The term "flat" draws an analogy between painting, the surface of certain canvases, and the surface of certain musics. Let us point the analogy specifically towards a particular one of the Abstract Expressionist painters, Jackson Pollock (he is perhaps the best example of what I'm talking about, though the ideas I'm discussing here certainly apply to works by other artists of the time (for example Willem De Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and Joan Mitchell.)
The first time one looks at a Pollock painting, (one of his mature works), a certain state of shock and bewilderment in the face of the exuberant amounts of detail, may certainly be expected to occur. However, if the following example is encountered after viewing many Pollock works, especially in a context such as this one (reproduced in an essay, article or catalog), the experience may be far less electrifying:
Jackson Pollock: Number 5, 1948
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