Reply To: Prehistoric Abstraction

[Kaitlyn]

I don’t completely understand the concept of what abstract art is but according to google abstract art “does not attempt to represent external reality, but seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, forms, colors, and textures” and while I do see the abstract aspect in the prehistoric art I don’t think it is completely abstract. After all, in the Chauvet cave, the Lascaux cave, and bison sculptures clearly show depictions of animals, perhaps the Altimira cave was a little more abstract. The two statues of the women as well as the lion-human could be seen as abstract I guess, however to me they seem very precise, I don’t think the creator of these figures intended them to be abstract. Another definition online said abstracted was “showing a lack of concentration on what is happening around one” and I don’t think these works of art fit that definition, as the artists were clearly concentrated when creating them. Even the monuments like Stonehenge and Newgrange, while perhaps at first glance seem to be abstract actually were built with a purpose in mind, like the “roof box” in Newgrange that is created to let light pass in at a certain time of the year, to me that seems as if it were created with very precise detail.