Contemporary art

Contemporary art is a term most commonly used to describe works of artistic expression created from about 1970 to the present day. Also called postmodernist art, contemporary art is not easily defined with an identifiable style. It encompasses multiple diverse trends with a common goal of challenging the artistic tradition of previous styles. Contemporary artists generally focus more on the concept or idea behind the art than on technique or assigning meaning to a specific work. They use a wide range of mediums that veer away from traditional painting, sculpture, and photography to more experimental formats such as video, computer images, natural objects, and human performance. As with most artistic styles, categorizing contemporary art is a subjective endeavor, with some art from the 1960s classified as both contemporary and modern.

Background

For much of human history, art served as a way to reflect the natural world through mediums such as painting and sculpture. While ancient and medieval art served many functions, its primary focus was ritualistic or religious. During the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries, the Western world experienced a cultural rebirth known as the Renaissance, a period of great change that inspired a new way of looking at art, science, and literature. Renaissance art typically remained religious in nature and was governed by rules established by art academies across Europe. Most artwork was commissioned by the Catholic Church or by wealthy individuals; to make a living, an artist would have to adhere to a strict set of academy guidelines.

At the start of the nineteenth century, the influence of the academies had declined, but artistic styles remained tied to conventional norms. By mid-century, some artists began to rebel against the prevailing cultural attitudes. In France, an art movement known as realism began focusing on the portrayal of the working classes and day-to-day life. In the 1860s and 1870s, a group of young French artists defied the government-mandated styles to create works inspired by the spontaneous impression the natural world left on the artist rather than a realistic depiction of it. This movement, known as impressionism, is considered by many art historians to have ushered in the era of modern art.

Modern art also underwent several stylistic shifts, each successive change seemingly a rebellion against the style that preceded it. Cubist painters of the early twentieth century were inspired by geometric forms and abstract shapes, slowly discarding any focus on perspective or natural realism. Shocked by the carnage of World War I (1914–1918)—a conflict that left millions dead and devastated Europe—artists turned toward even more abstract and absurd forms as a protest against normalcy and established institutions.

A movement known as Dada attempted to subvert the very notion of art by producing works designed to shock and scandalize the art world. The surrealist movement grew out of Dada and relied on bizarre, dreamlike imagery to establish its rebellious character. After the Great Depression of the 1930s, a style known as abstract expressionism developed in the United States and helped shift the center of the art world from Europe to New York. Abstract expressionism built upon surrealism, using purely abstract elements to express meaning without coherent form.

In the 1950s and 1960s, art shifted again to merge elements of the real world with the growing influence of the media and pop culture. This new movement was called pop art and featured bold, colorful depictions of celebrities, comic strips, household items, and consumer products. The art was not meant to convey emotions, focusing instead on an image or idea as a subtle criticism of modern culture and a rebellion against abstract expressionism. The most famous artist of the movement was Andy Warhol. His works included a 1962 print entitled Campbell's Soup Cans, a hand-painted image of thirty-two red-and-white soup cans meant as a commentary on mass production. His works also featured images of Coke bottles, Brillo pads, and images of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe.

Overview

Some art historians view pop art as marking the end of the modern art period; others see it as one of the first forms of contemporary art. As with all art movements, the time frame of a particular style goes relatively unnoticed as it occurs, but is only categorized years later. Although several art movements that started in the 1960s have been classified as contemporary, they overlapped with forms of modern art. Experts often use 1970 to mark the style's origins because by then, contemporary art had become the prevailing style. Because contemporary art is seen as a shift away from modern art, the style is often referred to as postmodernist.

Conceptual art developed in the mid-1960s. It encompasses various mediums but is tied together by a common belief that the idea or concept behind the art is more important than the work of art itself. Long-standing artistic elements such as aesthetics, meaning, and technical skill were deemed irrelevant. Conceptual art was directly inspired by cubism, Dada, and the work of early twentieth-century artist Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp turned ordinary mass-produced objects into works of art by simply signing the object and designating them as art. His 1917 work Fountain was a porcelain urinal turned upside down and signed "R. Mutt, 1917."

Conceptual art is considered more interactive as the viewer is expected to "complete" the art through observation and interpretation. Artists often minimalize the physical elements associated with the work to better emphasize the idea behind it. Many conceptual artworks use the power of the idea to make a social or political statement. Examples of conceptual art include Oneand Three Chairs, a 1965 work by American artist Joseph Kosuth. The piece features a wooden chair placed on the floor between a picture of the chair and an enlarged dictionary definition of the word chair. In 1992, English artist Damien Hirst displayed a dead tiger shark in formaldehyde encased in glass, calling it The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.

Performance art is a type of conceptual art that features live performers who participate in the art or are themselves a part of the work. This idea also grew out of Dada and formed its own movement in the 1960s. Sometimes called body art, it acts as a direct challenge to the idea that art must use traditional materials and mediums. Performance art often aims to shock audiences to generate a reaction. In 1977's Imponderabilia, Serbian artist Marina Abramović and her partner stood nude in a museum doorway facing each other, forcing people to squeeze past their bodies to enter. In 1974, German artist Joseph Beuys enclosed himself for three days in a glass case with a wild coyote. The piece was entitled I Like America and America Likes Me.

Installation art is a three-dimensional creation "installed" in a public location. It is designed to interact with its surroundings and evoke a response in the viewer. Installation art is meant to bring viewers closer to the work and change their perceptions about art. It is often installed away from museums and galleries and uses a diverse set of materials such as light displays, television screens, or automobiles. The Dinner Party, an installation work from the 1970s by American artist Judy Chicago, was a large, triangular-shaped banquet table with place settings for thirty-nine famous women, including Sacajawea, Virginia Woolf, and Susan B. Anthony. The work is also an example of feminist art, which is artwork created to address issues important to women. In 2012, a collaborative group of artists called Random International created Rain Room, a dimly lit, rain-filled space that would react to body heat to stop the rain where a person was standing.

Minimalist art is a highly simplified form of abstract art categorized by a deliberate lack of symbolic meaning. Minimalist works are designed to reject the conventions of traditional sculpture and painting, relying on emotionless, geometrical forms with limited aesthetic appeal. They typically consist of shapes arranged in a grid or pattern. For example, American artist Carl Andre's 1966 work Lever, is a single row of 137 fire bricks arranged in a straight line. The X, a 1965 work by American Ronald Bladen, is a 24-foot (7.3-meter) tall X-shaped aluminum sculpture.

While many contemporary artists relied on abstract and conceptual elements, other art movements embraced a renewed attention to realism. Contemporary realism is a purely American style of art that focuses on representing the real world as it is, rather than an idealized depiction of it. Artists draw inspiration from the natural environment, painting both rural and urban settings without injecting meaning or sentimentality. Artist Leland Bell's Croquet Party from 1965 portrays a family spending an afternoon playing croquet in their backyard. 1986's Gloucester Harbor from Banner Hill by Nell Blaine captures a moment in the busy life of the Massachusetts seaport.

In photorealism, or hyperrealism, artists attempt to mimic the precise detail of photographic images in painting and sculpture. Works are often based on photographs or computer images and are noted for their meticulous technical accuracy. Photorealist artists do not attempt to portray the realities of day-to-day life; instead they manipulate light and color to create a detached illusion of reality. Unlike other forms of contemporary art, craftsmanship and technical skill are celebrated in photorealism. In 1970, artist Ralph Goings painted McDonald's Pickup, an image of an American flag and a pickup truck outside of a McDonald's restaurant in the southern United States. British artist Malcolm Morley captured the ferocity of professional football in his 2004 work Tackle, a representation of two defenders tackling an opponent.

By the 1960s, film had been used by artists as a medium for more than sixty years; however, the cost, time, and effort involved made the process difficult for some artists. With the growth of television in the latter half of the twentieth century, video technology made creating new forms of moving art more accessible. Some artists use the medium to critique the film and television industries; they upend traditional narrative structure by going against the expectations of the audience. Others use video as a "canvas" in place of painting or sculpture. Video art is often used in conceptual and performance art. In 1963's Sleep, Andy Warhol filmed a man sleeping for five hours as a commentary on intimacy and repetition. American artist John Baldessari filmed himself showing alphabet flash cards to a potted plant in 1972's Teaching a Plant the Alphabet. He called the work an "exercise in futility."

Graffiti art, or street art, developed from a late 1960s urban trend of defacing public property with spray-painted words or images. The style became primarily associated with street gangs, underground culture, and rebellion against authority. It grew as an art form in New York City in the 1970s, showing up on subway cars, billboards, and buildings. Artists tried to "tag" the urban environment around them with their signature style.

In most places, graffiti art was illegal and viewed as vandalism; however, in the 1980s, some artists moved their work to more conventional venues such as art galleries. About the same time, artists began using stencil cutouts to create more elaborate work. One of the most well-known practitioners of this method is the British artist who goes by the name Banksy. His work is often politically tinged with criticism of rampant consumerism and globalization. Among his work is 2002's Balloon Girl, a stenciled mural showing a young girl releasing a red balloon.

Projection art, or projection mapping, takes advantage of technology to project a computerized image onto a surface such as a wall or the side of a building. The style takes advantage of color and light to create the appearance of three-dimensional imagery to transform two-dimensional objects into visual art. In 2008, Italian artist Paolo Buroni used projections of biblical figures to transform the façade of the Milan Cathedral in Milan, Italy.

As the name suggests, computer art is graphic art or digital imagery produced with the aid of a computer or using computer components. The earliest computer art was developed in the 1950s, but critics debated whether the format was truly art, as they questioned the machine's role in its creation. Technological developments in the 1970s gave artists more control over their creations, allowing for more detailed, intricate works. The format often intertwines with other styles, including video, conceptual, and installation art.

Examples of computer art include computer animation, video games, digital imagery, and three-dimensional sculpture. In the twenty-first century, computer art may not only include works created with drawing software and art programs, but also with the assistance of the computer itself. Some artists have created algorithmic programs that produce complex, kinetic visual designs. In 2002, American artist Cory Arcangel took a copy of the video game Super Mario Bros. and removed all images except the blue background and clouds to create Super Mario Clouds. The 2014 work, Autonomy Cube, by American artists Trevor Paglen and Jacob Appelbaum is a minimalist-inspired sculpture that doubles as a Wi-Fi hot spot.

Bibliography

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