climb out of them. Other moments may find that someone cannot define how they feel. An arrangement through art is needed.
To define what this arrangement needs to be can only be done by the one suffering from the ailment. It may take 3 pieces, or 5 to make their wall complete in a multi panel format.
There may be times when the arrangement needs to be changed. The flow of what it gives to the emotions they have can change.
We are talking about an ever changing and altering state of mind. Thus what speaks to this state of mind and emotion will also shift with those tides. It is an evolution through time.
There is nothing wrong with taking the work and changing its position, order, or flipping one upside down. It is a matter of perspective to the viewer. It is what that work gives that person at the moment they need it.
While art for health can be placed anywhere in the home often the bedroom is the best for personal benefit. Any location where you spend a great deal of time is a primary location for your interaction.
How Will Non Representational Art Impact Visual Aesthetics At Home?
We all want our home to be pretty. Some are obsessed with a museum quality like beauty.
There is nothing wrong with that. Yet there can be concern about how Non Representational Art can impact your homes appearance, especially to company.
Here is the cool part. Non Representational Art will go with virtually any home design, decor, and furnishings.
Due to the variety of colors which can be within a work, even if not exact to the room, it should match and flow with ease. If it doesn’t then perhaps painting the room can help the person in need.
When you have company come over they will never know what purpose it serves. To them it is just abstract art. If the people who write and do tv shows on this stuff have no idea to its history or uses, then I doubt your friends will.
Even if they do know its history, the purpose of this art is very wide in its focus. The health aspect is merely one element within its toolkit. In my opinion though this is the most powerful element which it possess.
The only other major benefit I see it playing for someone is if they constantly update furnishings from year to year. If you are one of those individuals then this art is definitely for you. It may save you money for years to come.
Common Ways To Display This Art
These works are often displayed in odd numbers. A series of 3, 5, 7, or 9 is common. Even numbers can be used as well yet often within some symmetrical shape.
Four as an example can have two on top and two on the bottom row. Six alternatively can be in series of by 2’s or by 3’s.
They can also be staggered on a wall so that it breaks a pattern which may be beneficial to some. Yet if order is needed then remaining within a geometrical shape may be desired.
Typically the art will reside alone on a wall that has been painted to contrast or match the works. In this way the wall itself becomes a part of the work. This is not a rule by any means yet historically in the early days it was done this way.
When this is done for someone for the purposes of health they should add to this arrangement anything they find beneficial to their needs. It becomes their space for expression and reflection.
Something To Try For Those In Need
Remember earlier I mentioned that all artists are a little crazy? Well you do not have to be crazy in order to try out art. You at least can get half an artists badge this way.
For those who suffer from mental ailments it may be beneficial to try and create Non Representational Art. Rather than allowing it to be purely abstract and devoid of any meaning, it should reflect the emotion of the time.
This does not mean that it requires shape or form. Allow the feelings to express through color, compliment, or contrast to that emotion.
I do not wish to pour on art theory or classes in art appreciation here. Those principles will take their natural role if one begins down this path.
This art can provide a further outlet for any individual. As the works are completed they can be kept secret or displayed on their art wall.
I personally know artists that began down the path for reasons like this. They gain great stability through their work in restoring their health.
There are some who say that it helps more than any other form of therapy which they partake in. Again all is subjective to the individual.
There are also those that I know who need multiple formats. Visual arts is only one element, while writing has its own structure.
The first flows into the second once concepts are formed at the former. Everyone’s mind may follow a general set of outlined rules yet we are all still unique and different.
Non Representational Art Is Unique
There is no doubt that this art form is unique and set apart from the rest. It is not for everyone.
Traditional artists like to have a little fun with it by claiming those who are not really artists create with this art. Yet this is not true as they smile joking.
It is purely about the emotional state of mind. There is no doubt its greatest asset is tied to those purposes especially for therapeutic means.
It does have a deep and rich history reaching back across time. As it gains in popularity you may find someone within your home that begins to set new standards within the art market. It could happen.