LESSON 3: Modern and Contemporary World

ABOUT THE LESSON:

Art is well-known for its incredible ability to educate people and create a
pleasant environment to see the world in a new light. With projectors, interactive
screens, or movies, a new way of interpreting thoughts, sensations, and emotions
based on experiences is being presented. This domain has merged with technology
in modern culture, resulting in masterpieces that would have pushed the human
mind to its limits not long ago. Special effects in artistic films and digital art finest
exemplify this supposition, which could not have previously reproduced reality as
well as they do now. People will also be able to examine how artwork changes over
time. Furthermore, we can see how, thanks to technology, we can appreciate,
visualize, and share with others the beauty of creation.
At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:
1. Differentiate modem from contemporary art using appropriate reference
sources
2. Identify the major contemporary art movements
3. Enumerate the different performance arts
Video – React
https://youtu.be/ljhXohLgJ6M

Major Art Movement

Contemporary arts are the art made today by living artists. As such, it reflects
the complicated issues that shape our diverse, global, and rapidly altering world.
Through their work, many current artists discover a personal or cultural identity,
offer evaluations of social and institutional structures, or even try to redefine art
itself. In the process, they often increase hard or thought-provoking questions
besides offering convenient answers. Curiosity, an open mind, and a commitment to
talk and debate are fantastic equipment with which to method a work of present-
day art.
The exact starting point of the genre is still debated however, many art
historians consider the late 1960s or early 1970s (the end of modern art, or
modernism) to be an adequate estimate. Given its "art of today" definition, you may
be surprised to hear that contemporary art has a relatively long history. To trace its
evolution, let's look at the major movements and important artists that compose its
history.

POP ART
Intended as a response to previous contemporary artwork movements,
contemporary art is thought to have begun on the heels of Pop Art. In post-war
Britain and America, Pop Art used to be pioneered by means of artists like Andy
Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. It is described as means of a hobby in portraying the
mass culture and reimagining industrial products as available art.
While the movement lasted roughly from the Nineteen Fifties through the
early 1970s, it used to be reborn as Neo-Pop Art in the 1980s thanks to artists like
Jeff Koons. what made it extraordinary pop art was once that it appropriated some
of the first ideas of Dada which is geared up of ready- made materials which had
been used for artwork. Dada was a motion that is in opposition to the values of the
bourgeois, the colonial, and even the nation. It was each anarchic as it was once
referencing anarchy which was followed due to the fact of the values the motion
abhors and despises. It is also the time of popular cultural icons such as

NEO-POP ICONS
Michael Jackson
Manilyn Monroe

PHOTOREALISM
Much like artists working in the Pop Art style sought to artistically reproduce
objects, those involved in Photorealism which is a concurrent movement that aimed
to create hyper realistic drawings and paintings. Photorealists often labored from
photographs, which enabled them to accurately reproduce portraits, landscapes,
and different iconography. These drawings and paintings are so immaculate in their
precision that they start to look like a photo without a direct reference to the artist
who created it. Chuck Close and Gerhard Richter regularly worked in this style.

CONCEPTUALISM
In turn, Pop Art additionally helped shape Conceptualism, it rejected the
concept of art as a commodity. In conceptual art, the notion at the back of a work of
art takes precedence. Major conceptual artists consist of Damien Hirst, Ai Wei Wei,
and Jenny Holzer. Though this experimental movement is rooted in the art of the
early twenty-first century, it emerged as a formal motion in the Sixties and stays a
principal present-day art.
Zodiac Heads, 2010- Al Wei Wei
In conceptual art, the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the
work. When an artist makes conceptual art, it means that all the planning and
decisions are made beforehand.

PERFORMANCE ART
Another movement with Conceptualist roots is Performance Art. Beginning in
the Nineteen Sixties and conserving its reputation today, performance art is a
drama- inspired approach. While the artwork structure is performed by way of
artists as the name suggests, it is no longer solely supposed as entertainment. It
may be planned or spontaneous and done live or recorded. Its goal is to deliver a
message or idea. Predominant overall performance artists include Marina
Abramović, Yoko Ono, and Joseph Beuys.

INSTALLATION ART
Installations are three-dimensional constructions that transform their
surroundings and alter viewers' perceptions of space. Often, they're large-scale and
site- specific, enabling artists to radically change any space into a customized,
interactive environment. Well-known installation artists include Yayoi Kusama, Dale
Chihuly, and Bruce Munro.
Gleaming Lights

EARTH ART
It is art where the natural environment or a specific site or space is
transformed by the artist. It is a kind of human intervention into a specific
landscape or terrain. Earth art is different from environmental art in the sense that it
does not focus on the subject but rather on landscape manipulation and the
materials used, taken directly from the ground or vegetation. Robert Smithson,
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and Andy Goldsworthy are celebrated for their avant-
garde earthworks.

STREET ART
Street art is a genre that gained prominence with the rise of graffiti in the
1980s. Often rooted in social activism, street art includes murals, installations,
stenciled images, and stickers erected in public spaces. It can also be seen in some
areas of Lipa City, specifically in The Outlets. Key street artists include figures from
the 1980s, like Jean- Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, as well as practicing artists
like Banksy and Shepard Fairey.
The Pisa's mural, 1969 Keith Haring

Difference between Contemporary Arts and Modern Arts

Modern Art Contemporary Art

Describes the works of artists still living
Art that began in the 1800s
and creating artworks
Revolutionary for the freedom and
Revolutionary by its origin (anti-
magnitude of experimentation by the
romanticism)
artists
Pays attention to society, thus known
More self-expressive
for its social impact
Every medium that you can think of;
Primarily made on canvases video art, tech-enabled artworks, object
design, graphical arts, etc.
Focuses on the subjective Takes a strong stand on social, political,
representation of the chosen themes and cultural aspects of the world

Modern Art is used for conveying the era of "Modernism', a time where art is
described with various terms ending with 'ism's' such as Fauvism, Impressionism,
Post-Impressionism, Dadaism, Cubism, Surrealism, Expressionism, Pop Art, and
many other art movements which have been discussed in module 1.
Aside from the discussed information about performance art, this art
movement is one of the broadest art forms. In this part of the lesson, I will enlighten
you more about this movement. Performance art comes in a variety of forms, based
on language, music, and live arts. Regardless of the media, purpose, theme, style,
location, or size of the audience, performance art can contribute to the culture,
create community, and provide outlets for expression. Below are the different types
of performance arts:

DANCE
Dance is the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to music and
within a given space for the cause of expressing an idea or emotion, releasing
energy, or truly taking delight in the motion itself.
Dance also plays several important social roles in all cultures, notably in
matters of celebration, courtship, recreation, and entertainment. (Mackrell, 2020)

MUSIC
Music is an art concerned with combining vocal or instrumental sounds for
beauty of form or emotional expression, typically in accordance with cultural
standards of rhythm, melody, and harmony. Both the folk track and the complex
electronic composition are humanly engineered, and each is conceptual and
auditory. These factors have been current in the track of all styles and throughout
history. (Gordon,2020)

OPERA
Opera is a staged drama set to music in its entirety, is made up of vocal pieces with
instrumental accompaniment and usually with orchestral overtures and interludes.
In some operas the music is continuous throughout an act, in others it is broken up
into discrete pieces, or "numbers," separated either by recitative (a dramatic type
of singing that approaches speech) or by spoken dialogue. (Hanning,2020)

THEATRE
Theatre also spelled theater, in dramatic arts, an art concerned almost
exclusively with live performances in which the action is precisely planned to create
a coherent and significant sense of drama. The strongest impact on the audience is
made by acting, singing, and dancing, followed by the spectacle in the background
against which those activities take place.

MIME AND PANTOMIME

Mime and pantomime, Latin mimus and pantomimus, Greek mimos and
pantomimos, in the strict sense, Greek and Roman dramatic entertainment
representing scenes from life, often in a ridiculous manner. By extension, mime and
pantomime have come to be in modern times as the art of portraying a character or
a story solely by means of body movement (as by realistic and symbolic gestures).
Analogous forms of traditional non-Western theatre are sometimes also
characterized as mime or pantomime. (Britannica, 2020)

SPOKEN WORD POETRY

Spoken word is a poetic performance art that is word-based. It is an oral art
that focuses on the aesthetics of word play such as intonation and voice inflection.
It is a "catchall" term that includes any kind of poetry recited aloud, including poetry
readings, poetry slams, jazz poetry, and hip hop, and can include comedy routines
and prose monologues. Although the spoken word can include any kind of poetry
read aloud, it is different from written poetry in that how it sounds is often one of
the main components. Unlike written poetry, it has less to do with physical, on-the-
page aesthetics and more to do with phonesthetics or the aesthetics of sound.

PUPPETRY
Puppetry is the making and manipulation of puppets for use in some kind of
theatrical show. A puppet is a figure of a human, animal, or abstract form that is
moved by human, and not mechanical, aid. (Speaight,2020)
Puppeteers use movements from hands and arms to control devices such as
rods or strings to move the body. head, limbs, and in some cases the mouth and
eyes of the puppet. The puppeteer sometimes speaks in the voice of the character
of the puppet, while at other times they perform to a recorded soundtrack.
Types of Puppets
 Finger puppets, which are tiny puppets that fit onto a single finger
 Sock puppets, which are formed from a sock and operated by inserting one's
hand inside the sock, with the opening and closing of the hand simulating the
movement of the puppet's "mouth".
 Hand puppet or glove puppet is controlled by one hand which occupies the
interior of the puppet and moves the puppet around.
 Marionettes are suspended and controlled by several strings, plus sometimes
a central rod attached to a control bar held from above by the puppeteer
 Rod puppets are made from a head attached to a central rod. Over the rod is
a body form with arms attached and controlled by separate rods
Furthermore, aside from these kinds of performance arts there is also a famous
art called Indie Films.
Independent film is any type of filmmaking that takes place outside the
mainstream commercial film industry or films or filmmaking practices that claim a
degree of autonomy in relation variously to industrial practices, filmmaking
conventions, or political contexts. (Dartmouth Library,2020)

Why Independent Film is Different from Commercial movies?

Financing
Independent film productions raise money from a variety of sources. Some
small production companies may collaborate on production by sharing industry
skills and financial resources. Independent production companies can secure
funding from private investors but usually, they are funded by arts agencies, such
as the British Film Council or the British Film Institute. Some television broadcasters,
like BBC Films and Film Four, also fund independent films.

Distribution
Unlike studio films, which usually have a mainstream cinema release,
independent production companies enter their films into local, national, and
international film festivals to gain exposure with distributors who may then buy the
distribution rights. Distribution companies work to get independent films theatrical
releases - nationally and internationally - and make deals for DVD, Blu-Ray, and on-
demand releases.
Independent films tend to have a limited theatrical release in comparison to
studio films, though there are many cinemas throughout the world catering for
audiences and fans of independent film.
Independent film promotion
Independent films rely heavily on critical reviews in newspapers, magazines,
or online publications that specialize in independent film. Like studio films, most
independent films will have official websites, press releases, trailers, and teasers.
Independent films do not normally have merchandise or television adverts to