UnRealism - consequences of figurative painting

Look, See, Interpret, Question 

Three Generations, by MonGraffito, 2023

 
unrealism. a representation having no reference to concrete objects or specific examples.  
synonyms: abstractionism.  
type of: internal representation, mental representation. a presentation to the mind in the form of an idea or image. 

Art of the Real, an influential exhibition curated at the MoMA, NY in 1968 did not contain a single figurative painting. The concept of the “Real” had evolved to a point where figuration and illusion were no longer part of the vanguard artistic discourse.  
In the hundreds of years since the advent of Realism in art, truth of observation and representation had been progressively replaced by truth of materials and a focus on what were understood to be the essential qualities of the medium.* 

Artists are the people best positioned to create a deeper portrayal of the human experience in this era of unreality. A painting can distil the lessons of the past, the insights of the present, and premonitions of the future. Works of art are the only inanimate objects that can possess a moral voice. 
 
Word goes that artists are influenced by the world they live in; they digest their emotional and mental responses to that world, and represent their response in their art. That, at least, is what I drew from reading about contemporary art, ideas I agree with.  
 

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” 
According to Hume’s Bundle Theory (an object consists of its properties and nothing more) an object is merely its sense data. The definition of sound, simplified, is a hearable wave. 
 
In a similar way, a work of art placed on a planet where there is no life form, will it still be art?  
To me Art starts to exist when it is experienced by an (even slightly) sentient life form, perceived, and when it creates a personal response. That response is part of the four necessary components of the Art System (Artist, work of Art, Observer and Response) 
 
My Unrealist works should not be explained, at least not by me. If someone “translates” them to you, that person becomes part of the Art System I mentioned. His/her explanation could add to your perception or annoy you, which is also an addition of some sort.   
I may tell you the story that started me on a painting, the moment I chose to work on it and the music (when the case) that I chose to listen to, during painting. Details can be added ad infinitum but that would only complicate your relationship with the work, and will shift your Response.  
Should one learn all the events that created the person standing in front of you? If so, we’d all go back to the same ancestral living cell. I suggest we make it much easier: observe the work, observe your response to it.  
 
 

* Jeffey Deitch, from the introduction to “Unrealism, New Figurative Painting” published by Rizzoli Electa