The investigation of contemporary art in London - Essay Example

? THE INVESTIGATION OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN LONDON The Investigation of Contemporary Art in London Contemporary art, defined as the art produced during the present time, keeps on changing with changes in people’s lives, culture, as well as lifestyles. As the world keeps on changing, so does the kind of art presented in exhibition galleries as well as art museums. Since contemporary art reflect on the issues that people face every day, the challenges, as well as the opportunities, it evolves with the evolution of people. Therefore, it is unique in its own culture, as it addresses people in a particular region. Because of the increased level of globalization, there has been the liberalization of the kind of art presented and exhibited in different art galleries across the world. Over time, the world has gone through various changes, which include increased level of immigration, intermarriages, and relocation of places. The increased level of integration between different cultures has therefore changed the kind of art that artists present these days and one presented before the current globalization set in the world. While investigating art in London, this essay will draw reference to the aspects of contemporary art in the London galleries and exhibitions. Currently, London art galleries exhibit different kinds of artistry designs representing the modern day life (Thorncroft 2000, p. 13). The kind of art presented in the present day has significant differences with the art presented a few years ago, the trends in the art galleries show. The biggest contribution of this is the technological changes that have taken place in the recent times (Pooke 2011, P. 4). Moreover, artists appear to blend life with their artistry skills, making the current art more real and engaging with the world. For instance, an artist can draw inspiration from the current world and use issues happening around such as the financial crisis, terrorism, effects of internet on the people, among others. There is more to explain through art in the current world than during the previous art periods. Since contemporary art is art of the present life, the more the numbers of activities taking place in the society, the more the number of artwork produced by artists. This also means that there are broader topics that artists can cover in their work. There is increased connectivity of people due to the global village model of the world. As a result, art becomes the best way to communicate the kind of activities taking place among people. Currently, it is possible to identify an artist with his work due to the consistency of their discussion topics. Therefore, the audience can identify an artist with their paintings. There is an increase in the specialization of artists in different topics that they address in their artwork (Gardner & Hallam 2011, p. 2). This has further contributed to an increase in the quality of pictures on exhibition. The previous artists had little to draw reference to and mostly, artists expressed cultural diversity in their work. Others explored the theme of love, some nature and others politics. At that time however, there were minimal changes in the world especially economically, socially, politically or technologically. However, these activities take place in the current day. Artists now have more scopes that they can draw reference to and inspire them. With this broadness, artists have now sought to specialize in the various categories they choose in their work. The creativity with which artists currently design and create their art works is amazing (Thorncroft 2002, p. 11). As the world changes, artists draw inspiration from different places, and through different issues. While initially there was no incorporation of color in art, currently, artists feel compelled to use color. This not only gives the paintings aesthetic features, but also makes them real. For instance, a black and white picture of a woman is not as appealing as a colored one. Additionally, contemporary art education has evolved over time. Students now receive better quality training on how to become better artists. A close look at the contemporary art museum would reveal this. The degree of accuracy portrayed in the current artwork differs substantially with that of the yester years (“Londonart.co.uk” 2013, web). Many experts observe that artists of the impressionism set the basis for the modern day art. While this is true, their work compared with that of the current crop of artists shows significant differences. While the impressionists did art for fun, with little professionalism, the present day artists exhibit immense professionalism and accuracy in their work (Gardner & Hallam 2011, p. 5). While (2003, p. 251) argues that art is no longer a hobby but a career. The young artists take art as a career and pay dearly to acquire the knowledge and skills. With the rise in the level of people’s investment in art, the exhibition galleries are the beneficiaries, as there has been an evolution in the kind of art displayed. The high number of sales made from a single exhibition of contemporary art is one of the main reasons for this development. Therefore, artists are more dedicated to develop quality artwork that aims at the profits accrued from the business (Thorncroft 2002, p. 11). There is an increase in the level of modernity presented in the current modern contemporary art, if the recent exhibitions in the London galleries are anything to go by (Thorncroft 2000, p. 13). As the world evolves, art has also gone through significant evolutional processes in relation to the current events. Through art, people express their thoughts and ideas affecting them in their daily activities (Newman, Goulding & Whitehead 2012, p. 33). Subsequently, artists now draw reference to a number of issues while addressing art. As artists draw reference to the technology, globalization has affected the way artists view art. The level of art influence of technological change and globalization has over time led to a sharp rise in the number of categories under exhibition in the London exhibition galleries. Different authors raise their sentiments and observations regarding the route that the contemporary art has taken time over time. Authors such as Smith (2009, p.330) assert that the post-colonial artists engage in different practices. Such practices mainly engage on local concerns, tackling questions of identity, history, and globalization. Some of the contemporary artists engage in different issues addressing time, place, mediation, and ethics in a small-scale manner (Smith 2009, p. 330). Exhibitions currently exhibit different forms of art drawn from different cultures because art galleries have revolutionized over time. Initially, most of the London exhibitions and galleries exhibited British cultural art but currently, there is an incorporation of many cultures in the exhibitions (Pooke 2011, P.5). With the increased level of immigration into London, making it a multi-ethnic city, other cultures have too sought to exhibit their art in the various galleries in the city. For instance, there is a gallery exhibiting Chinese art and Chinese culture. The high number of Chinese people living in the country is the biggest contributing factor for this development. Additionally, other cultures too such as the Indian cultures are party to the exhibitions to the London art galleries (Jain 2006, p. 8). Consequently, there is an incorporation of different cultures into different artworks exhibited into these galleries. Artists borrow a lot from each other due to the high level of interaction among themselves. Such ideas are important to the development of new forms of art in exhibition galleries. Since British as the dominant culture, an artist could chose to show the example of effects of the British dominant culture to the immigrants by blending the British art with other cultural art (Jain 2006, p. 8). While this is educative, shedding light on the loss of culture of a particular group of people in the society, an effect of globalization, it is equally interesting as it makes art more captivating to the audience. Moreover, this leads to the birth of a new culture, which when presented in reality leaves people amused at the effects the world is going through currently. As life changes, so does the artworks. With this change, many differences arise from among the art community. Despite art falling into categories that are closely related, the various types of art presented substantially differ. For instance, political category of exhibiting currently could look at the trends in the global politics. While the previous artists could have concentrated on the forms of leadership among the people, the modern artists do have shifted their attention to deeper issues related to leadership, such as power transition and factors contributing to good leadership. Economically, artists now pay a close attention at the world economy and the changes in the global economy. The effects of globalization on local economies and issues such as financial crises are part of the most discussed issues in the economic category (“Londonart.co.uk” 2013, web). Further, the uptake of technology by organizations makes a significant feature in most economic categories. Most of the artists look at the changes in people’s lifestyles in the society, which is influenced by different factors such as changing living standards such as technology and globalization. Such social elements make art appealing to all ages because all people can associate with the art (Newman, Goulding & Whitehead 2012, p. 35). The advent of the internet and subsequently the launch of the social media in the last decade has been the center of discussion of most artists in the London contemporary art. Most of these artists pay attention at the effects of the internet to people, both positively and negatively. Love and relationships too has changed significantly. Currently, the issues of gay and lesbianism being g part of the social life too feature in most of these galleries. Further, the marriage as a social institution and the challenges facing different marriages is also another important aspect artists discuss in these galleries and exhibitions. Various aspects of the contemporary London art have changed over time. as the world keep changing, so does the contemporary art world. The fact that contemporary art depends on the events of the present day is the main reason for these changes. Therefore, artists, due to interaction between cultures, increased education levels, globalization, and technological development; they have too changed the nature of their work. As art becomes more paying and people take it as a career, quality of the work exhibited improves tremendously. Therefore, although two artists could address the same issue, there will be significant differences between the modern and the previous artists due to these factors. Works Cited Gardner, A. & Hallam, H 2011, ‘On the contemporary – and contemporary art history: Review of Smith, What is Contemporary Art?’ Journal of Art Historiography, pp. 1-8, retrieved November 20, 2013. Jain, A 2006, ‘Contemporary paintings bring a certain prestige Modern Art: Anita Jain describes an explosion of interest as Indians at home and abroad acquire more wealth, driving up valuations, sometimes to stratospheric levels.’ Financial Times, 8. ISSN 03071766. Londonart.co.uk. “Exhibitions Home,” retrieved 20 November 20, 2013. Newman, A, Goulding, A, & Whitehead, C 2012, 'The consumption of contemporary visual art: identity formation in late adulthood', Cultural Trends, 21, 1, pp. 29-45, Academic Search Premier, EBSCO host, retrieved 18 November 20, 2013. Pooke, G 2011, Contemporary British art: an introduction. London, Routledge. Smith, T 2009, What is contemporary art? Chicago, The University of Chicago Press. Thorncroft, T 2000, ‘The power of the Modern: London is gaining a gallery for contemporary art to rival those in New York and Paris, says Antony Thorncroft’ Financial Times, 13. ISSN 03071766. Thorncroft, T 2002, ‘Modern art makes a big impression: Shaky equity markets are driving up the saleroom prices of contemporary artists' works, says Antony Thorncroft,’ Financial Times, 11. ISSN 03071766. While, A 2003, 'Locating art worlds: London and the making of Young British art', Area, 35, 3, p. 251, Academic Search Premier, EBSCO host, retrieved November 20, 2013. Read More