What is Abstract Art?

This Video is a decent Starting point for an overview of abstract art, but I don't fully agree with its simplistic approach to abstract art starting in New York. Abstraction has been around for nearly as long as humans have been making art. From the early cave paintings in Lascaux France, to the modern art that is around today.
                                                                                                                   Does this bull look realistic to you?  

Nor does the definition of abstract art solely lie painting. Every field of art can have an abstract approach to it such as sculpture, music, or even film (two films come to mind, Un Chien Anduluz and Yellow Submarine). So what? Abstract art has been around in many different cultures and forms....

Aztec drawing of Quetzalcoatl

             

Well, I'm showing that abstract art is not for the elite, nor has it started as such. Whether due to lack of skill, or to express things not of this world (such as the Aztec drawing above) abstract art is commonly misplaced as a new way of art that is held in esteem by those of high intelligence. This is historically inaccurate, and though the impressionists of the 1800's paved the way for abstraction to make a fully forward movement in western fine art, it should not be taken as only such. I recently heard someone say that they did not understand abstract art. In my mind, I was thinking "Of course you understand it! You've lived with it all your life!

 

This is not a real peacock....

So what makes something Abstract and what is abstract art? My personal opinion on abstract art is that it is a reinterpretation of a real world object displayed in a new and unique manner. This is very broad, I understand and it allows for abstraction to be misinterpreted, but that to me is the beauty of abstraction. It allows the new perspective on a previously perceived object. This is one of the great benefits to being an artist working in abstraction. You give birth to things not normally seen in the world. You are mother/ father giving birth to a new life!

Abstraction is all around us, because it is naturally a great way of expressing a concept to the masses. That's why company's such as Apple use abstraction to give them a noticeable edge that is more accessible for people than just the word apple. Abstraction can be constantly reborn and redone, and it has been around for a long time. The next time someone says they don't understand abstract, just assume they have been living under a rock for a long time...