Why you should know about Contemporary Art

Sources: pexels-ann-h-why-you-should-know-about-contemporary-art

When researchers found cave paintings aged hundreds of thousands of years, they were surprised. But slowly their surprise faded away- artistic creation and imagination isn’t anything new. Our brains took its sweet time to develop as our species evolved and as it did, we adopted different practices. The earliest traces of our evolution include stone and bone tools, spots suspected to be foraging regions, and like we discussed, cave paintings. From here on out, we took our time but our progress was steady. Every skill we have today has its fair share of history.

So, does Art. It has many forms and many periods in the past. We have seen art forms like realism, naturalism, romanticism, and many more. And today, we bear witness to the age of Contemporary Art.

Contemporary Art refers to the art we make today and this period began after the 1970s. Artists today work in speedy and technological worlds which heavily affects their sense of artistic expression. These are but two themes encapsulated by contemporary art which acts as a mirror reflecting the complexities we face today in modern society. Shared human experiences form the crux of their work; a sense of interconnectedness and global comradeship is cultivated.

Origins

This era is thought to have begun as a reaction to previous modern art movements.

Pop Art was becoming increasingly popular because of artists like Roy Lichtenstein. This movement stretched from the 1950s to the early 1970s and was reintroduced as Neo-Pop Art by artists like Jeff Koons in the 1980s. Many other art movements like photorealism, conceptualism, minimalism, and performance art materialized and were fostered side by side throughout the 1960s. These all gave way to the contemporary art we know today.

As part of this new movement, street art gained momentum in the 1980s and was characterized by murals, stenciled images, and stickers all placed in public spaces. Contemporary Art continued evolving after this and gave artists the liberty to express themselves using more modern outlets like technology. An example is that of code-generated art where artists can create abstract or futuristic portraits with a simple use of the latest technology today.

Contemporary Art Today

Today, Contemporary Art has the ability to bridge cultures and transcend geographical boundaries to connect people together. Art enthusiasts worldwide share a profound interest which enables them to think about the importance of artistic expression.

They understand how art acts as a catalyst for social change as artists address issues like climate change, genocide, gender equality, and social injustice in their creations. They get the power to trigger conversations about such problems and help those who don’t have a platform to voice their otherwise unheard issues.

A lot of other artists use this as an outlet for shedding more light on their culture. Diverse backgrounds for paintings provide distinct meanings, new purpose, and an enriching narrative about their cultures. Technology has become a very good method for artists to create, show, and experience a new form of art. Other than paintings made using Artificial Intelligence, there are many more movements going on. We have abstract expressionism, which is all about emotion and spontaneity.

If you wish to immerse yourself in Contemporary Art, you can start by following artists like Yayoi Kusama, Marina Abramovic, Ai Weiwei, Takashi Murakami, and Banksy. Hope you will have fun in this journey!

Resources