Like many movements, styles, and influences that make up modern and contemporary art, installation art is mostly rooted in conceptualism and transformation. Although comparable to sculpture and related to a variety of other artistic genres, this immersive practice offers a unique way to experience art. To grasp the meaning of such a movement, it is important to understand what makes it so particular, from its distinctive qualities to its technical characteristics.
So today, we’ll be going over this avant-garde movement, paying particular attention to its particularities, how it engages audiences and produces such impactful experiences.
In the contemporary world, where so many different art forms have been born, developed, explored and even forgotten over time, almost no other manifestation of art has been so instantly mesmerizing as installation art.
Influences and Origins
The origins of installation art are usually related to Conceptual art. Following the steps of artists like Marcel Duchamp and his innovative approach of presenting his readymades. Other noticeable influences that are considered to have paved the way for the development of installation art as we know it today include the Dada movement (Dadaism), particularly several works and assemblage art which notably filled entire rooms, theories of Spatialism, and even some pieces by John Cage.
Before being called installation art, this art movement was originally referred to as the environment. After Allan Kaprow, an American artist who introduced the concept of “happenings”, – a form of spontaneous, non-linear action, that revolutionized the practice of Performance Art. However, it wasn’t until the ’70s that the term Installation Art began to be applied in defining works that take into account the viewer’s entire sensory experience or that fill out an entire space.
Main Qualities
Installation artworks, – either permanent or temporary, are usually created to be exhibited in venues like museums and galleries, or public or private spaces. Installation art by itself can be such an ambiguous concept that it cannot be narrowed down to specificity. Due to the latest technological developments and enhancements, this art form allows the merging between video, sound, immersive virtual reality environments, the internet and performance with traditional media and other conventional resources used in fine arts practices. From natural to man-made materials, installation art allows full creative freedom over any artist’s work.
Furthermore, site-specific installations are produced to exist and “function” at the location for which they were commissioned, making these sensory projects often part of the surroundings. Other artworks can be relocated and displayed in different places, not depending on their environment. This sensory engaging art practice completely blurs the line between art and life.
If not the most significant, it’s certainly an important aspect to have in consideration: installation art’s ability to physically interact with an audience. While some artistic mediums and outlets are capable of creating some sort of engagement and interactivity, installation art creates entirely immersive experiences that encourage dialogues between individuals and works of art. This single characteristic invites audiences to interact with artworks from multiple viewpoints.
Large-Scale
Given its interactive nature, most installation artworks are big in scale. Their sizable structures facilitate observers to become completely immersed in each larger-than-life environment. In several cases, it even allows them to sit, stand, rest or walk through it, — a distinctive ability not usually seen in other “classic” art forms.
Site Specific
Unlike sculptures, paintings, and other traditional art pieces, installations are usually designed with specific places and purposes in mind. From gallery rooms to outdoor spaces, the strategic nature of installation art designs and the uniqueness of their surroundings, site-specific works of art ensure a one-of-a-kind aesthetic and experience.
The difference between Sculpture and Installation Art
There’s a common misunderstanding and a general questioning about the difference between Sculpture and Installation Art. As much as some installation artworks may resemble traditional, hand-made sculptures, it doesn’t mean both these art forms can be put under the same category.
So, a sculpture is essentially something that you make out of specific materials, such as wood, metal or stone. You “sculpt” the material by changing its shape, by carving, assembling or casting and modelling. An installation is basically a display. It may or may not include sculpture; it’s usually created from different media. You can create an installation without “making” anything, just by arranging different objects.
Sculptures can be freestanding and self-supported, allowing the viewer to walk completely around the work to see it from every perspective, where the primary form’s surface is raised above the surrounding material, like the image carved on a coin.
Also, Installation Art can effectively deconstruct some traditional principles and concepts of sculpture. This happens whenever an artwork is created to be seen from the outside, from the inside or to be experienced as a self-contained composition of different elements.
On the other hand, installation pieces usually embrace and enclose an audience in the surroundings of the artwork. Besides, installation art is created with the intention of focusing on the viewer. Individuals almost become the main subject of the artwork, taking into consideration the spectator’s engagement and interaction with the art piece.
The formalism of the work essentially slips into the background, bringing the impact of the viewer’s spatial and cultural expectation to a focal point. The multi-sensory designed installation, creates an ongoing conversation with its surroundings, waiting for the spectator to take in both the creation and its environment as an overall immersive display.
5 Different Types of Installation Art
From pill packets and crumpled trash bags to mirrored rooms and giant mushrooms, installation art has given some of the boldest and boundary-pushing masterpieces of all time. Installation art has grown to be one of the most widespread forms of contemporary art practice, with artists adopting ever more adventurous and playful ways of transforming the way we experience art.
American artist Allan Kaprow’s Yard, filled the outdoor yard of Martha Jackson’s Gallery with black rubber tires and tarpaper-wrapped forms before encouraging participants to climb, jump and play in this monstrous playground. This iconic installation art opened up new sensorial experiences for visitors and allowed them to engage with art like never before. As well as exploring abstract ideas around solids and voids in space, Kaprow was a pioneer in bringing improvisation and group participation into art, “Life is much more interesting than art. The line between art and life should be kept as fluid, and perhaps indistinct, as possible.”
Created to mirror the cold, hospital-like atmosphere of an old-fashioned pharmacy, Hirst’s Pharmacy, includes a large collection of tablet packagings, medicine bottles and other medical objects in a harsh fluorescent white made-up environment. This iconic installation highlights the modern-day obsession with medication as a way to extend life expectancy without us having to question it. Hirst explained, “We all die, so this kind of big happy, smiling, minimal, colourful, confident facade that medicine and drug companies put up is not flawless – your body lets you down, but people want to believe in some kind of immortality.”
Olafur Eliasson created The Weather Project, in 2003 for Tate Modern. He intended to replicate the effect of an enormous sun rising through a fine mist. Low-frequency lamps around his artificial sun allowed only the golden glow of the sun to dominate the space, reducing all surrounding colours to the magical shades of gold and black. Master of illusion and installation art, Eliasson designed the glowing orb from a semi-circle of light which is reflected by mirrored panels on the ceiling. These mirrored panels stretched over the whole ceiling, enabling visitors to see themselves reflected as if floating in the sky above them, creating the sensation of hovering weightlessly in space.
Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, 2013
The Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, is one of various immersive ‘Infinity Rooms’ which have peaked the interest of thousands of gallery-goers around the globe. Designed by placing mirrored panels throughout the walls, ceiling, and floors of a small, confined space, Kusama later fills it with tiny fibres of coloured lights and reflective objects around the room to create the effect of endless, infinite space. Just like entering a star-filled universe or merging into a digital superhighway, there’s truly nothing like the experience of going to an Infinity Room.
Random International’s well-known installation artwork Rain Room, very much concisely unites art and technology into one. Visitants pass through a gushing torrent of rainwater but almost miraculously remain dry, as sensors detect their movement and cause the rain to stop around them. This deceptively simple idea from the London-based art collective embraces a natural symbiosis between art and the spectator as the installation only comes alive through physical interaction.
Conclusion
Like many movements, styles, and influences that make up modern and contemporary art, installation art is mostly rooted in conceptualism, dadaism, spatialism and performance art.
Installation artworks, – either permanent or temporary, are usually created to be exhibited in venues like museums and galleries, or public or private spaces.
Installation art creates entirely immersive experiences that encourage dialogues between individuals and works of art.
Given its interactive nature, most installation artworks are big in scale.
Installations are usually designed with specific places and purposes in mind.
A sculpture is essentially something that you make out of specific materials, such as wood, metal or stone. An installation is basically an arranged display that can include a variety of different mediums and art practices.
Installation art has grown to be one of the most widespread forms of contemporary art practice, with artists adopting ever more adventurous and playful ways of transforming the way we experience art.
Getting into the Art market can be quite complicated, especially for those who don’t know much about this industry’s practicalities. Having a degree in Art History, Curation or Literature is great – yes, – but, the reality behind working at an art gallery is rather complex, in the least.
So, without further a due, in today’s article, we are going to give you some tips on how to begin a career in the other side of the Art World: art galleries and the role of a gallery assistant.
What qualifications do you need to work in an art gallery?
Most people who work in an art gallery have a degree in Art History or Art Business. However, there is no need to have a specific degree in those two study fields to work in one. Nowadays art galleries need people skilled in other areas too. With the rise of social media, art galleries are seeking individuals and even experts who know how to work around all these new digital platforms, such as Youtube or Instagram. The perfect artwork pictures that you might see in art galleries’ Instagrams, were probably photographed by a professional photographer… And that really well-written post on Facebook or Twitter? Yeah, that was probably written by a copywriter.
Have in mind that, although we’re talking about art, art galleries are just as much as a business as any other, and, as a business, it needs sales and marketing experts. The biggest art galleries out there have really well-organised sales teams who follow very strict plans.
What types of art gallery positions are there?
Currently, in our developed society, the usual art assistant position is a bit outdated. It still exists but it requires more skills than ever. Galleries that want to keep relevant in the market have a really complex structure and different types of teams. Of course, if we look at a small art gallery, probably it will only be its owner and an assistant. However, majority of art galleries nowadays, even if on outsource, have a public relations person, a professional photographer and video editor, a copywriter, a salesperson, a manager, one or two curators and of course assistants.
What types of skills do you need at an art gallery?
If you want to be an art assistant at an art gallery, usually you need to – at least, have some knowledge about the art market and have some art history notions. Even tho you don’t need to have a degree on this in to get there. Key institutions like Sotheby’s and Christie’s offer intensive short courses that are accessible and of course, you can always learn from other less expensive resources like art textbooks or through legitimate art channels. You can also learn a lot by visiting art galleries, museums and other spaces that promote art and engaging in conversations with the knowledgable people that work there.
Be aware that working in an art gallery can be different every day. For starters, galleries usually run different shows every month. Therefore, above everything, you need to be a person who is really well organised and straightforward – especially with artists. Also, you need to be driven for sales. Without sales, there is no gallery (specifically in commercial and private ones!). Having some basic skills in public relations, email marketing, social media and even photography editing can be considered a big plus. In today’s world, the skills that an individual needs to have to succeed in this industry are definitely way more than what was asked for 50 years ago… Nonetheless, here are the 3 main skills you need to have to work in a gallery:
Industry Knowledge
It doesn’t matter if you aren’t dealing with artists directly. If you want to work in the art world, it must be because you love it and not because it was the only job that you got. Having a solid knowledge of the industry is key.
Communication Skills
Being able to communicate is important in every area and the fast-paced art world, this is no exception. If you aren’t going to deal with artists directly maybe you will be dealing with collectors or with events coordinators or even with art handlers or shipping companies. To ensure that everything runs smoothly, it’s important to have communicative competencies to ensure the work between everyone involved is clearly established, well regulated, well planned and well produced.
Organisational skills
Who likes to see an unorganised desk? I don’t, and you probably don’t either. Being organised is a MUST in this industry. Can you imagine if you send the wrong price list for a collector? Or if you do a mistake on shipping and an art piece gets delivered in the wrong door or stuck in customs. Yeah, you better not even imagine… You have to be organised in all that you do and know when to prioritise something. The secret is to do everything in an effective matter and ensure that you have a clear understanding of your priorities and manage your workflow accordingly. Don’t get scared if you aren’t the most organised person ever, organising is a habit and a skill. If you don’t have it, maybe its time to start developing it.
Before getting a job in an art gallery you will probably need an internship. Studying art business/management or even art history – again is great, but actually, working in an art gallery is almost another degree in itself. The practical side of running an art gallery is really different from what they teach you in school. Furthermore, today more than ever, galleries are prioritising experience over education. I’m not saying that you should not study or further your education. What I want to say is that education is changing and today, a short course from a well-known institution as Sotheby’s or Cambridge might have a stronger impact on your CV than a masters degree.
Face to face
The classic old method that has a strong impact, however, may not be the best for shy people out there. If you are an extrovert individual who likes to stand out in the crowd and won’t shy away from confrontations, I would recommend you to take your ass over to that gallery and meet the gallerists that interest you. If you aren’t confident enough, drop them an e-mail, but make sure to make it captivating and interesting. Galleries usually have one exhibition every 1-2 months and of course, gallery directors and gallerists are most likely present during the openings. It would definitely be wise to introduce yourself during one of those events.
Phone call
Phone calls are another old-ish method that sometimes might have a stronger impact than a simple e-mail. You can call to show your interest in an internship or better, use the phone call besides after sending an e-mail with your CV.
Email or Letter
E-mails are the most popular way to quickly show interest. Although great, this method, since every industry is getting more and more competitive, you should use something else to stand out from the competition. Sending an e-mail with a creative letter can be a great compliment, also you can always only send a letter but, again, if you can complement it with a simple e-mail, better.
Conclusion
Nowadays art galleries need people skilled in other areas too.
The biggest art galleries out there have really well-organised sales teams who follow very strict plans.
Most people who work in an art gallery have a degree in Art History or Art Business
Before getting a job in an art gallery you will probably need an internship.
From time to time I get people telling me that they don’t understand contemporary art. That’s fine and understandable, therefore if an image can worth more than 1000 words, nothing better to explain contemporary art than contemporary art itself.
Here I will explain contemporary art with the help of 20 works that represent this movement.
XX great examples of contemporary art (with pictures)
Probably one of the most famous contemporary art pieces in the world, Marilyn Monroe of Andy Warhol marks a turning point in the artist life. In 1967 Andy established his print published business – Factory Additions – and this work was the first one to be produced there.
Andy Warhol is without a doubt a leading figure in the Pop Art movement. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, advertising and celebrity culture that flourished by the 1960s.
Jackson Pollock – Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)
Bryan Kimmet – Jackson Pollock – Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)
Paul Jackson Pollock, American painter popular for his unique abstract expressionism style. He was widely recognized for his technique of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a horizontal surface ‘drip technique’. This new technique, allowed him to view and paint his canvases from all angles. It was also called ‘ action painting’ since he used the force of his whole body to paint, often in a frenetic dancing style. This extreme form of abstraction divided the critics: some praised the immediacy of the creation, while others derided the random effects.
Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) is one of his most popular works. Created during 1950, Autumn Rythm was partly photographically documented by Hans Namuth. Namuth’s photographs showed the sequence in which Pollock filled the canvas, and the order in which paint colors were applied to the work. Currently, Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) can be appreciated at the Museum of Modern Art.
Damien Hirst – The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living
mappamund – Damien Hirst – The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living – 1991
As one of the Young British Artists (YBA’s) Damien Hirst gained popularity from using Death as central theme of his works. His most reconizable works consist of death animals as a shark, a sheep and a cow among others. Those animals that are preserved, have sometimes been dissected, in formaldehyde. The best-known of these was The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, a 14-foot (4.3 m) tiger shark immersed in formaldehyde in a clear display case.
The Shark is undoubtedly saluted as one of the crucial works of British art in the 1990s and has become a symbol of Britart globally. It was then sold for a New York investment banker for 12 million dollars.
Currently at the Museum of Modern Art, Untitled XIV is probably one of the works that better represents the main style of Willem de Kooning. The artist who was born in Rotterdam, Germany got his walk to fame in the United States. Even if his inicial style was more figurative, his evolution as a painter switched for abstract expressionism making him one of the 1st generation of abstract expressionists. Even if most of the Abstract Expressionists denied that they made sketches for their paintings and instead worked spontaneously, de Kooning created a method that allowed for fluid construction and reconstruction of his compositions, leaving them still with an aura of spontaneity.
Interesting to know that De Kooning first solo show happened when he was already fourty-four years old in 1948. By the end of the 1970s, de Kooning was struggling not only with his own drinking and depression but with his familiar process of all-over paintings as well; he was looking for a new way of painting. Therefore this was in my point of view when his works were at its best.
Franz Kline is probably one of the most famous American Abstract Painters. Kline’s artistic training focused on traditional illustrating and drafting. During the late 1930s and early 1940s Kline worked figuratively, painting landscapes and cityscapes in addition to commissioned portraits and murals. The personal style he developed during this time, using simplified forms, became increasingly more abstract. Many of the figures he depicted are based on the locomotives, stark landscapes, and large mechanical shapes of his native, coal-mining community in Pennsylvania. This is sometimes only apparent to viewers because the pieces are named after those places and objects, not because they actually look like the subject.
Franz Kline’s Buttress combines the intimacy of a small, flick-of-the-wrist ink sketch with the bodily scale of a dynamic, expressive “action painting.” These two types of scale form the DNA of Kline’s loose, rugged black lines, executed with wide housepainter’s brushes and set against a stark white ground. Kline arrived at this signature style after seeing one of his little calligraphic sketches blown up to monumental size on an opaque projector. Buttress conveys the impression of an expansive bodily painting process.
Cecily Brown is probaby one of the most popular contemporary female artists alive. born in London, England in 1969 she was definitely influenced by the work of early Abstract Expressionists such as Willem de Kooning and Joan Mitchell. Characterised by overt sexual imagery and an Abstract Expressionist gestural style, Brown’s work has emerged some of the most influential of her generation.
High Society reads like an F. Scott Fitzgerald orgy: little men in tails and top hats, muscle-bound millionaire hunks pulling themselves to climax, indiscernible bits of sensuous bodies, detached penises, the allusion of gossipy dinner-party crowds.
Elaine de Kooning was an accomplished landscape and portrait artist active in the Abstract Expressionist movement of the early twentieth century. Though she was very serious about her own work, she was well-aware that it was often overshadowed by her husband’s fame. Women were often marginalized in the Abstract Expressionist movement, functioning as objects and accessories to confirm the masculinity of their male counterparts.For that reason, she chose to sign her artworks with her initials rather than her full name.
As her career began to soar, Elaine’s marriage started to disintegrate. After separating from Willem and moving to New Mexico, Elaine began her career as a teacher. During that period she felt free to develop her own style as was during that same period that she painted Bull 2.
Yayoy Kusama more than an artist is an interesting human being. Born in 1929 in Japan she started working with Sculpture and installation before making her big move to performance, painting and fiction. Her work is mainly conceptual art and shows some atributes of feminism, minimalism, surrealism, pop art and abstract expressionism. She moved to New York city in 1958 and became part of the New York avant-garde scene throughout the 1960s.
“The pumpkin is to Yayoi Kusama what the Campbell’s Soup can is to Warhol: an everyday comestible elevated to the status of fine art, via a singular artist’s skills and vision. She has created pumpkin sculptures and paintings, pumpkin infinity rooms, pumpkin charm bracelets and pumpkin polka-dot print shoes.”
Keith Haring – Subway Drawings
Heinz Bunse – Keith Haring – Subway Drawing, 1980 to 1985
Keith Haring was born on May 4, 1958 in Reading, Pennsylvania. He developed a love for drawing at a very early age, learning basic cartooning skills from his father and from the popular culture around him, such as Dr. Seuss and Walt Disney. After moving to New York in 1978 he found a thriving alternative art community that was developing outside the gallery and museum system, in the downtown streets, the subways and spaces in clubs and former dance halls. Here he became friends with fellow artists Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
While his career involved a diverse range of art making—painting, drawing, performance, video, murals, and art merchandising—his subway drawings stand among his most well-known and celebrated work. Haring drew over 5,000 chalk drawings over a five-year period, from 1980 to 1985, in New York City subway stations.
Before Basquiat being known as Basquiat was SAMO who raised his popularity due to the enigmatic writings at the Lower East Side of Manhattan during the late 70’s. Moreover duting the 80’s Basquiat name became widely popular even becoming the youngest artstist to be exhibit at Whitney Biennal with only 22 years old. Basquait unfortunetly died at 27 of a heroin overdose. After this tragic incident his works became even more valuable.
Untitled of Jean Michel Basquiat sold at Sotheby’s auction in May 2017, for $110.5 million, becoming one of the most expensive paintings ever purchased. It also set a new record high for an American artist at auction.
Robert Ryman
mlbennett10 – Robert Ryman – Untitled, background music, 1962
Robert Ryman died last year at age 88. He was an American painter identified with the movements of monochrome painting, minimalism, and conceptual art. Best known for abstract, white-on-white paintings Ryman became popular quite late in life. Starting as a professional saxofone player who also served the army Robert had an interesting and different walk to fame. His first solo exhibition only happened when he was already 36 years old but then only took him 5 years to have a solo show at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
This painting emphasizes the importance of color in Ryman’s work; even when the key color he uses is white, shade and tone are always carefully calculated. Here, the thickly laid white paint acts as a type of screen for the red, purple, and yellow hues behind it. The screen-like quality of the white painting dovetails with the title, possibly a reference to Ryman’s attempt to become a professional saxophonist. By 1962, he had abandoned his musical career for one as an artist, thus relegating the former to the background with respect to his new profession.
Joan Mitchell can be identified as a member of the second generation of abstract expressionists. At a time when women were marginalized in the art world, she captured the attention of the leaders of the New York avant-garde: Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, and Hans Hofmann all admired her work. In 1951, she was one of only a few women invited to join The Club, the East Eighth Street gathering place where the Abstract Expressionists met for weekly discussions. Throughout the 1950s, Mitchell developed her signature style: rhythmic counterposed lines and layered fields of color that became a language through which she communicated emotion and life experiences.
Bracket can be appreciated at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. A striking 15 feet wide, Bracket is a magnificent example of Mitchell’s late work. Known for creating large works, her use of two or more panels allowed her to create monumental works of art
As Hirst, Tracey Emin was another protege of Charles Satchi who gained popularity on 90’s in Britain. She is best known for her poignant works that mine autobiographical details through a variety of media including painting, drawing, photography, video, sculpture, and neon text.
My Bed is one of the most popular works of the artist. First created in 1998, it was exhibited at Tate Modern in 1999 as one of the shortlisted works for the Turner Prize. t consisted of her bed with bedroom objects in a dishevelled state, and gained much media attention. Although it did not win the prize, its notoriety has persisted. It was sold at auction by Christie’s in July 2014 for £2,546,500.
Roy Lichtenstein – Drowning girl
Lisa Mari – Roy Lichtenstein – Drowning girl, 1963
Roy Lichtenstein can be considered a cousin of Andy Warhol. Another American Artist he became a leading figure in the pop art movement. His work defined the premise of pop art through parody. Lichtenstein used oil and acrylic paint in his best known works, such as Drowning girl which was appropriated from the lead story in DC Comics‘ Secret Hearts.
Drowning girl has been described as a “masterpiece of melodrama”, and is one of the artist’s earliest images depicting women in tragic situations, a theme to which he often returned in the mid-1960s. It shows a teary-eyed woman on a turbulent sea. She is emotionally distressed, seemingly from a romance.
Anish Kapoor is a British Indian sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor has lived and worked in London since the early 1970s when he moved to study art, first at the Hornsey College of Art and later at the Chelsea School of Art and Design.
Kapoor is acknowledging, in effect, that art works on a deeper and more intuitive level than messages and morals: it is experienced primarily aesthetically, which is to say through the senses, and imaginatively, which is a matter of sympathetic participation by the viewer in the realisation of meaning.
Before his 1989 solo exhibition at the Lisson Gallery, London, it was feared that the Indian-born artist, Anish Kapoor, had reached an impasse. Void marked a turning point in the artist’s sculpture, which he had been practising in Britain for the previous two decades.
David Hockney – Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)
Maecenas Art – David Hockney – Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), 1972
A pioneer of the British Pop Art movement in the early 1960s, David Hockney gained recognition for his semi-abstract paintings on the theme of homosexual love before it was decriminalised in England in 1967. Hockney began painting scenes of the sensual and uninhibited life of athletic young men, depicting swimming pools, palm trees, and perpetual sunshine.
David Hockney’s 1972 Portrait of an Artist, sold at Chisties in 2018 for an inspiring $90.3m (£70.2m), marking at that time a new world record for a living artist.
Jeff Koons can be considered the Andy Warhol of 21th century. Recognised for his work dealing with popular culture and ballon alike sculptures he rose to prominence in the mid-1980s as part of a generation of artists who explored the meaning of art in a media-saturated era.
Ballon Dog became the artist most popular work especially when it sold for $58 million at Christies in 2013.
Mark Rothko – No. 22
lacasbicho – Rothko – White Center Painting – 1950
One of the preeminent artists of his generation, Mark Rothko is closely identified with the New York school, a circle of painters that emerged during the 1940s as a new collective voice in American art. During a career that spanned five decades, he created a new and impassioned form of abstract painting. Rothko’s work is characterized by rigorous attention to formal elements such as color, shape, balance, depth, composition, and scale; yet, he refused to consider his paintings solely in these terms.
White center shows a brilliant use of color schemes all blended into a single painting enhances a feeling of warmth, brightness, and happiness. It was sold at Sotheby’s post-war auction in 2007 for $ 72.84 million achieving at the time the record of the costliest work of art sold at an auction post-war.
A cultural figure of international renown, Ai Weiwei is an activist, architect, curator, filmmaker, and China’s most famous artist. Open in his criticism of the Chinese government, Ai was famously detained for months in 2011, then released to house arrest.Some of Ai’s best known works are installations, often tending towards the conceptual and sparking dialogue between the contemporary world and traditional Chinese modes of thought and production.
For Sunflower Seeds (2010) at the Tate Modern, he scattered 100 million porcelain “seeds” handpainted by 1,600 Chinese artisans—a commentary on mass consumption and the loss of individuality.
Francis Bacon
RasMarley – Bacon, Francis -Three Studies of Lucian Freud,1969
Francis Bacon (28 October 1909 – 28 April 1992) was an Irish-born English figurative painter known for his raw, unsettling imagery. Focusing on the human form, his subjects included crucifixions, portraits of popes, self-portraits, and portraits of close friends, with abstracted figures sometimes isolated in geometrical structures
The triptych, Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969), is considered one of Bacon’s greatest masterpieces. It was sold after six minutes of fierce bidding at Christie’s auction house for $119.9m (£74m) .
Art prints are thought of as mass-produced copies of artworks. Therefore this isn’t always the case. There is much more to it than that.
An art print’s worth depends on many factors, including quality, technique, edition, print number. Art prints can go for large amounts of money in auctions, but the worth is entirely dependent on these factors and what buyers are willing to pay.
This article will be talking about the misconceptions associated with art prints as the the factors that are taken into consideration when calculating the value of an art print. Read on if you’d like to know how it all works.
What Is an Art Print?
Before diving further into this subject, it’s important to be aware of what an art print actually is.
There are two primary types of art prints: reproductions and original art prints. The terminology can be difficult to memorize, however, there are many differences between them. As The Anthrotorian puts it, “The easiest way to remember the difference between the two is to think about how close the actual artist is to the final work that you have hanging on your wall.”
Normally art prints are associated with reproductions. They are made mechanically, quickly, and in large numbers. Whereas original prints have some originality, they are individually made by the artist, and some distinctions between them can be spotted if you look closely.
Reproductions
As mentioned before, there is a misconception regarding art prints, which is that they are solely reproductions of artworks. There are many differences between a reproduction and an original print.
So what is a reproduction, and in what aspects is it different from an original print?
According to artist Phil Metzger, reproductions are copies that are mechanically made in order to get them out in large numbers, and as fast as possible. Usually, the artist isn’t involved in the process of making the reproductions of their work.
Reproductions are a photographic copy of a painting. Reproductions of notorious painting usually have little value; however, if they are printed as limited editions, they might be more valuable. This all depends on supply and demand over time.
The cost of reproduction depends on its level of detail and the surface it’s printed on. Paper prints cost less than canvas prints, for example. Plus, since reproduction resorts to a digital file, it’s essential to make sure that the digital file looks good and can produce high-quality copies.
Giclée
A giclée is a very popular form of reproduction. This type of reproduction is created with a specialized inkjet printer. This method of reproduction has a much higher quality than a home printer, for example. It can even reproduce the texture of the paint in the original, and it prints in different types of paper, which will also have to be considered when calculating the price of the art print.
Now, moving on to original prints. What is the difference when it comes to value between a reproduction and an original print? And are there more factors that come into play?
Original Prints
Original prints are made by the artists. The prints themselves are called original prints because they are not a copy of the artwork already made;
Original art prints are made one by one. Therefore, the prints might have subtle differences when compared with each other. These prints can be considered just as valuable as any other type of artwork.
However, as the prints are used, they might begin getting worn down, and the quality might drop, that is why it is not uncommon for prints to be limited editions, meaning there will be a set number of impressions of a certain print.
Original art prints have small variations within each other due to the techniques that are used to make them. Each print undergoes manual procedures that can result in small details unique to only a specific impression.
It is up to the artist to decide which prints are good enough and which ones should be discarded. In printmaking, each print is considered an individual artwork, unlike reproductions that are a copy of the original.
When trying to figure out the value of an art print, many factors come into play, such as the techniques that were used, if it’s signed, if it’s a limited edition, the print’s run number, and other factors that’ll be discussed below.
How do these factors affect the value of an art print?
Printmaking Techniques
Prints consist of transferring ink from a printing matrix onto a certain material, and there are several techniques of doing this that are used by artists in order to make prints. The amount of labor a technique requires can influence the print’s value. These techniques are usually divided by process.
The techniques themselves are woodcut, linocut, etching, engraving, drypoint, lithograph, monotype, and screenprinting.
Relief Print
A relief printis a process in which an artist carves certain areas on a surface and inks the remaining areas, then pressing a paper or another material against the surface, the ink is then transferred, thus creating a print.
Here is a great video by New York’s Museum of Modern Art that explains how it’s done:
The relief process techniques are:
Woodcut
Woodcut was the first printmaking technique; it is a form of relief print. This technique uses a block of wood as the matrix. A design is made on the woodblock and then carved by the artist, these are the areas of the wood that will not be receiving ink. The raised areas of the design will be covered with ink. The design is then transferred onto a material with either a printing press or by hand.
Linocut
Linocut is a print that is created using a linoleum block as the matrix, a design is cut into the matrix, much like in the woodcut technique. The raised surface is spread across the area, and then the design is transferred onto a material.
Intaglio Print
Intaglio prints have ink spread across the printing matrix so that the ink can go into the recesses of the matrix instead of on the original surface area. This process requires a printing press.
Etching
Etching is created by spreading ground, which is an acid-resistant waxy material, across a metal plate. Using an appropriate tool, the artist carves the design, and then the plate is submerged in acid, the ground protects it, and so the acid eats away at the metal that was left exposed.
When the plate reemerges, the ground is removed, and then the ink can be applied. The etching technique is the opposite of woodcut and linocut, and it is not the raised surface that receives the ink but the etched lines. Finally, the plate is moved to a press that will transfer the ink from the lines to the material.
Here is an informative video made by Liverpool’s National Museum that thoroughly explains this process:
Engraving
Engraving is a very similar technique to an etching; however, there is no use of ground nor acid. A metal plate is engraved with a sharp tool; generally, a tool called “burin”, it leaves a burr that is wiped off.
The ink is spread across the plate, filling the engraved lines. It is then wiped clean off the surface so that the ink in the lines is all that remains. The plate goes through a printing press in order for the ink to transfer to the material.
Drypoint
Much like engraving, when creating drypoint prints, a sharp tool is used to make the design; however, the burr is not cleaned from the plate before the ink is applied.
Drypoint prints tend to be soft and blurry because of the burr, but this also means that when being subjected to the printing press, the burr is worn down and destroyed.
This means that drypoint prints will usually have very small editions, and since the burr is progressively worn down, the first impressions might vary from last printed impressions. This shows how each impression is unique and individual from the others.
Planographic Print
In order to make planographic prints, there is no need to alter the matrix, it maintains the original surface. The surface is prepared in a way that allows the ink to transfer the image onto the material.
Lithography
Lithography print exists because water and oil don’t mix. A greasy medium is used to make a design on the stone surface, normally limestone. Water is spread onto the stone, wetting only the surface that is not covered with oil. Then an oil ink is applied with a roller onto the matrix; however, the oil in the ink is repelled by the water, meaning it’ll only adhere to the design.
Paper is placed onto the inked surface and then run through a printing press that will cause the ink to transfer onto the paper.
Monotype
Monotype prints usually only allow the creation of one or two impressions, though the second one will be significantly worse in terms of quality.
Monotype prints consist of applying ink on a smooth surface and then transferring it onto paper by using a printing press. A print made using this technique is usually embellished using watercolors or stencils. This technique isn’t very common, as it won’t allow the artist to make many impressions.
Stencil Print
Stencil prints are made by pressing ink through a screen with a prepared opening.
Screen Printing or Silkscreen
Screen printing allows the artist to make a print using a stencil. This means that with the help of a squeegee, the ink is spread across the surface except where the stencil is blocking it. The ink is then transferred through the prepared opening and made into a print.
Some of these techniques require more materials than others. More labor is also put into creating some prints depending on the techniques that were chosen; some techniques have the ability to produce a bigger or a smaller edition, all of these factors will be taken into consideration when determining the value of the prints.
But that’s not all; there are a few other variables that need to be mentioned when talking about art print values.
Editions
Prints that are made from the same matrix are called an edition. An edition can contain a certain amount of impressions, meaning it’s a limited edition print. Or, it can be reproduced an infinite amount of times, meaning it’s an open edition. Limited editions are worth much more than open edition prints.
The smaller an edition, the more valuable the print will be due to the exclusivity. An edition can be as small as only having two impressions, commonly, if you resort to the monotype technique. This will vary on the artist’s decision and the techniques used.
A limited-edition print will be numbered. The number will be written in pencil at the bottom of the print. For example, if it reads 10/50, it means that the impression you own is the 10th print from an edition of 50 prints total.
This is another important factor to take into consideration when determining the value of the print. The value will be higher if the print run number is closer to one.
And why’s that?
The first impression is considered to be the most valuable because it will have the best quality amongst the entire edition, taking into account that with excessive printing, it might deteriorate the original image, this also means that the first impression will be closer to what the artist intended to create.
Proofs
A proof is a different type of print; it is not numbered because it is not part of an edition. Some proofs are impressions that were created before the official version; however, some are impressions that were put aside for a specific reason.
And are art print proofs more valuable than limited edition prints?
Art print proofs are often more valuable than other prints because they are much harder to come by; their rarity adds to their value.
Trial Proof
A trial proof is an impression that was made as a test; the artist creates this to test what needs or doesn’t need to be altered. The artist then proceeds to change the matrix accordingly. There are no annotations in trial proof.
Bon À Tirer
Once the artist has finished and is happy with the result, a bon à tirer is created, this is a french expression that means it’s ready to print. This is sent to the printer, and it determines how the edition will look. For a bon à tirer proof, there will be an annotation with the letters “B.A.T.”.
Artist’s Proof
An artist’s proof (Epreuve d’artiste, E.A.) is an impression of a print that is provided to the artist. Normally, an artist will receive one or more prints of an edition. These prints are specifically put aside for the artist, and they are exactly the same as the other impressions; however, there will be an annotation with the letters “A.P.” or “E.A.”.
Printer’s Proof
Printer’s proofs are complementary impressions given to the printer. There can be multiple printer’s proofs; it depends on the number of printers that are involved. They will be typically marked with “P.P.”.
Hors Commerce
Hors Commerce are impressions that were not meant to be sold. Their purpose is to be used for galleries and exhibitions, and they are only available through the artist. They are annotated with the letters “H.C.”.
Proofs are not meant to be sold; however, they have still somehow found their way into the market. Not only are they valuable due to their rarity but also because some of them allow the public to see another perspective of the finished artwork, namely trial proofs, that may look very different from the completed piece. They can provide more information about what the artist intended to do with his piece.
Conclusion
There’s much more than meets the eye when it comes to art prints. It is necessary to understand the different variables that come into the picture when determining the value of an art print.
Not only the fact that there are two different types of art prints that are very distinct from each other, one consists of copies as the other can be seen as the fine art of printmaking. But there is also the quality, material, technique, editions, and these are all factors to keep in mind in order to accurately calculate how much an art print is worth.
In today’s article, we are going to deal with the distinction between modern and contemporary art, as it is made by art historians. Namely, despite the vernacular use of the term and even some well-known resources not making the distinctions.
There is a difference between modern and contemporary art and we are going to show them so you can actually know how to use the terms in writing and conversation.
12 difference between Contemporary and Modern art that matter:
Time
Paradigms
Framework
Materials
Themes
Conceptualization
Forms
Engagement
Interdisciplinarity
Availability
Simplicity or complexity
Relationship with history
The term “modern art” is one of the most complex terms in the discipline of art history. Why? Simply because it is very complex to define and there is no agreed-upon definition of the term. Rather, there are two “currents”, one which defines modern art as a long historical period that still lasts, and the other which distinguishes modern and contemporary art. In every-day English, the term “modern art” usually corresponds with the notions of the first “current”.
Keep reading to find out more!
What is considered modern art?
Garcon A La Pipe (1905) – Pablo Picasso
The famous Encyclopædia Britannica (1) defines modern art as “painting, sculpture, architecture, and graphic arts characteristic of the 20th and 21st centuries and the latter part of the 19th century”. As we can see, one of the most famous encyclopedias in the world uses the broader definition of the term modern art, defining it as practically every movement starting with romanticism and still continuing to this day. This is a very simplified definition of modern art that accompanies a lot of completely different approaches to art (you can hardly compare the artistic ideas of constructivism or orphism with those of photorealism or socialist realism).
This is why we disagree with the proposed definition.
For us, modern art is the complete artistic production extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, although a more precise limit would be the 1950s. These dates aren’t, of course, set in stone (they’re not the Battle of Waterloo fought in 1815), as is with most artistic periods and different styles and artistic ideas (or ideologies) actually overlap, so you shouldn’t look at the dates conservatively. Modern art is distinguished by its new and innovative approach to the arts. Modern art was a truly changing movement that redefined artistic ideas, materials, themes and even the functions of art itself. Although pre-modern art developed stylistically (from the perfection of Ancient art, through the stylization of Medieval art, to the pompousness of the baroque), things haven’t changed much in how art was executed and perceived. Modernists changed that. They redefined art and began experimenting, changing not only the basic execution of art, but also its function.
Thus, Romanticism started experimenting with subjects and themes never seen before, while also connecting art with the liberal revolutions in 19th century Europe. Realism was the first movement that wanted to portray reality as it was – ugly, common, without any stylization. Impressionists and post-impressionists redefined art and added a lot of philosophy to the interpretation of their works, which now served a higher artistic purpose, rather than just being works of art. This aesthetic philosophy was brilliantly explained by the Italian philosopher and critic, Benedetto Croce, in his book Breviario di Estetica (1913). Avant-garde movements and abstract art completely changed art and gave it a new look, even a new purpose, stating for the first time in history that even something superficially incomprehensible can be art, with a deep philosophical and artistic purpose.
Although modern art is perceived to last until the 1970s, not much innovation was presented since after the 1950s and a lot of the movements were just reinventions of earlier ideas with something new and artist-orientated.
What is considered contemporary art?
Helen Frankenthaler
Not all art historians agree that contemporary art actually exist, as they consider it to be a part of modern art. But we are not among them. We firmly believe that modern art ended around the middle of the 20th century, which is when contemporary art beings. So, contemporary art can be viewed as the artistic production of the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century.
Contemporary art is different from modern art. Whatever someone says – it just is. We are going to analyze the reasons in more detail in the following paragraphs, but the difference is dogmatically very, very different. Modern art aimed to redefine art, its execution and its function. It wanted to remain in the general framework of classical art, but change how that framework is perceived. This is why we value impressionism, expressionism, abstract art, neoplasticism, abstract expressionism and all the other movements from that period as revolutionary artistic ideas. They were still “classical” art in the broadest sense, but they were almost essentially different from their predecessors.
Since art had to evolve and the artists didn’t just want to imitate their predecessors and influences, they had to create something new. There wasn’t really that much space for a new form of artistic expression within the boundaries of “classical” art, because the modernists practically did everything that was possible. So, in order to be creative and original, the contemporary artists had to redefine the framework itself, i.e., the artwork.
Contemporary artists relied less on tradition and began experimenting with what they could. They used new materials, they combined previously unused materials into new ones and they used technology to create art. They relied heavily on the new, globalized and culturally diverse world to create new, interdisciplinary art forms. Although traditional techniques were kept, they were redefined and molded into new forms in accordance with the experimental nature of contemporary art. Art also became increasingly engaged, transforming from a mere l’art pour l’art creation to a weapon of political and social progress.
As time passed, contemporary art became increasingly conceptual (although conceptual art is not a synonym for contemporary art), relying more on the philosophical, political or social symbolism of work than on its intrinsic (i.e., traditionalist) artistic value. Art became a message, but whether that message remained purely artistic or morphed into something much bigger now depends on the artist, the work and the context in which it was made and presented to the public.
Although generally considered to begin not before the 1950s, some art historians consider the first work of contemporary art to be Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (1917), a conceptual/Dadaist work created during one of the peaks of artistic modernism.
What is similar between contemporary art and modern art?
While their differences are going to be the focus of our article, we have to say something about the common points that modern and contemporary art share.
The first common point they share is their revolutionary nature. Namely, both modern and contemporary art changed the artistic paradigm of their respective times. When modern art replaced the so-called “classical” art, it redefined how art was perceived and created. It worked within the same framework, but it did wonders within. From the romantic pathos to the “action painting” of Jackson Pollock, modernism completely changed art and showed the public that art doesn’t have to be a proportional portrait of a political figurehead or a beautiful woman, but also a series of colorful geometrical shapes and random splashes of paint on a large canvas. This art was symbolic and was the embodiment of the artist’s internal beauty and inspiration. On the other hand, contemporary art went even further, outside the framework, redefining the artwork itself. A dot on a large canvas, a completely black canvas or an egg on a public square – all of that became art, because contemporary artists refused to be restrained by the traditional framework. Anything that they could assign artistic value to could become art, which practically turned art into a limitless phenomenon. The revolutionary nature is evident – modernism revolutionized art, while contemporary art revolutionized the artwork.
The second common point is the historical moment. Namely, both movements appeared during a period of change. Modernism started off during a period of turbulence in Europe, peaking during the interwar period, when the whole world wanted something new to forget the horrors of World War I. Contemporary art started emerging after World War II and during the Cold War, again as a reaction to important historical and social movements. Plus, there is a two-decade period when the two movements intertwined (1950s – 1970s), influencing each other directly.
Innovation is another common point between the two movements. Artistic innovation is a common element in the history of art, but the fact is that both modernism and contemporary art changed a lot. Modernists started using new or then-obsolete techniques, they provided the artistic community with new approaches, new ideas and new themes, but also with some new techniques, especially in the fields of sculpture and architecture; the painters mostly contributed with their themes and styles. As for contemporary artists, they started using completely new materials and their mixtures, creating works of art whose likes had never been seen before that. Good examples of such innovations are video art and the assemblage technique used by the Neo-Dada movement.
These are the three main common points, the similarities between modern and contemporary art. These are not all of them, but other smaller similarities can easily be paired with some of these so there’s no need to analyze each one of them separately. Now, we can start our list of the main differences between modern and contemporary art.
Difference between Contemporary and Modern art that matter
This is a list of the main differences between modern and contemporary art:
1. Time
The first obvious difference is their chronology. Considering the fact that we are distinguishing modernism as an artistic movement separate from contemporary art, we can easily deduce that these two movements don’t historically overlap. As stated above, modern art started around the 1860s, with romanticism being the first modern artistical movement in the world. Painters like Eugène Delacroix, Francisco Goya and William Blake were all fathers of modern art. Modern art ceased to work sometime during the 1970s, although it had been slowly but effectively replaced by contemporary art as early as the 1950s, which is the decade when contemporary art is considered to have started.
2. Paradigms
The two movements also functioned on different paradigms and artistic doctrines. And while both had a large number of different styles, the stylistic pluralism of modernism was very different from the stylistic pluralism of contemporary art. Namely, the main paradigm of modernism was to redefine art, so all of the styles wanted to create something new within a known set of “rules”, an artistic idea where art wasn’t just something already seen but reworked. This is why some of the styles were so revolutionary, but in retrospect – all of modernism’s styles were based either on the revolutionary stylization of post-impressionistic styles (including the avant-garde) or on Kandinsky’s abstract art. They were plural, but they had two distinct origins. Contemporary art, on the other hand, developed on the paradigm that the artwork – and not art – must be redefined, thus creating something completely new. The stylistic pluralism of contemporary art is much more diverse than that of modernism, with Neo-Dada, op art, hyperrealism and performance art all being part of the same, large artistic movement that is contemporary art. This is how their paradigms, although similar, are still largely different.
3. Framework
The framework within which these two movements developed are largely different. Modernism was based on a traditional artistic framework, opting to redefine it from within to create a different impression on the outside. This was a large part of the philosophical doctrines of almost all modernist styles. But why is that? Namely, when modernism developed (whether you, like us, consider it to have started with romanticism or, like some, with impressionism), the preceding style was either neoclassicism or realism, however you want to perceive it. Modernist worked within a traditional framework because it was all that art knew at the time, which makes their contribution even greater, as they managed to do so much with “old toys”. Contemporary art, on the other hand, worked within the framework created by modernism, so they just needed to upgrade an already “new toy” in that aspect. Contemporary artists could learn from revolutionaries such as Picasso, Dalí, Mondrian, Kandinsky, Malevich, Pollock, Matisse, de Kooning, Magritte and others, which actually means that the framework they had to change was very, very different from the one modernists worked with.
4. Materials
Initially, modernists had to work with traditional materials. They experimented with the techniques – e.g. Monet’s dreamy impressionism, the fauvist’s unorthodox coloration, Van Gogh’s brushwork, or Seurat’s dots – but the materials were largely the same. Some experiments were made in later phases – cubists experimented with collages, constructivists with metal – but the only true innovative materials in modernism were used by the sculptors and architects of late modernism. Contemporary artists, on the other hand, completely reinvented what could be perceived as artistic materials, using completely new ones and previously unimaginable mixtures of materials. Everyday objects became materials, people themselves even, and the conceptualism of a lot of contemporary styles absolutely contributed to the innovations in the field of materials.
5. Themes
As far as the themes are concerned, modernists – for a large part – still worked with traditional themes, but redefined them in accordance with their artistic doctrine. Modernists liked portraits, still life, and while they did focus on painting everyday scenes more than their predecessors, not many of them – with the exception of, for example, Picasso’s Guernica and some openly ideologized avant-garde movements such as constructivism, Dadaism and others like socialist realism – chose new themes. Even abstract artists and their compositions don’t fit into the category of new themes, as the compositions were themes themselves. Contemporary artists, on the other hand, became more socially and politically engaged, choosing to comment on the daily turbulences of the quickly-changing political and social situations of the Cold War and post-Cold War society. Contemporary artists also chose to conceptualize their arts, meaning that the themes became more symbolic and metaphoric, which was not the case with modernist styles.
6. Conceptualization
The much-mentioned conceptualization is a characteristic of a large number of contemporary styles. Although not part of all styles, the term conceptual art is most exclusively associated with contemporary art. Conceptual works weren’t just works per se, it wasn’t the classical ars gratia artis; they became concepts, metaphors of something much larger or something much more intimate than what was shown. Whether it was a “classical” work or some performance art – just think of Marina Abramović – contemporary art is largely conceptual and the process of deciphering it is wonderful. Modernist art, on the other hand, wasn’t conceptual, it was straightforward in that aspect, both in themes and in its execution. There is symbolism, very deep symbolism in fact, but it is far from any conceptualization and the whole idea is still in accordance with Gautier’s principle of l’art pour l’art.
7. Forms
Modernist art didn’t do much as far as artistic forms were concerned. Although some newer forms were popularized – for example posters or film animation – it was all pretty much traditional painting, sculpture and architecture. Contemporary art changed that paradigm and popularized different forms of expression as art. Graffiti, photography, video art, performance art, assemblage – these are just some of the new forms of art utilized by contemporary artists. Some of them have been known since modernism, but either weren’t used much or weren’t used for artistic purposes, while some are completely new. Contemporary art raised the bar to a completely new level when art forms are concerned, which was an interesting step forward in the evolution of art.
8. Engagement
Contemporary art is much more engaged than modernist art. Modern art, as was stated, was much more artistic, despite its revolutionary nature. These artists wanted to create art – they did not want to convey a message. There were, of course, exceptions. Picasso’s Guernica sent a powerful sociopolitical message when it was first presented to the public. The Dadaist movement sent a strong social message and tried to change the perception of almost everything. A lot of early surrealists had close ties with socialism – especially Breton, even Buñuel – while socialist realism was wholly based on advocating socialist values. Constructivism also had very close political ties, among other leftist avant-garde movements. But these were, truly, exceptions – Picasso’s whole opus was mostly artistic, surrealism wasn’t an ideological movement (see Dalí), while the political movements were a minority compared to others. Contemporary art, on the other hand, tends to blend social and political comments with art. The majority of contemporary works tries to send a message, mostly one of progress and evolution. Just remember Vrubel’s famous Fraternal Kiss graffiti depicting the famous kiss between Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker or some of Banksy’s performances. These are just some examples of the strong sociopolitical engagement contemporary artists have.
9. Interdisciplinarity
Referring back to point seven, we can state that modernist art was rarely interdisciplinary in its nature; this is also somewhat related to point eight. Modernists valued art and didn’t mix that much. Painting was a painting, a sculpture was a sculpture. And that’s how it usually played out. Contemporary artists redefined such paradigms and valued interdisciplinarity, which is a consequence of the growing influence of postmodernism. Technological advancements enabled us to create art with the use of technology, while artists managed to combine their art with other fields of creative output. The term “video game as art” is just one example of that interdisciplinary nature, as some video game creators opted for a full-on artistic approach and experience rather than just present a gaming experience. A lot of art has been implemented in modern movies – even those that aren’t experimental, indie or art films – and there are lots of other examples we cannot analyze completely in this article, but that prove that contemporary art is much more interdisciplinary in nature than modernist art.
10. Availability
Some of you may see it as “bagatellization” of art, but however you perceive it – art is much more available today than it was before. Modernist artists had to have ateliers, they had to buy expensive material, even travel a lot to experience certain themes and that wasn’t available to most people. Today, with the development of globalization and technology, art became a standard. All you need is your talent and some basic resources, since there are different forms of art you can choose. You can be a street artist with a can of paint or spray paint. You can be a video artist with some good software. Or, you can be a good photographer with one investment in a good camera. You have so much to chose from and the possibilities are nigh endless. This is why contemporary art is far more available than modern art ever was, which is a good thing because more talented people can get an opportunity to show their art to the world.
11. Simplicity or complexity?
Modernist art was largely complex. And while some of the canvases or statues might look simpler, they’re usually not. Since modern art still developed on the foundations of traditional art – and traditional art was complex, whatever you may think of it – modernists favored a more complex approach to their works. On the other hand – although not as a general rule – contemporary art is much simpler in its execution, but not in its meaning, which is a very interesting paradox. If you look at Yves Klein’s monochrome paintings, Warhol’s polychromatic panels or some performances – their execution is very simple, yet they convey a very deep meaning. Modernists complemented the depth of their works with their complexity, while some contemporary artists opted for simple execution of very deep meaning.
12. Relationship with history
Modernists comprehended history and wanted to break away with it. They wanted to break away from tradition or completely redefine it. Postimpressionistic styles redefined traditions, while avant-garde and abstract styles completely broke off with them. Some avant-garde artists, such as the futurists, even wanted to completely “eliminate” history in the sense that art had to move forward and completely disregard the historical influences. Some artists did work with historical influences, like Picasso, when he created a cubist version of Velázquez’s baroque masterpiece Las Meninas, but those were rare examples. Contemporary artists, on the other hand, embraced history and even created new works based on history, never considering that history should be eliminated. Both Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol used Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa as an influence for their Dadaist and pop art works, while Francis Bacon created nightmarish versions of famous papal portraits initially painted by the great masters. Thus, the relationship of contemporary art with history is more postmodern – contemporary art embraces it, learns from it and even uses it to create something new – while the modernist approach was more exclusive, since these artists considered history as a foundation, but something that should ultimately be left in the past and not reexamined constantly.
There you have it. We have written a pretty extensive study of modern and contemporary art for you, stressing out their differences, but also some of the similarities. We hope you found our article interesting and informative, and that you will keep following us for more of the same!
Pop art is probably the most well-known artistic movement of the 20th century. Fueled by consumerism, mass media and popular culture, pop art can be easily recognized by its bright colors, defined line works and some kind of iconic element used as the main subject.
So, why does pop art uses such bright colors? Pop Art emerged in the mid-1950’s, and became popular when Great depression and World war II ended. Due to what was happening in that point of time new generation artists wanted something new. Pop art used bright colors highly because of its ability to grab the attention quickly.
The use of bright colors to catch attention is actually a clever move. Therefore is more complex than what looks like. So, we’re going to be reviewing what pop art is, how it started, principal artists and the complex side of the bright colours.
What is Pop Art ?
Pop Art is a movement that emerged in the mid-20th century. It is characterised by simple, everyday imagery, and vibrant block colours. This movement aimed to solidify the idea that art can draw from any source, and that no hierarchy could disrupt this. The bright colour schemes also enabled this form of avant-garde art to emphasise certain elements in contemporary culture.
Pop Art helped to narrow the division between the commercial arts and the fine arts. It was the first Post-Modernist movement (where medium is as important as the message) as well as the first school of art to reflect the power of film and television, from which many of its most famous images acquired their celebrity. Common sources of Pop iconography were; advertisements, consumer product packaging, photos of film-stars, pop-stars and other celebrities, and comic strips. Famous Artists of this movement include, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
History of Pop Art
Pop-Art emerged in both New York and London during the mid-1950s becoming the dominant avant-garde style until the late 1960s. In the United States, pop art was a response by artists. They used impersonal, mundane reality, irony, and parody to “defuse” the personal symbolism and “painterly looseness” of abstract expressionism.
By contrast, the origins of pop art in post-War Britain, while employing irony and parody, were more academic. Britain focused on the paradoxical imagery of American pop culture as powerful, manipulative symbolic devices that were affecting whole patterns of life. Fuelled by American popular culture when viewed from afar, early pop art in Britain was a matter of ideas. Similarly, Pop art was both an extension and a repudiation of Dadaism.While pop art and Dadaism explored some of the same subjects, pop art replaced the destructive, satirical, and anarchic impulses of the Dada movement with a detached affirmation of the artfacts of mass culture.
Bright Colours and Pop Art
Advertisers began using pop art highly because of its ability to grab the attention quickly. It does so because it uses bright and vivid colors. You should take a look at some of the famous pieces of pop-art and you will see the extensive use of bright colors. In total, the ability of pop art to connect with the viewer makes it one of the most powerful media in the modern world. Whether you want to boost customers or master art, you’ll be able to do so with the help of pop art.
The Color Whell
The Color Wheel is a visual representation of the spectrum of color. It consists of twelve warm and cool hues (Hue is the word used to describe a pure color) and visually describes the relationship between them.
Colour Wheel
Pop art and color
Primary Colors (red, yellow and blue) are the three hues that cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are created from combining these three hues. Those colours are highly present in the works of Roy Lichtenstein, and is due to them that his works stand out so much.
Primary Color Weel and Oh, Jeff… I Love You, Too… But… by Roy Lichtenstein Picture by Gautier Poupeau
Secondary Colors (green, orange and violet) are the colors that are form by mixing the primary colors. These colors are also highly present in the Pop Art movement as we can see in the image bellow.
Andy Warhol – Two Marilyns, 1962. Acrylic, silkscreen and pencil on linen (1928-1987) Broad Collection Picture by rocor
What makes pop art stand out?
The main inspirations of pop art are regular items we use in our day-to-day lives. A water bottle, tumbler, mobile phone, anything could be an inspiration for an artist of this genre. The motive is to connect with the viewer on a fundamental level. When a person sees an item he or she uses regularly, he is able to relate with the image quickly.
The context of the image / recognizable imagery:
The context is the most important part of an image. The most attractive feature of these images is the unusual context and object used. This was the chief reason behind the success and huge popularity of this art form. It’s also the reason why it is so popular in the current world. So while creating a piece of pop art, you’d be placing a regular item of daily use in an unconventional place. Some of the most successful artists who performed this task skillfully were Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol.
Combining humor with art:
Irony and satire are two of the most important aspects of this art form. One combines a usual item with an unconventional setting. To display a unique connection, you’ll have to use satire or irony. It will make the artwork more attractive and sensible. Otherwise, it’d be too difficult for the viewer to interpret the artwork properly. Apart from that, as pop art has become popular in advertising, you can see a large number of examples in this field. Advertisers use wit and humor in these artworks to ensure that the viewer admires it considerably and remember the message of the art too.
Using colors that strike attention
Pop art is characterized by vibrant, bright colors. Primary colors red, yellow, and blue were prominent pigments that appeared in many famous works, particularly in Roy Lichtenstein’s body of work.
Innovative techniques
Many Pop artists engaged in printmaking processes, which enabled them to quickly reproduce images in large quantities. Andy Warhol used silkscreen printing, a process through which ink is transferred onto paper or canvas through a mesh screen with a stencil. Roy Lichtenstein used lithography, or printing from a metal plate or stone, to achieve his signature visual style. Pop artists often took imagery from other areas of mainstream culture and incorporated it into their artworks, either altered or in its original form. This type of Appropriation art often worked hand in hand with repetition to break down the separation between high art and low art, which made the distinction between advertising and media from fine art.
Mixed media and collage
Pop artists often blended materials and utilized a variety of different types of media. Like Robert Rauschenberg, whose works anticipated the Pop art movement, artists Tom Wesselmann and Richard Hamilton combined seemingly disparate images into a single canvas to create a thoroughly modern form of narrative.
Conclusion:
Pop Art emerged in the mid-1950’s, and became popular when Great depression and World war II ended;
Pop art used bright colors highly because of its ability to grab the attention quickly;
The bright colour schemes also enabled this form of avant-garde art to emphasise certain elements in contemporary culture;
Advertisers began using pop art highly because of its ability to grab the attention quickly;
Primary Colors are highly present in the works of Roy Lichtenstein;
Self-portraits aren’t new in the art world, actually it is thanks to the self-portrait ‘culture’ that the selfie exists. In a way, self-portraits are actually the oldest version of the selfie.But, why do artists make self-portraits? What is actually self-portrait? What can we learn from artists?
A self-portrait is a representation of an artist created by that artist. Thought history self-portraits have been made in every medium imaginable – photographs, paintings, drawings, sculptures etc. Therefore, while with painting the artist is free to represent anything his or her mind can imagine, with photography artists need to be more ‘realistic’.
Once a self-portrait is more complex than it looks, we’re going to explain it deeper. From history to what we can learn from artists about self-portraits, we will cover the best topics of this area.
What’s the difference between an portrait and a self-portrait?
Portrait
Portraiture is a very old art form born on ancient Egypt, where it flourished from about 5,000 years ago. During that times, before the invention of photography, the only way to record the appearance of someone was through painting, sculpture or drawing. Portrait was created in order to represent a person/ someone, in which the face and its expression is predominant.
Self-Portrait
Artists’ self-portraits are an interesting sub-group of portraits. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance ( mid-15th century ) that artists can be frequently identified depicting themselves as either the main subject, or as important characters in their work. A self-portrait is basically a representation of an artist about himself that does not necessarily needs to be representational. The artist his free to draw himself in any style, in order to represent his psychological/emotional features, in the piece.
Rembrandt self-portraits are particularly famous.
Rembrandt van Rijn Self-Portrait, 1636. Oil on panel (1606-1669) Norton Simon Museum Picture by: rocor
In conclusion, while a portrait refers to any painting that represents a human figure, a self-portrait refers to a painting that represents the artist that produced it, with his own ‘style’.
The 3 main ways to tell the difference between a self-portrait and a portrait
Title
Artists will often identify their self-portraits as such
Action
A self-portrait will often depict the artist at work in the process of painting his or her own image
Context
The artist’s subject matter may cue the viewer to the identity and character of his or her self-image.
Self-Portrait vs Selfie
Selfies and painted self-portraits share many similarities. Both selfies and self-portraits are forms of self-representation using different technology. While smartphones and cameras are types of technology, mirrors and painting are other types. Nowadays, everybody takes selfies, maybe we don’t think about but they represent our personal sense or self in that moment.
So what is the difference?
While Self-portraits are created to be read as art, selfies are born of photography practices. It is dangerous to read selfies in the same way as art, to ignore the context of their social interaction and the intent of the selfie-taker. In a contemporary perspective the selfie can be considered the evolution of the self portrait. Therefore, majority of people in the indrustry doesn’t have a consensus about it.
Why do artists make self-portraits?
Throughout history, self-portraiture has remained a tried and true practice between artists. Historically, in fact, artists used self-portraits as a kind of calling card, attesting to their ability to capture a likeness and giving a sense of their capabilities. And, yes, self-portraits are convenient exercises because the model is always available and works for free. But a self-portrait can evoke and reveal much more when taken beyond the bounds of straightforward exercise.
Practice
Self portraits help artists practice. The more an artist can practice the best. The human form is a pretty complex subject to tackle, so the more practice, the better.
A Convenient Model
It’s common for artists to draw from life, which means using models. Hired models can be pricy, and that expense can add up, so drawing from life by looking in a mirror is a lot cheaper. Also, making self portraits is really convenient – you can always pose for yourself whenever you want to, while hiring models or having someone pose for you means you’ll have to figure out scheduling.
To explore themes and ideas in their artwork
Self portraits can also be used for a series exploring various compositions with underlying meaning, such as the exploration of the artist’s self.
Record the artist’s self
Self portraits can also be used to record the way the artist looked at the time the portrait was made.
To Demand Their Place in Art History
Adelaide Labille – Guiard Self-Portrait with two pupils, 1785 Pic by: Rodney
Probably you don’t know, but during renaissance era, being an artist wasn’t an option for a woman. This catchphrase demonstrates the popularity of self-portrait but, at the time reveals the inherent gender inequality. At the time, women couldn’t take life-drawing classes. As an way to suprass this problem woman started practicing on her friends or even themselves
What can we learn from them ?
As we can observe before, artists have experimented with painting themselves long long time ago. Therefore, it’s funny to see that even being in the smartphone era, with over 93 million selfies taken daily, self-portraits remain an important part of many artist’s creative process. Why never fell out of fashion, and what can we learn from this process?
Self-portraits can motivate testing and learning
Anyhow, self-portraiture provides a safe place to play and experiment with new techniques. When you’re alone, you have all the time in the world and can work without deadlines and without being judged. Early sketches and test shoots can be make privatly allowing artists to experimenting privatly and learning from that process.
Self-portraiture can unlock the imagination or provide an escape
Artists aren’t normal people (in the good sense), and obviously they have a better imagination that any other person that you will ever meet. Some artists like to represent themselves in different styles, color ranges, moods, as a way to scape ‘reality’ in order to expand their imagination and creativity.
Self-portraits can foster self-acceptance
It’s well know that when some people hear their voice recorded they feel like isn’t their real voice. That is because your sense of self is different from the others sense of self toward us. While self portraying ourselves can be scaring, can also help us to acept our imagine and to see our best features that probably we never realised before.
Self-portraits can remind us of our origins
If you, for example, are a foreigner in other country and have different features, drawing yourself over and over again will make you remind about your roots each time you draw. This way, you will be more connected with your roots and even use it as a strength among others.
Self-portraits can help us to connect with others
The way that artists portrait themselves can inspire others. Once artists use their imagination and ideas in order to create anything the connection process is always present. This way artists that take risks or are somehow more creatives can inspire and connect others.
Conclusion
As human beings we like to be remember, otherwise self-portraits wouldn’t be a thing since the Egyptians. Therefore, even with the human evolution self-portraits never went off fashion, and that means something. As an art advisor I’m always fascinated from the way that artists think. They always have different perspectives about the world, otherwise they wouldn’t be artists.
In conclusion we can learn that self-portraits are much more than self portraits for artists. Self portraits are like a seed that develops over time, in this case in a skill. A skill that can motivate, can foster self-esteem, can reminds us of our origins or even help us to connect with others.
As an art lover, you can be a graffiti lover. Therefore, sometimes you might wonder how to tell the different between street art and vandalism. Street art has become a sensation worldwide. Major cities as London even sponsor street artists and allow them to show their artform in some specific places as you can observe in Brick Lane.
So how to tell the difference between Street art and vandalism? Graffiti art was born from the act of marking or defacing premises or other property without permission. So basically, graffiti essence was born from a crime. Therefore, with so many famous street artists and amazing artworks of this form out there, it got more complicated to understand.
Drawing the line between street art and vandalism
Some people consider this kind of art as controversial and offensive, although on the other hand others find it appealing and attractive.
Street Art’s controversial history has often centred on this touchstone debate. Long associated with crime and gangs, graffiti tipped into the realm of art during the 1970s and 1980s. Artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, among others revolutionised guerrilla tagging of the urban environment with their distinctive visions.
The term ‘street artist’ also evolved and come to be applied to this work. Once graffiti because it is often far more detailed and artistic than your average graffiti scribble. Where on might associate graffiti with a spray-painted tag or moniker, street art is often far more in-depth. Most use their work to make social or political commentary, often drawing figures or murals with anti-establishment messaging.
But how can we draw the line here?
Whether graffiti is art or crime has an implication in protecting the integrity of a street artist’s work. If considered art, these creative works would likely be shielded under the Visual Arts Right Act (VARA).VARA protects the work of visual artists from intentional distortion, mutilation or other modification. Under VARA, works of art that meet certain requirements afford their authors additional rights in the works. Regardless any subsequent physical ownership of the work itself, or regardless of who holds the copyright to the work. For instance, a painter may insist on proper attribution of his painting. In some instances may sue the owner of the painting for destroying it even if the owner lawfully owned it. VARA exclusively grants authors of works that fall under the protection of the Act the following rights:
Legal right to claim authorship;
Right to prevent use of one’s name on any work that has been distorted, mutilated, or modified;
Right to prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature, and any intentional or grossly negligent destruction of that work is a violation of that right;
Many artists claimed that their VARA rights were violated when their street art has been painted over or otherwise covered up. Despite such broad definitions, VARA has a narrow reach. Courts have been somewhat divided on whether VARA can be claimed by street artists in order to recover their covered-up work. Many street artists who have attempted to claim that their VARA rights were violated have been met with resistance from courts. Majority of courts have clung to the requirement that the work be of ‘recognized stature’ in order to prevent destruction.
Is Street Art Legal?
Whether or not street art is ‘legal’ remains an issue when legitimizing street art. Some are taking steps to address that issue. Los Angeles recently passed a new murals ordinance making street art legal. Therefore is only legal if you pay for a permit, get permission from the location, and publicly post your intentions. Shepard Fairey, best known for his Obama Hope poster and his Obey campaign, has teamed up with renowned graffiti artist, Risk to create a major piece in Skid Row.
Other artists, however, continue to thrive on the illegality of their work. Banksy is one such example. Often pursued by law enforcement.
Practical examples:
Once we are speaking about art, it’s easy to use visual examples in order to explain the possible difference between street art and vandalism .
Banksy is one of the world’s most renowned artists. Born in Bristol, UK, in 1974, he has become a household name by creating beautiful and truly thought-provoking art – which is seems to appear in public overnight. Although he began creating art freehand, he began using stencils in the late ‘90s and his work became widely recognised in the South West of England. In 2005, after many years of local media attention, Banksy’s work on the West Bank barrier, between Israel and Palestine, received significant media coverage by the world’s press.
The heart-shaped balloon represents love, hope, innocence, childhood and self-confidence. It’s thought that the piece symbolises losing something which is within your grasp. Etched into the wall to the right of the little girl, are the words THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE.
A rare unique painting of Girl With Balloon was the final item in an auction at Sotheby’s in London in 2018 and its sale price equalled the artist’s previous auction record of £1.04m.
In this case we are speaking about street art, but again, legally if Banksy didn’t have any authorization the term vandalism can also be applied.
“A Linha de Mar” (The Line of the Sea) – Pedro Cabrita Reis”
Cabrita Reis, one of the great names of contemporary art in Portugal saw his work vandalized. Here, no aesthetically value is present and not even a powerful meaning behind could justify this pure work of vandalism. In fact, in the aggressive graffiti that have led to a police report, we read: “A shame,” “With our taxes,” “300,000 euros,” in clear reference to the controversy raised by the cost.
Have in mind that graffiti vandalism is a crime and significantly affects individuals and the community. The removal of graffiti vandalism is very costly in the end. Millions of tax payer euros/dollars (public money)etc are being spent annually on cleaning up graffiti and repairing the damage that it causes. Sending this public money on cleaning graffiti
Conclusion
The definition of what is considered as art can be argued to no end. Therefore, the government cannot define what that is yet. Street art requires social acceptance through legitimacy to be accepted as “art”. These street artists do not aspire to change the definition of their artwork but rather question the existing environment around them in their own language. Through their works, they aim to communicate with everyday people about socially relevant issues without any intention to offend or to create a conflict but rather make a connection with the general public through their artwork.
People can argue for or against street art over and over again without coming up with a worldwide acceptable decision. There will always be disagreements. That is what makes street art interesting.
If you want to be an artist, you’ll spend a lot of your time developing your artistic skills and building up popularity in order to get noticed. One of the best ways to learn is by going into art university. But, one of the major downsides with having an art degree is that you have to pay, A LOT!So, are art universities worth it?
Art universities might cost you upwards of $25,000 in the United States for a single year just in fees. However, they can definitely be worth it if you’re focused in building up a name for yourself. Yet, you need to be making an effort to make it worth it. Work on networking, choose the right university, and network again.
There are some situations where art universities are definitely worth it for new artists! So, we’re going to be reviewing what art universities are, how much they cost, and how to make them worth it for you.
What Are Art Universities?
An art university is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts. Mainly illustration, painting, photography, sculpture and design. Art universities can offer undergraduate and graduate programs. The goal of an art university is to develop artistic skills in its students in order to make them have a personal artistic style.
The Cost of Attending an Art University
What you’ll be spending on an art university will depend on the university and country where you apply. But, there’s no way to avoid costs altogether. Here’s a brief look at some of the fees associated with art universities in United States, United Kingdom and France.
United States
Application fee: This fee is usually somewhere around $300 to $1000.
University fee: This fee really depends if you go for a public or private university, its location and if you are a resident or a non-resident. If you are a resident fees can be as ‘low’ as $12.000 per year. Therefore if you are a non resident fees can be over $33.000. Private universities can cost you over $50.000 yearly.
Supplies Costs: Supplies arent’s cheap in this field. Be aware that you will need to spend around $2.000 to $3.000 yearly at least, and probably more in the last year.
Living costs ( Accommodation +household bills +food + travel)
Living Costs will depend where your university is located, having NY as example, living costs can be over 15.000$ a year easily.
United Kingdom
Application fee. This fee is usually somewhere around £100.
University fee. Having University of Arts London that includes the prestigious Central Saint Martins as example, for undergraduate degree courses the fees have been set at £9,250 per year for full-time and £22,920 for International students.
Supplies Costs Be aware that you will need to spend over 2.000 to 3.000 pounds yearly.
Living costs ( Accommodation +household bills +food + travel) Living Costs will depend where your university is located, having London as example, living costs can be over 15.000$ a year easily.
Application fee. This fee is usually somewhere around 100 euros.
University fee. The tuition fees at public universities are set by the French government and are the same across the country. If you are a citizen or already a permanent resident of a country within the EEA, you will be charged very low amounts for your tuition: 170 euros per year for Bachelor’s (Licence) programmes. However, all other international students will be charged 2,770 euros per year for Bachelor’s (Licence) programmes. Note that the values above refer only to public universities; the cost of tuition at private universities can be higher. They generally range from 3,000 to 20,000 euros per year.
Supplies Costs Same as before, 2-3 thousand euros a year.
Living costs ( Accommodation +household bills +food + travel) Student life in France doesn’t have to be expensive. Even in cities like Bordeaux, Lyon or Toulouse you can get by with 850 to 1,000 euros per month, including accommodation. That is still moderate for European levels. In some smaller towns you might spend even less. But the exception is Paris, the capital: expect to spend 1,250 to 1,400 euros per month at the very least – and consider yourself extremely lucky if you can score a place in a students’ hall of residence
Making Art Universities Worth It
If art universities weren’t at all worth it for artists, they wouldn’t still be around today. Yet, not every art university will be good for you and your artistic style. There are a lot of things to think about before deciding on a specific art university. Let’s go over how you can make sure that an them worth the money you’ll be shelling out!
The Fees
The fees are unavoidable when it comes to art universities. Therefore, there are some ways that you can cut some costs. For example, you can choose to live in the campus or student residencies that have partnerships with universities. You can also apply for scholarships and even get a job while studying.
One of the best ways to guarantee that you’re pulling in some income at the end of the day is by doing a few calculations. Take into account how much you’re spending on fees (in total) and how many pieces of your work you’d have to sell after your degree in order to have all that money back. You can also work part-time while studying in order to make your life easier.
So, make sure you are willing to make it work. Even though you want to make huge sales right after finishing your degree, it might be a better idea to focus on build really nice relationships with art dealers and galleries. This can help you to start developing a name for yourself, making some sales, and save you some struggle in the business.
The Possible Name Recognition & Networking Opportunities
Art universities are a great way to start making a name to yourself, but have in mind that you should start networking as soon as you get in and not after. At the same time, art universities usually make a big exhibition showcasing last year students artwork. That means you might be able to connect with a gallery owner, dealer or a curator that’s impressed by your artwork. This can lead to tons of future opportunities and greater sales.
It might also be a good idea to focus on network for a little while. Focus on networking in a certain area in hopes that the same people will see your work repeatedly. Once people see you at plenty of local art shows, they’ll be much more interested and value you as a professional in your industry.
Even if you’re not making a lot of income in the beginning, that doesn’t mean you’re leaving empty-handed. Networking is a great way to build relationships with others in the art community. You can learn about other styles of art and how popular artists have built a customer base.
Conclusion
Strategically going to an art university can be a debt nightmare but can also cause your art career to skyrocket. Though you’ll be spending a lot of money, you’ll be showing your art to likely thousands of people and network with other people that otherwise you would never know. Here are some tips for making an art fair worth it:
Work on networking and building relationships inside and outside the university
Choose low-fee and local art fairs to show your work when you’re just starting out
Consider the number of pieces you’d have to sell to pay the fees back
Choose to have a part time job in order to have some cash
Make a strategic plane and follow it the maximum that you can
Make a website showcasing your work and if possible an online shop
If you liked this article check our previous post about art fairs.
As an artist, you’ll spend a lot of your time building up popularity and selling art pieces to new customers. One of the best ways to attract potential customers is by setting up a booth at a popular art fair. But, one of the major downsides with art fairs is that you have to pay for a spot!
So, are art fairs worth it? Art fairs might cost you upwards of $1,000 for a single trip. However, they can definitely be worth it if you’re clinching sales and building up a name for yourself. Yet, you need to be making an effort to make them worth it. Work on networking, choosing the right fairs, and cutting costs.
There are some situations where an art fair is definitely worth it for new and skilled artists! So, we’re going to be reviewing what art fairs are, how much they cost, and how to make them worth it for you.
What Are Art Fairs?
An art fair is a trade show of sorts where skilled artists can display and sell their own artistic pieces. But, anyone with a role in the art industry can take part and set up their own art booths or secure spaces in the gallery. That includes gallery owners, collectors, and individual artists.
The goal of an art fair is to attract local customers to your artistic style. If you display your best pieces, you might be able to make some sales and secure yourself long-term customers. There’s also a pretty good chance that your work will be seen by local gallery owners and curators. This can be huge for your career. If you want to know more about the art fairs market you can find it here: https://marianacustodio.com/art-fairs/
The Cost of Attending an Art Fair
What you’ll be spending on a booth or gallery space will depend on the actual art fair and how much space you need. But, there’s no way to avoid costs altogether. Here’s a brief look at some of the fees associated with art fairs:
Application fee. This fee is usually somewhere around $50, though there are some art fairs that won’t cost you a dime. You can also get this fee covered by your gallery owner if you have one.
Booth or gallery space fee. This fee really depends on how much space you’re looking for. A smaller booth might be as low as $150, while a significantly larger booth will probably be closer to $1,000. Therefore bigger art fairs can cost up to 10.000$.
Travel and hotel fees. If you’re traveling a long distance, you’ll have to think about gas prices, tolls, hotel fees, and meals. This can cost you several hundred dollars for just a few days.
So, you might be spending around $1,000 for all the combined costs of attending an art fair. But, you also need to think about the possibility of paying commission. That means you’ll be giving a cut of each sale to the art fair creators. Sometimes, it’s as much as 50% of the final sale price.
If you’re spending a grand to take part in an art fair and not making sales, then it’s definitely not worth it! The good news is that there are ways to make art fairs worth it financially and career-wise.
Making Art Fairs Worth It
If art fairs weren’t at all worth it for artists, they wouldn’t still be around today. Yet, not every art fair will be lucrative for you and your artistic style. There are a lot of things to think about before deciding on a specific art fair to display your new work. Let’s go over how you can make sure that an art fair is worth the money you’ll be shelling out!
JD Malat Gallery – Contemporary Istanbul 2019
The Fees
The fees are unavoidable when it comes to art fairs, but there are some ways that you can cut some costs. For example, your gallery owner might pay the application fee for you if you’re currently with a gallery. That’s about $50 that you get to keep in your own pocket. You can also stick to local shows to avoid the fees that come with travel and hotel stays.
One of the best ways to guarantee that you’re pulling in some income at the end of the day is by doing a few calculations. Take into account how much you’re spending on fees (in total) and how many pieces of your work you’d have to sell to get income. If you have to sell dozens of pieces to break even, you might want to wait a few years before trying that specific fair.
So, make sure an art fair is within your budget. Even though you want to make huge sales right now, it might be a better idea to focus on smaller fairs for right now. This can help you to make a name for yourself, make sales, and save money.
The Number of Visitors
You want to be sure that tons of people will be exposed to your art and style at an art fair. Spending $1,000 for a few days sounds like a lot right now. Yet, some art fairs recruit thousands of unique visitors every day. That’s a much greater chance of exposure and art sales.
The goal is to get as many pairs of eyes on your artwork as possible. Remember, you’re somewhat competing with the other attendees of the art fair. There’s a better chance of getting some bites with 10,000 visitors a day rather than just 80.
You need to also think about the qualities of the local community. Try to choose art fairs that lure visitors that are interested in your particular style of art. This is a great way to guarantee at least some interest in your pieces.
The Possible Name Recognition & Networking Opportunities
Art fairs are a great way to sell your pieces to the public and art aficionados. At the same time, art fairs are often visited by some of the biggest names in the industry. That means you might be able to connect with a gallery owner or a curator that’s impressed by your artwork. This can lead to tons of future opportunities and greater sales.
It might also be a good idea to focus on a certain area for a little while. Focus on art fairs in a certain state or states in hopes that the same people will see your work repeatedly. Once people see you at plenty of local shows, they’ll be much more interested and value you as a professional in your industry.
Even if you’re not making a lot of income at your first art fair, that doesn’t mean you’re leaving empty-handed. Art fairs are a great way to build relationships with others in the art community. You can learn about other styles of art and how popular artists have built a customer base.
You might even make some friends and learn about some upcoming art fairs. You might eventually be the artist that newcomers turn to for a little career advice! So, take the time to talk to the other attendees.
Conclusion
Strategically showing your art at art fairs can cause your art career to skyrocket. Though you’ll be spending a lot of money, you’ll be showing your art to likely thousands of people and making some sales. Here are some tips for making an art fair worth it:
Work on networking and building relationships at the fair
Choose low-fee and local fairs when you’re just starting out
Consider the number of pieces you’d have to sell to break even
If you are new to the art world, you may wonder what are the different art forms out there. From architecture to performance art
The Different Art forms:From Ancient Greece To Modern Days article aims to give you a brief explanation about each art form and its subdivisions.
The Different Art forms
The 7 traditional subdivision of the Arts
Architecture Sculpture Painting Literature Music Performing Film
The7 art forms in the visual arts
Architecture Sculpture Painting Ceramics Conceptual art Drawing Photography
Theseven liberal arts
Grammar Logic Rhetoric Arithmetic Geometry Astronomy Music
This division started during the Ancient Greece. All art and craft were referred to by the same word “Techne”. During that times, art most basic definition was as a documented expression on an accessible medium that anyone could view, hear or experience it.
The traditional subdivision of the Arts:
Architecture
Liverpool Street – London
Architecture is the art and science of designing buildings and structures, especially habitable ones. Architectural success was the product of a process of trial and error with progressively less trial and more replication as the results of the process proved increasingly satisfactory. In modern usage, architecture is the art and discipline of creating a complex object or system.
Sculpture
National Portrait Gallery – London
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Durable sculptural processes originally used carving (the removal of material) and modelling (the addition of material, as clay), in wood, ceramics, metal, stone and other materials. Since modernism, shifts in this process led to an almost complete freedom of materials and process.
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. Likewise the medium is usually applied to the base with a brush. Therefore can also be applied with knives, sponges, airbrushes, among others. Painting is the name of the final work.
Modern painters have extended the practice considerably to include, for example, collage. Therefore, this art form is not painting in the strict sense since it includes other materials. New artists also incorporate different materials such as cement, straw, wood among others. Examples of this are the works of Anselm Kiefer or Jean Dubuffet.
Literature
Literature refers to writing as an art form that contains artistic or intellectual value. In addition it can be classified according to whether it is fiction or non-fiction, prose or poetry. Academics often characterise literature works according to historical periods or their adherence to certain genres or aesthetic features. Developments in printing technology have allowed an ever-growing distribution and proliferation of written works, culminating in electronic literature.
Music
Music is an art form and cultural activity, whose medium is sound. It is performed with a vast range of instruments and vocal techniques. Can range from singing to rapping; there are solely instrumental pieces, solely vocal pieces, and pieces that combine singing and instruments.
Performing arts refers to forms of art in which artists use their voices, bodies or inanimate objects to convey artistic expression. However it is different from visual arts, once doesn’t use paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects.
Film
Film or movie, is a visual art-form used to simulate experiences that communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty or atmosphere. It works by recording moving images, along with sound (and more rarely) other sensory stimulations. In conclusion the word “cinema”, is often used to refer to filmmaking.
The 7 art forms in the visual arts are divided in: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Ceramics, Conceptual art, Drawing and Photography.
To sumarize, once Architecture, Sculpture and Painting were already explaining in the traditional subdivision of the arts, let’s go ahead only with Ceramics, Conceptual Art, Drawing and Photography.
Ceramics
Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, which may take forms such as tile, pottery, figurines, sculpture and tableware. While some of these products are considered fine art some are considered to be industrial or decorative.
Ceramic art can be made by one person or by a group of people. In a pottery or ceramic factory, a group of people design, manufacture, and decorate the pottery.
Conceptual art is art in which the ideas or concepts involved in the work takes precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. The inception of the term in the 1960s referred to a strict and focused practice of idea-based art that often defied traditional visual criteria associated with the visual arts in its presentation as text.
During the 1990’s, in particularly in the United Kingdom, conceptual art developed as a synonym for all contemporary art, once doesn’t practice the traditional skills of painting and sculpture.
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art in which a person with the help of a drawing instrument makes an image on a surface by applying pressure or moving a tool across the surface. Common tools are graphite pencils, pen and ink, pencils, crayons, charcoals, pastels, and markers. Even if the most common support for drawing is paper, other materials such as cardboard, wood, plastic, leather, canvas and bord may be used. Nowadays with the develop of the technology digital tools can also make such effects with the help of proper software.
Drawing is frequently used in: commercial illustration, animation, architecture, engineering, design and technical drawing.
Photography as an art form refers to photographs that are created in accordance with the creative vision of the photographer. Art photography stands in contrast to photojournalism, which provides a visual account for news events, and commercial photography, the primary focus of which is to advertise products or services.
The seven liberal arts
During the Middle ages, The liberal arts were central to university education. The seven liberal arts were taught in two groups: the trivium and the quadrivium. The area and range of the liberal arts evolved in time. Eventually, the meaning of “liberal arts” nowadays include both humanities and science.
Trivium
Quadrivium
Grammar Logic Rhetoric
Arithmetic Geometry Astronomy Music
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules governing the composition of phrases, clauses and words in a natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules and this field includes phonology, morphology and syntax.
Logic
Logic is the systematic study of the forms of inference, the relations that lead to the acceptance of one proposition, the conclusion, on the basis of a set of other propositions. More broadly, logic is the analysis and appraisal of arguments.
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic is one of the three ancient arts of. This area aims to study the capacities of writers or speakers needed to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations.
Arithmetic
Arithmetic is a branch of mathematics that consists of the study of numbers, especially the properties of the traditional operation on them. It is an elementary part of number theory. It is considered to be one of the top-level divisions of moderns mathematics, along with algebra, geometry, and analysis.
Geometry
Geometry is a branch of mathematics concerned with questions of shape, size, relative position of figures, and the properties of space.
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. In other words this field studies everything that originates outside Earth’s atmosphere.
This arts can be considered one of man’s most noble opportunities to experience confirmation of his origins and destiny. Different from the humanities (philosophy, theology, etc.), this field makes it possible to more closely experience spiritual reality as well as to directly discover metaphysical truth.
I hope this article helped you to discover a bit more about the 7 art forms,and its divisions / subdivisions.
Feel free to email us or leave a comment.
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