Subject Matter and Style in Contemporary Art

LESSON 2:

SUBJECT MATTER AND STYLE IN CONTEMPORARY ART AR T C

Subject matter in contemporary art is not confned to representation o human fgures and landscapes. The avorite subjects in contemporary art are children, women, or the environment, such as Juan Alcazaren’s Flora and Fauna. t can also be a combination o any o these. n some artwor!s, the subject matter is the techni"ue itsel. itsel. n others, such as those in conceptual art, the viewer has to engage in i n thin!ing and e#ploring the meaning o the artwor!. Some artwor!s are intended to ma!e a statement about an issue so the viewer is guided by a written e#planation.

n Plet Boliata’s Cat $olls, the subject matter combines human fgure and cat head. The artist constructed a human s!eleton made o wires and covered it with te#tile. The cat head is made o resin. Several o these are ound in ront o her house to serve as %guards&.

Sa! Pena"o’s 'etalscape is an abstraction using metal.  This is an e#ample o contemporary art style.

 There were art movements and styles that dominated contemporary art style. There were art movements and styles that dominated contemporary art through the decades since ()*+s. These are abstract e#pressionism, !inetic art, p art, perormance art environmental art, eminist art, post-minimalism, video art, grati art, postmodern art, and digital art.

A#"tract E$re""ioni"! is a painting style in which the artist applies paint in a manner that e#presses emotions and eelings in a spontaneous way. The fgures may be heavy in lines and color without solid mass.

%inetic Art is a sculpture that moves with the wind or is powered by a machine or electricity.

O art uses lines or images repeatedly to create an optical illusion.

Per&or!ance art combines a variety o media and the human body to e#ecute an artistic theatrical e#pression beore a live audience.

En'iron!ent are involves the artistic creation or manipulation o space such as landscapes or architectural design that may enclose its audience. /arthwor!s, or art using stones, leaves, grass, or other natural elements are included in this category.

(e!ini"t art emerged rom concerns o emale artists e#pressed through art. They tac!le issues o identity, se#uality, gender roles, and the ways in which the emale is treated in society, among others.

Mini!ali"! had a stripped-down, pre-abricated loo!, ree o details and oten with 0at surace but e#presses a specifc content or statement. 1n e#ample is electric wire emerging rom the wall that coils to orm a particular shape.

)i*eo art consists o images that are recorded through a video and viewed through television, computer, or projection screen.

+ra,ti art is a drawing, inscription or s!etch done hastily on a wall or other surace made to be seen by the public.

Po"t!o*ern art carries modern styles to e#treme practices, oten e#pressing an idea through a mi# o materials such as ound objects welded together.

Bo*- art is an art orm that uses the body as the medium or main material. t can be painted or clothed and used to perorm artistic act in public. Tattooing and piercing are e#ample o body art.

Di.ital art is done with the aid o computer to create an image or design composed o bits and bytes. The image can be printed on paper, tarpaulin, or other mediums.

Some art styles progress through the decades and have in0uenced artists throughout the globe while some are short-lived and are confned to a group o locality. 1s such, some styles cannot be confned to one particular decade. 2elow is a list o some o the art movements and styles grouped by the decades they are !nown to have 0ourished.