Still Don't Get It? Welcome to the blog!

Welcome to the interactive blog for The Huntington Museum of Art's I Don't Get It: Non-objective Works from the Permanent Collection, an exhibition designed to explore the intentions and ideas behind non-objective art which is concerned with formal qualities while rejecting imagery from everyday life. Even if you've read all the labels that accompany each of the exhibited works, the art may still remain puzzling or a little confusing, since it doesn't look like anything we are used to from the world around us. So please feel free to post any questions or comments you might have in the comments section of this blog or, if you visit the Museum in person, write your impressions on a card and post it to our exhibition bulletin board! I'll do my best to answer your questions and shed additional light on the meaning behind these non-objective art works.

I Don't Get It: Non-Objective Works from the Permanent Collection of the Huntington Museum of Art

Non-objective art refers to work that is non-representational, containing no recognizable objects or subject matter. Instead, it uses a visual language of form, color, and line to create compositions that are independent from visual references in the real world. While artists working in this style occasionally take inspiration from life experiences, their work reflects emotions and reactions to it using a purely aesthetic vocabulary, rejecting identifiable images.

From the Renaissance to the middle of the 19^th century, Western art had been defined by the logic of perspective and the endeavor to create the illusion of visible reality. With the development of the camera, however, photography was capable of capturing reality in a more convenient way than painting, drawing, or sculpture. Therefore, by the beginning of the 20^th century, many artists gave credence to the idea that art could constitute its own universe, and that reference points beyond materials and the mind of the maker were no longer of importance. This view of art lead to the dismantling of subject matter, for what was represented mattered less than the manner of representation and the theories held by the person responsible for it.

I Don’t Get It highlights non-objective holdings from the Huntington Museum of Art’s own permanent collection in a variety of media, including paintings, prints, glass, and sculpture so as to shed light on the interpretation and background of an art style that is often misleading in its apparent simplicity.

This exhibit is generously supported by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, the West Virginia Commission of the Arts, and the West Virginia Humanities Council.