art in the 21st century — smarthistory.khanacademy.org — readability.pdf

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Art in the 21st Century

Visitors at The Museum of Modern Art in front of Julie Mehretu,Empirical Construction, Istanbul, 2003. Ink and synthetic polymerpaint on canvas, 10' x 15' (304.8 x 457.2 cm). Photo: thatgirl<http://www.flickr.com/photos/thatgirl/3335706/>

Introduction21st-century art is a burgeoning field of practice, research, andpublication, making it an incredibly dynamic field of study. Manyimportant topics have been resonating in the new century and inspiringnew thinking and scholarly debate, such as the surge of bio art inresponse to scientific research in the life sciences, and the criticaltheory known as relational aesthetics that developed in response to anincrease in art that invites viewers’ participation and interaction. Othertopics that were much-discussed in the late 20th century remain vitalfor the analysis of 21st-century art and visual culture, includingsemiotics, post-modernism, and feminism.

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Art of the 21st century emerges from a vast variety of materials andmeans. These include the latest electronic technologies, such as digitalimaging and the internet; familiar genres with a long history thatcontinue to be practiced with great vigor, such as painting (see, forexample, the work of Julie Mehretu and Shahzia Sikander); andmaterials and processes once associated primarily with handicrafts,re-envisioned to express new concepts. Many artists regularly andfreely mix media and forms, making the choices that best serve theirconcepts and purposes. Activities vary from spectacular projectsaccomplished with huge budgets and extraordinary production valuesto modest endeavors that emphasize process, ephemeral experiences,and a do-it-yourself approach. The notion of influences has also shiftedwith changes in communications and technology; every location aroundthe world has artists who respond to local geographies and histories aswell as the sway of global visual culture.

Globalization

A key feature of the art scene inthe 21st century (and of manysectors of 21st-century life) isthe impact of globalization –the acceleratinginterconnectivity of humanactivity and information acrosstime and space. Aided by theinternet and mass media,awareness of the vitality ofcontemporary art in localitiesaround the globe has grownexponentially. Anyone withaccess to the internet can

follow developments in Shanghai, Sydney, São Paulo, or Nairobi.Simultaneously the increased movement of artists across borders andoceans has added to the intermixing of influences and artisticvocabularies. For example, Wangechi Mutu, originally from Kenya,pursued further education in South Wales and then in the UnitedStates. Her collaged images of women are informed by African tribalarts, 20th-century European and American collage artists, and thelatest illustrations from fashion, pornography, and medical sources.


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Wangechi Mutu, Complete Prolapsus of the Uterus, 2004, Glitter, ink,collage on found medical illustration paper, 46 x 31cm

The meaning and consequences of globalization are much debated byscholars. Economically and politically, is globalization a force forgrowth and freedom in societies everywhere, or does it contribute tofurther exploitation of developing regions by the wealthy? Doesglobalization work in different ways in different localities?

Regarding globalization and art, do practices in Asia, Africa, the MiddleEast, and elsewhere challenge the traditional assumptions and valuejudgments that are the basis of the Western canon? Are Westerninstitutions rethinking that canon or simply adding art from otherplaces to their rosters in a token and uncritical gesture of inclusivity?How do curated exhibitions that address themes of globalizationrepresent artists from various parts of the world? The expanding artmarket and the proliferation of biennials and art fairs helped a selectgroup of artists from every continent to gain an international presence;but have the underlying structure and values of the art market changedotherwise?

Visual cultureIn the 21st century visual culture has grown as a recognizedinterdisciplinary field of study, taking a multi-faceted approach tounderstanding how images of all types communicate and participate inthe construction of identity, gender, class, power relationships, andother social and political meanings and values. Medicine, science,politics, consumer culture, and religion and spirituality are some of thearenas that visual culture studies examine along with art. Visual culturescholars analyze film, television, graphic novels, fashion design, andother forms of popular culture in addition to established fine art mediasuch as painting, and they draw upon many methodologies andtheories, including semiotics, sociology, psychoanalysis, receptiontheory, feminism, and the concept of the gaze, to name a few.

Just as visual culture scholars are examining images and media of alltypes so, too, are 21st-century artists drawing inspiration, imagery,materials, and concepts from diverse areas of culture, moving wellbeyond influences from the history of fine art and design. The world ofprofessional sports and fanatic fans has been a topic for Paul Pfeiffer,


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while the commercial television industry has informed various videoinstallations by Christian Jankowski.

Wim Delvoye, Study # 147, 2004, pencil, colour pencil, marker &sticker on paper, 77 x 112 cm (Photo: http://www.wimdelvoye.be/cloacafactory.php#)

Most contemporary artists do not draw rigid distinctions between highart and popular culture. For instance, a number of contemporary artistsembrace traditional techniques of fiber art but use them to createunorthodox forms or address current social and political issues. Alongthese lines, Ghada Amer has used thread to embroider on canvasrepeated motifs of nude women engaged in sexual acts, then partiallyobscured the embroidered images with gestural painted brushstrokes.Her themes include the expression and repression of female sexualityand eroticism in both Western and Islamic societies. Another exampleof intermixing visual cultures is the complex array of interactionsbetween science and contemporary art, with many artists engaging withscientific imagery and ideas in their practice. For example, WimDelvoye’s ongoing series called Cloaca imagines humans as cyborgs,representing the human digestive system as a kind of biomechanicalcontraption. Finally, many 21st-century artists are deeply affected bytheir immersion in global visual culture, which is now made vividlypresent through online networks. Many artists maintain a personal


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website, and some create art expressly for dissemination through socialmedia. As always, new technologies provide new opportunities andchallenges.

Public and participatory artPublic art was a well-established genre by the late 20th century,attracting both traditional and experimental practitioners. Public art inthe 21st century has expanded even more as a field of activity in whichcreative investigation can take place. In addition to continuing familiarforms such as site-specific monuments, murals, graffiti, andcollaborations between artists, engineers, and architects, public artencompasses new purposes, forms, and locations, including pop-up artshops, street parades, and online projects. Public artists in the 21stcentury might use established approaches such as installation andperformance but introduce new variations. For instance, it is nowcommon for artists to hire other people, sometimes with special skills,to undertake performances on their behalf. In this vein, VanessaBeecroft hired fashion models for performances, and the collaborativeartists Allora & Caldazilla directed professional athletes as performersin some of their installations.

A pronounced tendency in the 21st century has been art that isparticipatory, in which the social interactions prompted by a workbecome its content. Often called relational art, the work literallyengages the public in some way. For instance, Carsten Höller hasinstalled giant slides in museums for visitors to slide down, and RirkritTiravanija has prepared Thai food and served it to gallery goers. Artistsattracted by the immediacy and connectivity of globally networkedmedia often create online projects that invite social interaction.Relational aesthetics has developed (and been contested) as a criticaltheory for analyzing and evaluating such undertakings. Key questionsin these debates include: Does it matter if the social interactionsprompted by such works promote a better world or are conviviality andentertainment sufficient goals? To what extent should the physicalproducts of relational art (such as Höller’s slides) be evaluatedaesthetically as well as for their social effects?

The 21st century is just beginning – issues and ideas are evolvingrapidly and new artists are constantly gaining attention and influence.


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Text by Jean Robertson, Chancellor’s Professor of Art History, HerronSchool of Art and Design, Indiana University-Purdue UniversityIndianapolis

This content was first developed for Oxford Art Online and appearscourtesy of Oxford University Press. Visit to learn more aboutcontemporary art and see a list of significant 21st-century artists.

Original URL:http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/art-in-the-21st-century.html


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art in the 21st century — smarthistory.khanacademy.org — readability.pdf

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