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From our class discussion on Tuesday, I thought it was so interesting how we compared abstract paintings to the abstract writing of Whitman. They are very similar in the way they effect us. Abstract paintings are not visuals that we can describe very effectively. They hit us based on our pasts and our experiences. Abstract paintings mean something different to everyone. Yes, a perfectly represented painting of a tree can mean different things to everyone, but at the end of the day, no one will disagree that it is a tree, or that we could describe exactly how it is created. Abstract paintings can be described in terms of the lines or colors that are used, but the feeling that you get is completely personal, and without knowing someone's completely history and personality, we cannot understand someone else's reaction. Although I don't particularly enjoy looking at extremely abstract painting, I totally understand the purpose behind it, and think that our reactions to abstraction are much more important than our reactions to the typical.