Page 4 - World of Art Contemporary Art magazine: The 2023 Guggenheim issue

CONTEMPORARY ART: THE US VS EUROPE
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN
CONTEMPORARY ART
•The contemporary fine art and its main characteristics.
Contemporary fine art is the art of today, produced by living
artists in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st
century. It is different from modern art, which refers to the art
produced between the 1860s and the 1970s. Contemporary
fine art reflects the cultural, social, and technological changes
of our time, and explores new materials, methods, concepts,
and subjects. One of the main features of contemporary fine
art is that it is conceptual. This means that contemporary
artists focus on expressing ideas or concepts through
their artworks, rather than on creating realistic or beautiful
representations of reality. Conceptual art emerged in
the 1960s as a reaction to the dominance of modern art
movements such as abstract expressionism and pop art.
Conceptual artists challenged the traditional notions of what
art is, how it is made, and what it means. Some examples
of conceptual artists are Marcel Duchamp, Joseph Beuys,
and Yoko Ono. Another characteristic of contemporary fine
art is that it is transgressive. This means that contemporary
artists cross the boundaries between art and non-art, and
question the conventions and rules of established art forms.
Transgressive art often involves shocking, provocative, or
controversial elements that challenge the norms and values of
society. Some examples of transgressive art movements are
performance art, installation art, and street art. Performance
Alex Katz, Sunrise, 2019. Oil on linen, 126 × 96 in. (320 × 243.8 cm). Collection of art involves live actions or events by the artist or other
the artist. © 2022 Alex Katz / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS),
participants, such as Marina Abramovic’s endurance tests
NY. Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery
or Yayoi Kusama’s happenings3. Installation art involves
creating immersive environments or spaces that transform
the perception of the viewer, such as Christo and Jeanne-
Claude’s wrapped monuments or Ai Weiwei’s sunflower seeds.
Street art involves creating artworks in public places, often
illegally or without permission, such as Banksy’s graffiti or
JR’s large-scale portraits. A third feature of contemporary fine
art is that it is diverse. This means that contemporary artists
come from different cultural, historical, and geographical
backgrounds, and express their unique perspectives and
experiences through their artworks. Contemporary fine art
also incorporates various media, styles, genres, and forms,
ranging from painting and sculpture to photography and

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