One important characteristic of abstract art is its openness to interpretation. In today's popular culture, however, this can be a curse; abstract art is nearly infamous and often misunderstood. It is seen as arrogant, erudite, or elitist. While the artists may not have intended to represent an overt subject or context in their work, nonobjective art exemplifies the importance of context and the prevalence of biases in Art History. Abstract Expressionism is not art for the masses, it is art for the art historians. In passing, one viewer of First Theme said, "I did this in first grade!" and quickly moved on to more naturalistic contemporary art. While this may be a somewhat shortsighted assessment, it still reflects the view of the commonality. To dig into the art historical significance of these works, we must attempt to see them in the appropriate context.

Both First Theme by Burgoyne Diller and Smaragd, Red, and Germinating Yellow by Hans Hofmann are nonobjective, abstract oil paintings from the Modernist period. They do not have a specific subject; nothing is represented per se. Alone, the works only suggest emotions by their use of form, color, line, and texture.

The style of Neoplasticism was created by the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian in an attempt to form a simple, perfectly balanced, pure composition. It is evident in First Theme, where four rectangles of primary colors and values are evenly spaced and horizontally centered on a black background. The emphasis on vertical lines adds to the vigorous stability of the piece, while the lack of visible brushstrokes stresses the importance of a pure form.

In this piece, Diller has created a precise geometric composition. Each rectangle is a different size and width, suggesting that the balance sought after by Neoplasticism is not symmetrical or periodic. This may be an allusion to the common use of asymmetry in Japanese art, or it may be the result of research on pleasant, balanced compositions.

While Diller's work is similar to Mondrian's pieces in its use of rectangles, it branches out by declaring that black, not white, is the ideal background color. The use of primary colors in the rectangles, typical of Neoplasticism, is yet another retreat to simplicity and purity.

Abstract Expressionism, another style of Modernist art, was primarily an American movement that went away from the scientific and toward the unpredictable. Abstract Expressionistic paintings are said to result in the direct expression of the unconscious moods of the artist. It is a very personal and emotional style, and it often employs nontraditional techniques for the application of paint.

Hofmann's Smaragd, Red, and Germinating Yellow is an Abstract Expressionistic work that nearly jumps off the canvas. Reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock action painting, it has a loud, often clashing mix of colors, thick brush strokes, and an unstable, dissonant composition. While the standard rules of solid composition are ignored, Smaragd, Red, and Germinating Yellow still hints at Neoplasticism with its use of two well-defined rectangles in the bottom left corner of the composition. The predominant chaos of the piece outweighs any stability created by the rectangles, however.

The textures in this piece suggest that the paint was applied with a large, flat metal scraper rather than a traditional brush. This technique is typical of Abstract Expressionism, as is the use of other alternative "brushes" to create interesting relief patterns. The shadows from the thick, sculpted buildup of paint play an important role in emphasizing the three-dimensionality of the paint. Combined with the sporadic melding of many different colors, the thick paint gives the appearance of hundreds of layers, each worked and reworked until exhaustion. The texture of the original canvas is only evident in one or two small areas of the painting.

While First Theme uses ordered simplicity, almost to an extreme, the turbulent motion and mixed colors of Smaragd, Red, and Germinating Yellow have quite the opposite effect. Shown against the flat rectangles of solid color, the violent, stormy red suggests suppressed rage or impending destruction.

The two dominant and contrasting styles exhibited in these works were a continuation of the movement from Impressionism to Post-Impressionism. With the help of artists such as Paul Cézanne, Post-Impressionism moved further away from naturalism and toward abstraction. Neoplasticism and Abstract Expressionism were logical steps from Post-Impressionism, taking the idea of abstraction to an extreme by removing all traces of an identifiable subject.

Both works have been in a museum or gallery since they were created. They are not physically functional, as an African mask or a Japanese teapot may be. Nor are they quick to reveal the values of a culture or reflect a particular time and place. Instead, these two pieces act as complementary statements in the continuing dialog of Art.

Neither title reveals much about the work. First Theme implies that the piece is part of a sequence of works, but does not give any indication of how many themes there may be. Perhaps each theme represents another step toward perfection or another variation of balanced color and shape. Smaragd, Red, and Germinating Yellow is almost as cryptic as the piece itself. It suggests that the artist made a new color or style of smearing paint and called it "Smaragd." The "Germinating Yellow" may be the color of the large rectangle in the piece. Both titles are very functional, and they do not relate to the personal or emotional significance of the work.

Overall, First Theme and Smaragd, Red, and Germinating Yellow complement each other very well. When seen together, the contradicting styles become bolder, and powerful arguments arise where geometric order meets harsh disorder, flatness meets depth, and tranquility meets motion.

Ideally, both pieces should be kept together to maximize the emotional impact and dynamic interplay. They serve as two unique examples of Modernist painting; when juxtaposed, they illustrate the rapid change of styles during the period and sharpen the contrast between these styles. If only one piece must be kept, however, it should be First Theme, as this painting can be used to symbolize our search for corporate stability in a sea of economic turmoil.