Modern and Contemporary Art
The Birth of Modern Art
Let’s take a look at how we created modern art. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, you have artists like Van Gogh and Manet, who didn’t really adhere to the current art scene. The people and their surroundings changed, and so did their thoughts. What all modern artists have (or had; most of them are now dead) in common is an aversion to realism and the formalities that tie an artist to it. They preferred seeing the world in a different light, and so they chose to describe that image in their own manner. The result was then known as ‘Modern Art’. In an effort to express their individuality, artists came up with their own style; unique and often bold. What we describe today as Fauvism and Dadaism are nothing but methods used by artists at that time to portray their art in the most unusual way possible.
The Creation of Contemporary Art
Moving on to the last 20 years from now, we have artists that faced the harsh reality, like the war (WW II, The Cold War), feminism and globalization. They grew up with ideals and thoughts different from what artists in the modern era did. So now you have a number of artists who consider the old methods of modernism as too conformist or vague. They now decide to make their own works or art according to their style. This gave rise to what we now call ‘Contemporary Art’.
The Differences Today
•Of course it isn’t that simple; there are always more than one ways to describe art. Contemporary art pays more attention to the society, while modern art tends to be self-expressive at times. The former is also a lot more receptive to changes in society.
•Another difference is the advancement in technology. Artists, today, have the camera, the computer and custom software. They will use these to their advantage as they see fit. This makes a huge difference in the works between the two types of art.
•Contemporary art often spreads to places outside a canvas or a gallery. This art is found everywhere, from comics in newspapers to the videos on TV, from the freedom on the Internet to the graffiti on the streets.
There are also the views of people who matter; collective or otherwise. Apart from the precision of reductionist definitions, modern art and contemporary art are still different from each other, and yet locked together in the two frames of time. I believe that art, is art; make it or view it, regardless of how much effort you put into either, you will always have opinions. Whether they concur with the rest of the world or not, they do exist and are always noted, which adds to the definition of art. Modern art is not just about being the biggest nonconformist and contemporary art is not about the struggling painter trying to get noticed on the Internet. There is a lot more to it, and this, you can only see if you keep your eyes open.