Ambiguity as a Source of Meanings in some Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Byerley, Gerald Durwood

Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

Ambiguity as a Source of Meanings in some Contemporary Abstract Paintings Público Deposited

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/kp78gh611

Abstract

This thesis deals with the interpretation of some contemporary abstract paintings through the use of the concept of ambiguity. No attempt is made to separate the abstract painting of the present from the painting of the past, but rather it is shown how both can be approached through examination of the ambiguous levels of meanings within them. The dense ambiguous levels of meanings in the contemporary abstract painting areas contrasted with the more limited quantity of ambiguity in paintings which contain a more descriptive use of objects. Some meanings are traced through the ambiguous levels in both kinds of painting (i.e., abstract and objective-descriptive). The discussions are not only a guide to the paintings used as illustrations but are also a starting point for further associations with other abstract paintings of the present. The discoveries of Cubism and Impressionism are the intuitive disciplines for the contemporary abstract painter. Their concepts of planar structure and light structure are basic to contemporary abstract painting. A less stable or less plastic place in the conventional sense of Cubism exists in contemporary abstract painting. The examples display these results of a very dense ambiguity that is dominated by the intangible properties of light. It is shown how the breadth of the emotional experiences of light in these paintings lend to them a feeling of unlimited space. The ambiguities within contemporary abstract paintings show the conflicts within contemporary man and of course within the contemporary painter. Ambiguity in painting adjusts the unlimited forces of the human psyche to a form which is unlimited in its expressive potential.

Creator

Byerley, Gerald Durwood

Date Issued

1962-05-24

Additional Information

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Academic Affiliation