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Contemporary Art And Its Relevance To Our Time

By Bryan Jennings


We often hear the term Contemporary Art used while we're wandering through a gallery, but what exactly does it mean? The answer can be found within the question itself. Literally, the word "Contemporary" means something that belongs to the present time. From this definition, it is clear that any art that has been created in our lifetime may be called Contemporary Art. But if we are speaking, say, on behalf of a 95-year-old man who was born in 1906, we will find ourselves facing a problem. Will our explanation work in that case? It probably won't, so to explain things in an unambiguous way, art scholars have defined Contemporary Art as art which has been produced prior to World War II. Some art historians mark the movement's beginning a little further and define Contemporary Art's timeline as beginning in the 1970's and extending to the present.

This type of art primarily concerns and sometimes even determines the numerous political as well as socio-economic changes the world has experienced since the 70's. The main feature of this art form was the lack of a clear distinction between different mediums.

The makers of contemporary art concentrated more on the theoretical ideas as well as the thought-process behind their work and became increasingly less focused on the medium they were working with. They were also much more interested in exploring new avenues to present their artwork, consequently making the viewer's responses the most pivotal part of the art experience.

Yet another appealing element of Contemporary Art is the way it can expose its viewers to different social problems such as national politics. Prior to the beginning of Contemporary Art, discussion of popular culture within the gallery had been almost unheard of.

The value of this art form stems from the importance it gives to the ever-changing political and social problems of our modern era. Contemporary Art is rapidly coming to be the mirror of society we should therefore pay it the attention it deserves.




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