Contemporary Art

Contemporary art is the work of artists that started from the years 1960-70’s up until the present time. It is a diverse and complex form of art that portrays our ever-changing society, cultures and beliefs. Consisting of various medium, techniques, ideas and themes, that opposes orthodox borders. There were no settled ways and no fixed approach, so artists experimented freely. Like 20^th Century Art, many artists wanted to break away from the traditional methods of the past. And that has resulted into the production of an art that the world has never seen before.  

During the 1960’s, optimism among artists began to fade, and it is this loss of optimism which marks the beginning of Postmodernism and the emergence of contemporary art. Post-modernists rejected the idea that art can provide meaning. If life is meaningless, they say, fine - let's not pretend that art can do better. Let's just accept that it's nonsense, like everything else, and get on with it. This new Post-Modernist philosophy thus triggered a whole new set of priorities, which were greatly facilitated by the coincident arrival of new technologies, like television, video, and computers.

Contemporary art movements focused on "how" art was created and disseminated, rather than "what" was produced. They emphasized ideas and concepts rather than precious objects and the skills needed to make them. In their attempt to popularize and broaden access to visual art, they introduced (or refined) a series of new art movements, such as Conceptualism, Performance, Happenings, Installation, Earthworks, Video art, Minimal art, Photo-Realist art, Supports-Surfaces, Contemporary Realism, Post-Minimalism, New Subjectivity, London School, Graffiti Aerosol Spray Painting, Transavanguardia, Neo-Expressionist Art, Britart, Neo-Pop, Stuckism, New Leipzig School.

Compared to the other previous eras, contemporary art is generally more socially conscious and philosophically inclusive of several styles and media than art of previous eras. Contemporary art is experimental and often includes hybrids of styles, as well as mixes of many diverse periods of art history from earliest times to the present. It is also inclined towards various subjects. This includes conceptual, political, social, feminism, multiculturalism, globalization, bioengineering, AIDS, etc. All in all, contemporary artists wanted to express themselves without being bounded by the rules set by past periods. They also desired to tackle different issues that the artists of the past were not able to.

As an artist, I can’t help but be engrossed about this certain era. At first, I expected it to be the same as Modern and 20^th Century art, as I saw a lot of similarities. Like how they broke free from the typical art styles from the past eras, and how they developed various art movements. However, I determined one thing that changed my perception of contemporary art. It’s how they responded to issues that were often avoided by preceding artists and generations. I admire them on how they were truly able to genuinely express themselves and their opinions with freedom. I believe that is the true essence of being an artist. Recently, as I have finished my Art History classes, I hope I would be able to apply everything that I have learned, and that someday in the future, I would also want to share my own views and opinions through my artworks. I also hope that art and artists will continue to improve and evolve as time passes.  

References:

Introduction to the Artistic Style of Contemporary Art. (n.d.). arthistory.net. Retrieved March 28, 2015, from http://www.arthistory.net/artstyles/contemporaryart/contemporaryart1.html

Contemporary art. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 28, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_art

Contemporary Art. (n.d.). Visual Arts Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 28, 2015, from http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/contemporary-art.htm

History of Modern Art. (n.d.). contemporary-art-dialogue.com. Retrieved March 29, 2015, from http://www.contemporary-art-dialogue.com/history-of-modern-art.html

Contemporary Art in Context. (n.d.).  art21.org. Retrieved March 29, 2015, from http://www.art21.org/teach/on-contemporary-art/contemporary-art-in-context

About Contemporary Art. (n.d.). getty.edu. Retrieved March 29, 2015, from http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/contemporary_art/background1.html

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