Fietas, Andrearose Ivy F.

June 5, 2018
STEM 12 Mr. Jeff Medes
What is Contemporary Arts?
Contemporary artists working within the postmodern movement reject the concept of mainstream art and
embrace the notion of "artistic pluralism," the acceptance of a variety of artistic intentions and styles. Whether
influenced by or grounded in performance art, pop art, Minimalism, conceptual art, or video, contemporary
artists pull from an infinite variety of materials, sources, and styles to create art. For this reason, it is difficult to
briefly summarize and accurately reflect the complexity of concepts and materials used by contemporary artists.
This overview highlights a few of the contemporary artists whose work is on view at the Getty Museum and the
concepts they explore in their work.

Olafur Eliasson, The weather

project, 2003
Upon entering the Tate’s Turbine Hall, visitors
to Eliasson’s The weather project were greeted by a huge
glowing orb that hovered near the ceiling. A fine mist
filled the hall, diffusing its spellbinding glow throughout
the room. Because this work by the Danish-Icelandic
artist effectively used the entire volume of the space, it
was called the largest indoor contemporary artwork ever
produced. The installation became a phenomenon, and
over two million people visited during its run.

The weather project fits into a wider trend, beginning in

the late 1990s, in which museums began to regularly
install monumental-scale artworks aindoors as exhibitions
unto themselves. Critics have compared these installations to amusement park rides and viewed their spectacle and
pomp as a frivolous pandering to the masses. Yet seen in a more positive light, engaging and experiential
contemporary installations are, for one, a great way to get the larger population into the museum to see other works.

The subject of the weather has long shaped the content of everyday conversation. The eighteenth-century writer
Samuel Johnson famously remarked ‘It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is
of the weather; they are in haste to tell each other, what each must already know, that it is hot or cold, bright or
cloudy, windy or calm.’