Elegant art and abstract art

You can find elegant women, fashions, clothes, furniture, buildings, houses, manners and behaviors and even mathematics formulas, physics equations and some movements in sports. But 'elegant' paintings are seldom heard. Elegance makes or elegant things make people feel pleasant. There are many paintings which make people feel pleasant but most of them are not called or regarded as 'elegant'. Van Gogh's paintings are far from elegant but they make people feel pleasant but not through elegance. Picasso's paintings are can be said as 'elegant' in a way but many people may not agree. Mona Lisa (Joconda) looks like an elegant woman but this Da Vinci's painting is not necessarily elegant. We seldom heard elegant music either.

This is may be because paintings and music are pure arts and have no practical functions while the other things like women, fashions, clothes, furniture, buildings, houses, manners, behaviors and some movements in sports have some practical functions. Mathematics formulas are physics equations can be regarded as having functions when they are used. Elegant mathematics formulas and physics equations solve complicated problems or analyze complicated relations in unexpectedly simple ways. This may be a hint to answer the question - what are pure arts ?

The adjective 'elegant' is used often equally as 'beautiful'. Beautiful things make people pleasant. Ugly things usually make people feel unpleasant. We seldom heard 'ugly' paintings and 'ugly' music either.

Abstract paintings do not make people unpleasant but may make people puzzled, uncomfortable and even fearful or unsafe (the word which I found recently). Fearful or unsafe feeling comes from the lack of something and you cannot fill it since you do not know what is missing. This contrasts with elegance. Elegance is fulfilled, well balanced, no sense of lacking. See below. 

According to wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism#Less_is_more_.28architecture.29)

"
The concept of minimalist architecture is to strip everything down to its essential quality and achieve simplicity. The idea is not completely without ornamentation, but that all parts, details, and joinery are considered as reduced to a stage where no one can remove anything further to improve the design.
"

AGG

"Less is more" or "Less is a bore"

"Less is more." is a manifest of Minimalism. An American fashion icon Iris Apfel (95 years old in 2017) says "More is more. Less is a bore." Both are true. I like "Less is more" better because it has more meanings. You can find more meanings in "Less " or "Less" brings you more meanings in buildings, houses, furniture, paintings or any any other artistic things. You have more freedom to find meanings belonging to you. You can appreciate more, whatever they are, in "Less". Empty space is not empty at all if the empty space is carefully treated and arranged. When you are packed in a tight space with little empty space you have no freedom to move.

Elegance often comes from simplicity but these two are not equal. Simplicity may have its extreme simplicity while elegance will not go to its extreme elegance, which does not exist. Elegance is degree and relative, not absolute. Simplicity may bring beauty but not always and may bring a bore while elegance always brings beauty and never brings a bore.

Elegance derives from combination of several or even many factors. You may be able to analyze elegance derived from a few factors but you cannot when derived from many factors - very many or countless combinations of many factors. Never the less elegance is well balanced. There may be the several best elegances. Never the less elegance is much simpler than decorative things. Decoration is unlimited while simplicity converged to the most simple.

AAG