Beke László (szerk.): Instruktiv + Inter + Konkret. Művészet Malom Szentendre, 21. November - 26. Januar 2015 (Sankt Augustin, 2014)
13. Andre van Lier
Geometrical Abstract Art: Keep Calm and Carry On Statements to discuss about geometric abstract art Is geometric abstract art dead? Is it dead to the public, the critics, the art collectors or artists themselves? And if geometric abstract art has only a small group of fans and seems to be little recognised - by the general public as well as by the people who are interested in art - then why did James Turrell receive the National Medal of Arts in the White House out of President Obama's hands last year? How to explain the low appreciation of current geometric abstract art, while the prices for works made by the top representatives of this style out of former times are soaring? Can we open people’s eyes to the beauty of abstract geometric art? Why do people often react to this form of art with irritation and contempt? What are they seeing or experiencing - or what are they unable to see or do they think something is missing in this form of art? Is geometric abstract art more easily accepted by people when appearing in applied arts such as household goods or architecture? And if so, why would that be? Can this lack of love for geometric abstract art be remedied? Is it an acquired taste that takes time to develop or is it a fact of life to be accepted? Is there knowledge to be gained by having the way people experience geometric abstract art studied in a scientific way? Would somebody who grew up in surroundings decorated according to the Islamic tradition of not depicting humans and animals, find it easier to relate to geometric abstract art than someone growing up surrounded by figurative art? In what way do children learn to look at art (if at all) and does this education include abstract geometric art? My personal time-line as an artist in the geometric abstract art: what does it look like? Why have I had such a passion for abstract art for all these years, what has fired and fuelled it? Looking back: what has changed in my work and what has truly been constant and contains the essence of my work? What do I want an observer to experience and does this actually happen? 157
