Abstract Art Defined
Abstract art, nonobjective art, and nonrepresentational art, are loosely related terms. They are of similar, although perhaps not identical meaning.

Abstraction indicates a departure from reality in depiction of imagery in art. This departure from accurate representation can be only slight, or it can be partial, or it can be complete. (Today's abstract computer wallpapers, where often the abstract artist is able to create amazingly complex digital and 3D designs that are not only unique, but very pleasing to the eye, are normally good examples of complete departure from reality-based paintings.) Abstraction exists along a continuum. Even art that aims for verisimilitude of the highest degree can be said to be abstract, at least theoretically, since perfect representation is likely to be exceedingly elusive. Artwork which takes liberties, altering for instance color and form in ways that are conspicuous, can be said to be partially abstract. Total abstraction bears no trace of any reference to anything recognizable. In geometric abstraction, for instance, one is unlikely to find references to naturalistic entities. Figurative art and total abstraction are almost mutually exclusive. But figurative and representational (or realistic) art often contains partial abstraction.

Both Geometric abstraction and Lyrical Abstraction are often totally abstract. Among the very numerous art movements that embody partial abstraction would be for instance fauvism in which color is conspicuously and deliberately altered vis-a-vis reality, and cubism, which blatantly alters the forms of the real life entities depicted

The modern abstract artist who employs computer technology to create his or her abstract drawings (as digital artwork) may not receive the same accolades as an artist who painstakingly paints his abstract paintings by talented tough of hand, there is no mistaking the wide appeal that abstracts such as computer wallpaper abstract images and other technology-created abstract pictures have with the general public. Regardless of how this might dismay abstract artists themselves, who have spent months, or even years on an abstract painting, it is obvious that the abstract design, as an entity of its own, is the key element that draws much of today's art lovers to an abstract picture, whether computer generated or not. To suggest (as some do) that those who love to adorn their desktops with computer-made abstract wallpapers (or other digital and digital 3D computer images) do not have a true appreciation of abstract art is a ridiculous conclusion. It is not difficult to draw a distinction between a painter's loving work and the abstract design generated by the tech artists of today; the public well understands the difference. At the same time, the tech artist's abstract designs are well received because people like and enjoy them. If an abstract computer wallpaper can be enjoyed for its unique design characteristics, colors and other detail, then it is serving a useful purpose: it is pleasing someone, making someone happy, and when all is said and done, that is the most important thing of all.