Those large, monochromatic canvases affect me like the outcome of a basic design art class project.

But because of their size, juxtaposition and space where they're displayed, they have an enormous impact on me. It's a very non-intellectual reaction. Maybe the impact or effect on the viewer is what defines art. Sometimes I respond more intellectually to art, such as some political cartoons, books, etc. I've seen. Basically, I consider art a form of communication. It's interesting to note that people have different favourites in a gallery exhibit, dance performance, architectural structure, etc., but sometimes there's an overwhelming favourite that affects lots of people. I just think it's important to form your own opinion or reaction and not be "conned into defining art. Modern art refers to the then new approach to art which placed emphasis on representing emotions, themes, and various abstractions. Artists experimented with new ways of seeing, with fresh ideas about the nature of materials and functions of art, often moving further toward abstraction. Modern art is sometimes viewed as a degenerate form of art by antimodernists as it may seem to require relatively no skill, thought or research to produce. It may also be considered degenerate because it may portray things at their worst; instead of the inspiring and heroic works of old, modern art often shows the crude vices of mankind in explicit and uncivilized terms. Many would agree that the vast sum of money made by modern artists is plainly unjust for the lack of time and effort it takes to create. Modern art was heavily criticized (some would say misunderstood) while it was being produced. People complained that modern art was indistinguishable from non-art (such as a solidcolored canvas, a pile of assorted objects, random cacophony (in the case of music) or, in the case of performance art, a mentally ill person). Art now became a movement into a world of color and expression, a world where an apple is only a blotch of red pigment or a toilet is a work of art, leaving more than a few people wondering what can be considered art.

The definition of modern art can be understood in the way in which the artists, in this case the painters, observe the world. His vision of reality depends on contemporary needs, on the spirit of his time, of the era in which he expresses himself and of the context in which it evolves. With many modern painters, to us contemporary, the break with tradition and with preconceived schema is clearly perceptible, leaving room for dynamic schema that are continually evolving and changing, and that evade any preconception. In this sense, Mauro Saviola's abstract painting is an expression of an artistic sensitivity that interacts with anyone that comes into contact with it by means of a fine psychological thread. Modern art, to us contemporary, reflects the complexity of an historic moment perceiving its structure with extraordinary receptivity, achieving the representation of a space-time continuum, unavoidably linked to the emotions its provokes.

Anything a baby could do put on a canvas and hanged on a museum's wall. Or if you're into sculptures, any random object placed on a white podium, in a dark room, with a solitary light shining upon it. I wonder who would pay more for a random piece of garbage...a modern art museum or ebay? Flicking various colours off the tip of a paint brush, then using black paint to draw some squiggly lines, often finishing with finger painting and handprints. Child's art with a signature in the corner. --or-Making a fair quality sculpture of a person, animal or both... then removing the limbs, burning away the features and making it generally unrecognizable.

Art is the means by which we communicate what it feels like to be alive - in the past that was mixed up with other illustrative duties but that was still its central function that has been liberated in the art called modern. Art is not necessarily good for you or about communicating "good things".