Adjective Art vs. Noun Art

Ahh, the miracle of modern chemistry. What years of psychotherapy cannot accomplish, one little pill can. Or four pills. Four times a day, even!

Been thinking a lot lately on the subject of abstract art. What constitutes it. Definition (dictionary.com was so much nicer before it became popup city):

a. of or pertaining to the formal aspect of art, emphasizing lines, colors, generalized or geometrical forms, etc., esp. with reference to their relationship to one another.

b. pertaining to the nonrepresentational art styles of the 20th century.

Now, bear in mind, this is most people's use of the word abstract, i.e. as an adjective. I'm more of a noun person, which may explain why I have such a problem with abstract (adjective) art in general.

Scribbles are not art. Random paint thrown on a canvas isn't art. Lots of colored squares and rectangles bisected by black lines isn't art. Why? Because there's no noun there. You can't look at it and say "oooh, a boat!" or "wow, those titties look totally natural".

If those squiggles and squirts are art then I should have made my money by the time I hit kindergarten instead of twenty-something years later. As far as I am concerned, if I can look at a painting and identify a noun in it (trees, house, barn, dog..), it's not abstract.

Or maybe I'm just becoming a Philistine in my old age. Who the hell knows. *smile*