Guess the work experience.

[Endrik]

Impressionism isn't abstract at all and is one of the hardest things to paint... it requires superb skill to make the light and colours to feel like they are moving. Impressionist painting is a motion picture made with single frame.

Rating abstract art is like rating anything else. If a musician listens to King Crimson he instantly notices the high technical level, complex composition and arrangements, some casual music listener may not have a clue about it. The same thing with abstract painting, if you are familiar with the subject you'll notice the difference between the different techniques, composition of colours etc.

Any kind of art is best served away from "realism", what's the point of telling us what we already know? For realism we have documentaries, history books, info booklets etc. and our own eyes of course.
That's why there is art in the first place, to show us something that we usually do not see. Visual art was born because the cavemen wanted to preserve their hallucinations.

[Nightbat]

Hmm, cavemen took a realistic approach to drawing, but lacked the 'intelligence' to draw in better detail

looking at art's evolution, it improved untill the time amphetamines became popular

[tonemonster]

I think I got this figured out. its like music........a bands first album is usually its best, cuz they have put so much into it. then later in their career they are just going through the motions for a paycheck or full fill their recording contract.

[Endrik]

Cavemen didn't took realistic approach. The condition in the caves can easily cause hallucinations. The first cave paintings have all kinds of weird tots and things over the animals and other subjects. The weren't interested just to draw animals... there was no point. But when they were in the caves and started hallucinating, they didn't understand what the hell was going on... so they started drawing what ever they imagined. Old cave art in Southern France, Northern Spain, Australia, Southern Africa etc. have similar psychedelic motifs.

Painting doesn't equal European renaissance school. Visual art all over the world for a long time has had very "trippy" motifs. Classic European academic art is only a minority. And even with all the strict rules plenty of European artists have been tripping on all kinds of chemicals or have practiced extreme life style to get hallucinations.
Ever seen Hieronymus Bosch paintings from late 15th/early 16th century? Or Giuseppe Arcimboldo's works? Talk about being "out-there".

[tonemonster]

you should see me improvise when i'm on the phone trying to get a deal with one of my headache customers.

you have customers?

[Grahf]

Kind of like Tom Morrelo, a lot of people bag on him as a noise maker, BUT he can shred, he just doesnt do it for a living and so its not what hes famous for and so is disregarded as the great player he actually is.

well... yeah.. I get what you're saying, but it's kind of like if Jimi Hendrix had never recorded voodoo child, purple haze, or anything, and instead just played live shows where he smashes the whammy bar and burns guitars, I don't think he would've been quite so famous just because people said "Oh but you should hear what he CAN play!" lolol