A Smoke Backstage Analysis

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Art is a field of creativity and feelings. It can be used to explain something that cannot be explained with words. Art consists of many things; it does not have to be interpreted or translated to be appreciated. Art can be broken down into these different types: representational, abstract and nonrepresentational art.
Representational art is often the first type that comes to mind for many people. It consists of things that are meant to resemble something specific and is considered natural. If the specific thing happens to be a person, the art is considered figurative art. Trompe l’oeil is French for “fool the eye” and is a style of art that falls into the category of representational art. This style of painting is often used for realistic paintings. Some of these paintings are marveled for how realistic they look. A Smoke Backstage is a good example of this art style and category as the artist William Harnett captures the correct size and lighting of the actual materials (Frank 9).
Abstract art is a unique type of art as it uses the idea of objects, but paints them in a way that is overly simplified or changed drastically from the original object. It may be considered not natural at all or a distorted natural. Abstract art is always interesting as it is a concept that can be interpreted very differently from person to person. …show more content…

This type of art is occasionally hard to recognize as art often hides the meaning or representation to quick glances. Even art that does not represent a thing can often represent ideas or feelings. A great example of this is Gray Night Phenomenon by Alma Woodsey Thomas. This work of art is not representing any particular thing, but instead reflects the mood that is associated with the artist during a gray night (Frank 11-12). Since the art does not resemble any particular object, it falls under the classification of nonrepresentational

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