Contemporary Art Overview

Contemporary Art Overview

• Contemporary art is generally defined as art created in the present era.
• A formal definition of contemporary art is difficult due to its ever-changing nature.
• Critics, curators and historians use various approaches to define it.
• Contemporary art continuously reinvents itself.

What is Art?

• Art is the expression of ideas and emotions through a tangible medium.
• Media examples include; painting, sculpture, film, dance, writing, photography and theatre.

Contemporary

• Derived from Latin, "con" meaning together and "tempus" meaning time.
• Implies "concurrent" in time.

Chronological View of Contemporary Art

• Defines contemporary art as art created during a specific era or lifetime.
• Includes art that is recent, modern, or relevant to the current moment.
• Historical masterpieces were contemporary in their own time.
• 1945 - art produced afterward.
• 1960s - art produced afterward.

Historical View of Contemporary Art

• Sees contemporary art as a particular stage or episode in the evolution of art within a specific period of time and space.
• This approach can cause confusion in classifying art periods.
• Disagreement on when Modern Art ended.

Contemporary Art in the Philippines

• Characterized by an era of repression and artistic censorship.

• The Marcos regime (1970s) imposed Martial Law.

• The Marcos administration used the print, radio, television, schools and arts.

• A network was built through Imelda Marcos.

• Art became a tool to challenge political regimes.

• Social Realism arose to depict the true condition of Philippine society.

• Contemporary art in the Philippines emerged after the 1986 revolution.

• Three factors contributed to the resurgence of the art scene; democracy re-emerged, an improved economy and politics (especially in remote regions) and improvements in communication technology and media access.

• Artistic expression was encouraged in the country.

• Art and craft traditions combined with fine art to shape the identities of the contemporary Philippine art scene.