Interpretations of Abstract Art

Abstract art is called "abstract" for a reason. A definition on the internet calls abstract art that which "does not represent recognizable objects". People view art, abstract art in particular, through their own eyes. Again, I see the theme of different lenses coming out in the study of art in general and more appropriately for this class, religious themes in abstract art as well. The abstract images we viewed in class by the artist Pollock are easily interpreted in many different ways. During the discussion of the first image, I realized that everyone saw something different in the painting. Some saw multiple figures which they assumed to be human. But how do we know that they were actually men? What did the artist intend for us to see? What did he himself see when he painted the figures? A classmate whom I talked with saw a dog, not a human. Others saw the portrayal of death in the painting with the red marks representing blood and the set up of the painting being something of a funeral setting. Still, someone saw positive charges running along the left side of the painting. But who is to say that those symbols were charges? They could just as easily been viewed as crosses or even the letter "t". The difference between everyone's interpretation of such a painting draws light to the fact that everything we look at and use in our daily life is influenced by our own personal experiences and education. Of course a student of natural science would see positive charges just as logically as a very religious Christian would interpret those symbols to be crosses. The beauty of abstract art is the fact that you can see whatever you want, or whatever you need to see in a painting. This is much the same as in religion. If you view religion as having just as much freedom for interpretation as art does, then you can find a use for it in every situation and make it mean something on a personal level for you. And this all depends on the lens through which you view the world.