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We’ve all experienced it before, gazing out across an artwork, a monolith or a microcosm, a creation which lies before us and carries us to another world. For some this mesmerising state of existence is overwhelmingly controversial, for some surreal, for a handful confusing and repugnant, for others a place that strikes a chord which is deeply personal and for many, art invokes a mission of the imagination. Most importantly, we are engulfed by excitement that this voyage is unprecedented. Regardless of where the vision takes us, inevitably we all come crashing back to reality and that highly debated question again grasps our attention… what is contemporary art?
Some adopt a theoretical approach to analysing what art is, based on its historical context and evolution. Objects, such as ancient Greek painted pottery, weaving, metalwork, and furniture were originally made in times when people had no concept of ‘art’ as it is understood today. The goal of these works was utility and such forms were labelled as ‘decorative arts and crafts’.1 During the Renaissance the word art was reborn to encompass painting, sculpture, architecture, music and poetry.2 In the latter part of the 16th century the first academies of art were founded and the term ‘fine arts’ was coined.
Since the 19th century we have witnessed a new modernist approach to defining art as a reaction to the rigid institutionalisation of art in the academies. In modern times artists commonly reject and contradict the standards and principles of the academies and the Renaissance tradition, adopting new subject matter and styles driven by personal expression.3 In the early 20th century ‘the notion of the readymade’, challenged the traditional role... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline