Hmm

Gestural painting seems to be a strong factor in abstract expressionism which is interesting too. I think I've kind of lost the plot.

Main Entry: 1ab·stract
Pronunciation: \ab-ˈstrakt, ˈab-ˌ\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Medieval Latin abstractus, from Latin, past participle of abstrahere to drag
away, from abs-, ab- + trahere to pull, draw
Date: 14th century
1 a : disassociated from any specific instance b : difficult to understand : abstruse c : insufficiently factual : formal
2 : expressing a quality apart from an object
3 a : dealing with a subject in its abstract aspects : theoretical b : impersonal, detached
4 : having only intrinsic form with little or no attempt at pictorial representation or narrative content
— ab·stract·ly \ab-ˈstrak(t)-lē, ˈab-ˌ\ adverb
— ab·stract·ness \ab-ˈstrak(t)-nəs, ˈab-ˌ\ noun

- so basic when people refer to my precious work as abstract then I guess that is a lack of knowledge? Because it doesn't seem to meet the criteria for abstract as per the dictionary definition. The computer science one makes sense but as this point I'm growing far less interested as definitions, opinions and historical information all seem to vary quite widely.