Emotional Response & Art

In class we've talked about abstract, realistic art, and emotional response. This is my take on the different responses gained from each type of art.

While looking at an abstract painting, and not a realistic representation, one is forced not tie in conotations with what they are viewing. For example, if you're looking at a painting of a tree, all your conotations of a tree also become part of the experience. A tree might represent growth, the environment, stability, etc.

Therefore the emotional response would be deduced response, requiring reasoning and logic. The message here is gained through what we already know, and it is up to the viewer to draw their own conclusions of the message.

However, in an abstract artwork there is no representation or symbolic meaning. All other knowledge is left out, and what the viewer is left with is what he is experiencing here, in that moment. The message here I believe lies on an instinctual response.

But what about art that is both abstractual and realistic--painting's that use real images as a starting point for conveying an abstract image? Would this surpass the response drawn from both abstract and realistic art?