What Is Contemporary Art, Anyway?

By Ron Evans

For as common as the phrase is, Contemporary Art is often a bewildering topic. What is it? What does it look like? Is it a genre? Is all modern art contemporary art? Answering (or at least exploring) these questions is a large part of what Wenatchee Valley College instructor Ellen Bruex hopes to achieve with a brand new course on the subject beginning this Fall.

Contemporary Art History 204 will be a lecture based class covering all sorts of topics in the amazingly diverse and eclectic world of contemporary art. I sat down with Bruex to learn a bit about this upcoming class and to try to find out just what the hell contemporary art is, anyway.

So, what the hell is contemporary art, anyway?

Well, Ron, that’s a great question. And one that deserves a whole class, if I do say so myself. Defining contemporary art is tough. It’s a bit of a loose term and a bit of a moving target. Not all art made today is contemporary in nature. But for the purposes of this conversation - it is art that is responding to or in conversation with the context of the time. In other words, art that’s made today and is responding to the experience of today.

So an artist living today that’s painting landscapes, just straight-on scenes of landscapes, that wouldn’t be considered contemporary art?

I would say no, that wouldn’t fit the criteria for contemporary art.

But they are technically “contemporary artists” yeah? Or no? Are those two separate things?

I believe they are two separate things. Obviously someone who is alive today and is making art - you could say that they are contemporary artists, but not necessarily creating contemporary art.

We exchange grins.

See, this is what I love about this discussion and what I’m looking forward to with the class. Like I said, it’s not easy to define some of these terms.

So, I have seen a couple local artists painting regional landscapes that were on fire. That to me seems like a pretty clear reflection or statement about this modern era even though it’s through a landscape. Would that make the cut?

That’s interesting, I think so actually. There’s room for discussion there.

So contemporary art is not a genre.

Well…it isn’t and it is.

I already love this class.

Right? It’s gonna be fun. And aside from talking about what is or isn’t contemporary art we will be getting into how to see it, hopefully in a new way. And that’s really where the discussion starts. Contemporary art, as a genre, is more about the reason the piece exists than about the technique or even the subject matter so much. Renaissance art, for example, has a specific parameter - sculpture and oil painting, whereas contemporary art is so encompassing of everything that’s come before, along with utilizing new technologies.

Do you have to be alive to be considered a contemporary artist?

No, you can totally be dead. Many of the people that will come up in the class are deceased.

You mentioned that contemporary art is a bit of a moving target. Does that mean it has no real beginning?

It’s thought to have really started in the 1970s. So basically, 1970 to today. And who knows, the term contemporary may be moved forward as time goes on. Some art historians think it began in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Some think that it’s dealing with art from the past twenty years, no matter what era or what year we are currently in. But for my class we are looking at the 70’s up to now.

Clearly artists have been using their art to provide some sort of snapshot or social commentary of their day since the dawn of art. Where along that path did that become part of a separate classification for art?

Really it was something we saw pre-World War II, and going back even further to when photography was invented. That had a massive impact on the artists because it’s like…ok this device can do a lot of the things that we were doing with paintings and sculptures, so where do we go from here? So we started to get things like impressionism, post-impressionism, etc. Really it was artists starting to ask “what is art?” And I think what contemporary art is asking is “what is art for?” What is its purpose? How can we use art as a tool for something? Whether that’s social or political change or looking at one’s identity - some of the more meaningful or challenging aspects of society. And this doesn’t mean that contemporary artists have to be political or social, but a big turning point in art history was when artists started using their work as a tool or reflection of those kinds of ideas.

Nina Simone once said, “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times. I think that’s true of painters, sculptors, poets, musicians. As far as I’m concerned, it’s their choice, but I choose to reflect the times and situations in which I find myself. To me, that’s the definition of an artist.”

And that’s also a great way to define contemporary art.

Do people often confuse contemporary art with modern art?

Yes, that’s very common. But it’s not synonymous with modern art. One great source for helping to make those delineations is the Tate Modern which has a great glossary of terms. They define modern art as ‘a global movement in society and culture. From the early decades of the 20th century, which sought a new enlightenment with the experience and values of modern industrial life. Building on late 19th century precedents, artists around the world use new imagery, materials and techniques to create artworks that they felt better reflected the realities and hopes of modern societies.’ Most definitions of modernism cite 1860 through around 1970 - contemporary art starting with 1970.

Tate says that contemporary art needs to be avant garde in some manner so it’s not hard to see why so many people get confused. And even the historians and experts aren’t all on the same page about these details.

What are some notable names in the field of contemporary art?

Barbara Kruger is one of my favorites. Jenny Holzer, Félix González-Torres, Gabriel Orozco, Olafur Eliasson are some big ones.

I’m guessing these are stylistically all over the map.

Oh yeah, it varies so much.

The lowbrow movement and popsurrealism must be considered part of this genre that’s not a genre.

Yeah for sure, and zine culture. The style is wide - everything from environmental art to performance art to installation. And then there are more traditional forms of course. Painters like Kehinde Wiley.

Tell us a bit about what the class will entail.

It’s a hybrid class. So we’ll meet in person twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursday mornings, on campus, and there will be lectures and discussions during the in-person part. Additional videos and some reading will happen outside of class. I’m really excited for the discussion part. To have meaningful talks where we look at what artists are doing today. Art is such a good vehicle for starting conversations about all the things happening around us. Climate change, race issues in America, cultural identity, etc. and it’s good for exploring one’s own experiences through those talks. We will also be talking about visual literacy, art and its functions in society, and in activism. We will be learning about NFTs as well. Oh, and we are going to look at a ton of art.

Wow this covers a lot. I wanna go.

You should. It’s gonna be fun, there’s a lot to cover here. And again, it’s not really a political class so don’t let that scare you away at all, it mostly deals with the hows and whys of these socio-political topics as it pertains to the art and the artists.

Will there be any studio elements to the class?

It’s not a studio class but I have been planning some really fun things that we as a class can all do together. So there will be some studio work, but it’s a lecture and discussion based class. I should also mention that this class meets a diversity credit which is really exciting because it’s the first class in our art department to offer that. And that happened naturally because contemporary art is incredibly diverse.

What do you hope students will get out of taking this course?

I hope students will walk away with a list of artist names they want to pursue with interest. I want them to walk out with a better understanding of the language of art so they can go out and have those more meaningful discussions, and I truly hope they will see art in a new way that’s meaningful for them.

Contemporary Art History 204 launches this Fall semester starting September 26 and you can sign up now HERE.