What is it that makes a work of art contemporary? It sounds like a simple enough question, but it defies a simple answer. Contemporary art is not just the art of the present, nor is it limited to particular types or styles. It captures the zeitgeist of today while raising questions that are timeless and global. Its mission is as much about intention as it is about method; and as much about the dialogues it engenders as about the objects it yields.
At its most fundamental, contemporary art is defined as art created in the current time period, usually by living artists. This framework in time is useful but inadequate. An exhibition of a Renaissance painting set in the context of a museum or seen through contemporary sensibility can ignite conversations as vibrant in the present as when the work was painted. Half a century of Marina Abramović’s re-creations of historical performances drives home the point that contemporary art very often remakes history to feel relevant to the moment. So time is important, but that alone won’t decide if an artwork is contemporary or not.
And more importantly, contemporary art is defined through its relation to what is going on all around us. It is art that questions, provokes and reacts to the conditions of its time. Its narratives often center around some themes like identity, technology, politics and globalization. Some, like Ai Weiwei, make these easier than others; his work closely marries aesthetics with activism. His Sunflower Seeds, an installation with millions of hand-crafted porcelain seeds, critiques mass production, consumerism and loss of individuality within global capitalism. Contemporary art doesn’t avoid political and social commentary — it revels in it.
The mediums that contemporary artists use define their work even more. Traditional forms such as painting and sculpture coalesce with video art, digital installations and performance pieces, widening the definition of what art can be. The recent concepts surrounding blockchain technology and NFT as evidenced by a slew of works produced by artists such as Beeple, are reshaping the idea of ownership and value in a way not previously considered, opening up new avenues for artistic outlets. An immersive installation by Olafur Eliasson, The Weather Project, in the Tate Modern, even illustrates how medium and meaning are often inextricable in contemporary art. The artificial sun filling the gallery space became a collective experience, an expression of human interconnectedness and an engagement with environmental issues. Here, the structure of the art is as important as its message.
A second defining characteristic of contemporary art is its focus on participation. Active participants, often changing the work of art itself. Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree invites members of the audience to tie their written wishes to its branches, creating a communal tapestry of hopes and dreams. Such works upend the usual dichotomy between artist and audience, attesting to a larger cultural turn toward collaboration, and shared storyline. However, the art experience isn’t limited to static moments in time: instead, it’s actively relational, and those connections become just as important to the work as the physical objects that constitute them.
Globalization has had an impact on contemporary art, enabling it to reference a wide array of cultural influences while also addressing global issues. Artists inhabit hybrid identities, creating simultaneously local/global work. Subodh Gupta’s installations made from everyday utensils resonate with themes of migration, tradition and modernity. His works resonate with the world, while keeping everything Indian. This convergence of the particular and the universal embodies the intricacies of a globalized world.
Contemporary art responds to the politics of the everyday, from which its themes generally derive. It blurs those lines between aesthetics and activism, taking the ordinary as a site of resistance and a site of reflection. The Guerilla Girls challenge institutional sexism and racism in the art world through their confrontational posters and interventions, while Banksy’s ephemeral street art criticizes consumerism and inequality in spaces that are accessible and public. Contemporary art often situates itself along the personal/political spectrum, giving voice to those who dare question the current state of things.
Where traditional art often sought to glorify and idealize, contemporary art seeks to engage and challenge. It defies assumptions, encourages conversation, and welcomes ephemerality. This shift is articulated through the concept of relational aesthetics, articulated by critic Nicolas Bourriaud. Projects like Rirkrit Tiravanija’s participatory installations, in which visitors eat meals together, can turn art into a shared human experience. It’s a value is not in what the physical thing is, but what it creates in relationships in conversations.
The language on paint splattered canvas that now seems a parody of its own self-referential graffiti or the bravura of painting like Pollock or de Kooning, even if the colours are cool and the brushstrokes confound and the scenes are of prostitutes and degenerates. Some of these criticisms are fair, but seem to forget the role of contemporary art. For, as I said, it is not only about mastery or beauty; it is about meaning and engagement. The commercial imperatives of recent art, as in, say, the multimillion-dollar sale prices accompanying work by Damien Hirst or Jeff Koons, makes it difficult to ascertain the receipt of contemporary art. Can art critique capitalism while embedded in it? However, this paradox is not inherent to contemporary art itself, rather, it reflects wider tensions within the cultural and economic landscape.
A piece of art is what makes it truly contemporary, it resists definition. It is art that thrives in ambiguity, refusing to be pigeonholed into fixed categories. It challenges and connects and transforms, mirroring the contradictions of the age it inhabits. What contemporary art looks like is only part of it: what contemporary art does- raises questions, creates conversations, shifts views. Its fluidity and multiplicity of interpretation is neither a fault nor a weakness, but a strength ensuring its eternal relevance.”
To call something contemporary is to recognise its ability to change. It reflects the ambiguity, contradictions and dynamism of the world it lives in. Whether through its methods, messages, or mediums, contemporary art challenges us to address the present while imagining new paths to the future. It is, after all, a portrait of our humanity at its best and worst.
Feature Image : Sunflower Seeds | Art installation by Ai Weiwei | Courtesy: Britannica
Contributor
