Contemporary Art Overview

Study Notes

Contemporary art is broadly defined as art created now.
A formal definition is hard to create because the meaning of contemporary art is in constant flux.
Critics, curators, and historians interpret contemporary art in various ways.
Contemporary art is a dynamic, ever-evolving field.

Art is the expression of ideas and emotions using a physical medium. Examples: painting, sculpture, film, dance, writing, photography, and theatre.

Defines contemporary as art created in the current era or lifetime.
This view considers art based on its time of creation, including modern, recent, and new art from the present.
A question to consider: were masterpieces from the Renaissance considered contemporary in their time?
Art produced after 1945 is often considered contemporary.
Art produced since the 1960s is also often considered contemporary.

This view considers contemporary art as being part of a specific period in the evolution of art.
Contemporary art is specific to a particular time and place.
Concerns about a start or end date of modern art.

A time of repression, censorship, and artistic expression in the 1970s.
The presidency of Ferdinand Marcos and Martial Law led to tighter controls over the media, art, and the schools.
The Marcos regime censored artistic expressions.
A political art movement (Social Realism) arose that challenged the administration.
Social Realism aimed to expose social realities.
The artworks created during the Marcos period, in reaction to social conditions, are now considered contemporary forms of art.
The artistic works of this period are considered an extension and reaction of the era.
The period following the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986 brought about a new period of freedom in artistic expression with new technologies and tools.