Abstract

This paper considers what it is to abstract from nature. Using examples from painting its first part examines the traditional contrast between abstraction and naturalistic representation, arguing that this relies on a specifically visual notion of representation, but not on what is natural or what is abstract. Its second part discusses examples from land art in which natural elements are incorporated in an artwork’s structure. An alternative view of modern art’s representational possibilities is outlined which highlights limitations of the specifically visual approach and suggests a more complex relationship between the representation of nature and possible modes of abstraction.