Context
Contemporary artists appeared after the second World War, and the term "contemporary art" can be defined as “in our lifetime”. Actually, most of the contemporary artists are still alive today.
Society as a source of inspiration
The special thing about this artistic movement is that artists are inspired by the society, and make people feel more concerned by it. The artists are witnesses of their time and they spread ideas across art about our current society. The people who are interested in contemporary art are not only admiring the artworks, but they also take part in the artist's’ inspiration.
Pop art
It first began with Pop Art after the Second World War. In the 1950s the society started a new life based on capitalism and the artists showed this consumerist society with the Hippie movement. A great example is the sculpture of Robert Indiana, Love.
A current movement
The particularity of contemporary art is that people do not have the distance to separate all the artworks into different artistics movements. This is very common and even if contemporary art is actually art, it will be considered in many cases as a representation of our current society. Nowadays, contemporary art is the opportunity for you to see the society's evolution without being influenced by medias or social networks, since many interpretations and thoughts are possible from a particular artwork.
The creation of installations
This movement is also a way for artists to express their feelings, but there is a gap with Modern art since the artists innovate in their works representation across installations. For example, Yayoi Kusama feels like a polka-dot in the world which surrounds her: which is why she creates installations mainly characterized by polka dots such as the artwork: "I pray with all my love for tulips."
Installations are very appreciated by artists because the viewers can feel completely surrounded by the artist's concept, and then have a better chance to understand their point of view.
Finally, Contemporary art is an artistic way of understanding the world which surrounds us, and follows the Modernism. If you want to know more about Modern art, click here to read our article !