Contemporary art

Contemporary art is the art made from the 1970s up to today. It is different from modern art, which refers to art made from the 1860s to the 1970s. Contemporary artists work in a world that is influenced by many places and cultures, and they use new technologies in their work. Their art often explores ideas about identity, family, community, and what it means to belong to a certain place or group.

Because contemporary art is always changing, it does not follow one single style or idea. Artists today use many different materials, methods, and subjects to create their work. This makes contemporary art very diverse and interesting, as each piece can tell a unique story or express a new way of thinking.

Scope

The idea of "contemporary art" as a special kind of art began in the early 1900s. In London, a group called the Contemporary Art Society started in 1910 to buy art for public museums. Other groups with the same name appeared later, like in Adelaide, Australia, in the 1930s. Many places changed their names from "modern art" to "contemporary art" because "modern" began to feel old.

What counts as contemporary art keeps changing. It usually means art made recently, often from around 1970 until today. Some say it includes art from the last 20 years, while others might say it starts from the 1960s or even earlier. Museums and galleries might use different rules, and artists who have been working for a long time can be hard to place in just one group.

A sociologist named Nathalie Heinich says modern art and contemporary art are different in important ways. Modern art questions how things are shown, but contemporary art questions what an artwork even is. She thinks a famous piece called Fountain by Duchamp, made in the 1910s, started this idea. After World War II, artists like Gutai, Yves Klein, and Rauschenberg helped make contemporary art grow.

Themes

Contemporary artwork is very diverse. It uses many different materials, forms, and subjects. Unlike older art, it doesn’t follow one single idea or style. This makes it open and sometimes contradictory.

Some common themes in contemporary art include identity, the human body, the world becoming more connected, technology, modern society, time, memory, and looking at how institutions and politics work. Since the late 20th century, many artists have focused on ideas about the world becoming more connected, people moving to new places, and cultural identity. Examples include art about moving to new cities and works from artists in the Middle East and North Africa.

Institutions

Art needs places and people to show and support it. This includes big museums, small private galleries, schools, and places where artists can show their own work. Some of these places make money from selling art, while others do not, but the lines between them can blur.

Well-known contemporary art is often shown in special galleries, at art sales, in museums, or by the artists themselves. Artists can get help through awards and by selling their work. Many train in art schools, but some come from other jobs. Recently, social media has helped fashion artists share their work and get noticed.

Big companies also support contemporary art. They show art in their buildings, sponsor art awards, and collect art themselves. They sometimes use art to make their products seem special and attract customers.

Some people criticize how art institutions decide what counts as contemporary art. For example, art made by people without formal training is still made today, but it might not always be called contemporary art. The same goes for crafts like textile design, which many people enjoy but might not always be included in contemporary art discussions.

Public attitudes

Contemporary art can sometimes feel different from what many people believe art should be. In the 1990s in Britain, contemporary art became more popular, and some artists became famous. But this did not mean everyone loved it. Some critics think it is okay to question or even dislike a lot of contemporary art. One writer criticized some types of art for needing too many explanations. Still, museums are now more open to different kinds of art, showing that ideas about what counts as art are changing.

Concerns

Main article: Classificatory disputes about art

Since the early 1900s, people have wondered what really counts as art. In today's world, from 1970 onward, ideas about what makes something "avant-garde" can help decide which artworks get shown in galleries, museums, and collected by people who love art.

Some critics say that certain contemporary artists don’t fully understand what it means to create art today, suggesting they may be doing it for the wrong reasons.

Prizes

Some special awards and prizes in contemporary art include:

• The Golden and Silver Lions of the Venice Biennale
• Emerging Artist Award awarded by The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
• Factor Prize in Southern Art
• Hugo Boss Prize awarded by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
• John Moore's Painting Prize
• Kandinsky Prize for Russian artists under 30
• Marcel Duchamp Prize awarded by ADIAF and Centre Pompidou
• Ricard Prize for a French artist under 40
• Turner Prize for British artists
• The Bucksbaum Award of the Whitney Biennial
• Vincent Award, The Vincent van Gogh Biennial Award for Contemporary Art in Europe
• The Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramists, awarded by the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery
• Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation Signature Art Prize
• Jindřich Chalupecký Award for Czech artists under 35

History

This table shows different art movements and styles grouped by the decade they appeared in. It is not a complete list, but it gives a good idea of how art has changed over time.