Are you someone interested in making art? If you are, you might be interested in getting to know another hidden gem in the field of creativity—the world of contemporary art. First time hearing it? No worries, we’ve got you covered.
To start off smoothly, let’s first get to know what is contemporary art.
Image taken from Cynthia Blair
What is Contemporary Art?
Contemporary art can be described as the form of art produced today. It involves all paintings, photography, sculptures, art installations, murals, video arts, and performance art made by contemporary artists at this present time. Many historians believe that contemporary art emerged between the early 60s and 70s.
One distinct characteristic present in contemporary artwork is that it reflects modern-day topics. Once you lay your eyes and try to define contemporary art, you will eventually learn how it showcases issues that tell us about our rapidly changing world. Many contemporary artists express their own personal and social identity every time they create a contemporary art. They sometimes give broad analyses of trending issues and even create a contemporary art to redefine modern art. Looking at each contemporary artwork they’ve made sometimes leads to the rise of complicated and mysterious questions—making a viewer wonder, “what is contemporary art all about?”.
Contemporary Art Vs. Modern Art
Though they may sound almost alike, contemporary art and modern art are different from each other.
Image taken from Manwork
Modern art refers to artworks and styles during the late 1880s to 1970s. Artworks under modern art are also more on paintings and drawings. On the other hand, contemporary art basically defines current works of art, specifically contemporary artworks made by living contemporary artists. Contemporary art also uses different kinds of medium in making incredible contemporary artworks. It can be through videos, random objects, technology, etc. Though both have many differences, they still have one notable similarity—they hugely impact the artistic field.
Types of Contemporary Art
Getting more curious about what is contemporary art? Well, we got more waiting for you! For this next part, we will introduce different types of contemporary art which you can enjoy learning. Who knows, one of them may not just be a hobby to you but also serve as a stepping stone for your art career.
Image taken from Elly Amelia
1. Pop Art
Pop Art is a type of contemporary art believed to be the start of everything. It was pioneered by contemporary artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. Pop art can be defined as a form of contemporary art where contemporary artists pay extra interest in showing the portrayal of mass culture in their contemporary artworks. They create unique contemporary artworks which showcase reimagined commercial products as accessible contemporary art.
2. Photorealism
Contemporary artists who worked on Photorealism have one common goal—create jaw-dropping, hyper-realistic contemporary art drawings and paintings. Photorealism can be described as a form of concurrent movement involving photographs. Contemporary artists fall in love every time they create a contemporary art through photorealism. It lets them produce accurate portraits, landscape photo prints, and many other iconographies. Some known contemporary artists of this type are Chuck Close and Gerhard Richter.
3. Minimalism
Minimalism is a form of contemporary art still rampant even today. This type of contemporary art mainly focuses on making simple, abstract, and aesthetic contemporary artworks from the word itself. Minimalist artworks also possess this inviting approach, making people think about what a specific minimalist contemporary artwork represents. Some of the most famous contemporary artists who enjoyed minimalism are Sol LeWitt, Donald Judd, and Dan Flavin.
4. Performance Art
Have you ever watched a live play? If yes, you may be familiar with this next type of contemporary art. Performance art is contemporary art that began in the early 1960s. It is an approach to contemporary art in making drama performances. Performances under this type of contemporary art showcase different modern issues that usually tell a hidden message or idea. This form of contemporary art is also one of the most popular up to this day.
5. Installation Art
Installation art is another interesting type of contemporary art that you can enjoy. In this type, three-dimensional artworks which transform are the main object. It is defined as an immersive medium of contemporary art where a viewer’s perceptions of things are altered as soon as they lay their eyes on the contemporary artwork. Most of the time, contemporary installation artworks are large-scale and even site-specific. It is like contemporary artists are making an interactive environment for their viewers. Famous installation artists include Bruce Munro, Dale Chihuly, and Yayoi Kusama.
6. Street Art
Last but definitely not the least on our list is street art. This genre of contemporary art started during the 1980s. If you enjoy looking at graffiti, this is the best type of contemporary art for you. Though it is sometimes labeled as a form of “social activism”, street artists still continue to make incredible contemporary artworks for their people. Street art includes stenciled images, graffiti, stickers, murals, and installations made in public areas where people can easily see them. Jean-Michel Basquiat and Shepard Fairey are among contemporary artists who enjoy street art-making.
Showcase Your Contemporary Artwork Online
Making contemporary artwork is a sure fun thing to do. But aside from that, did you know that you can earn your own money from actually making one? Yes! You read that right. Many contemporary artists have started to use their talents not just to express their own thoughts but also to gain some money from their own hobbies. Many contemporary artists have widely done this practice, especially now that technology dramatically helps. Want to be like them? Then, take a look at the five easy steps we’ve made to help you get started on selling contemporary artwork online.
Image taken from Drawing on Experience
1. Create A Plan
The first step in starting your own contemporary artwork website is to decide your primary goals. How do you want to start? Do you want to earn immediately, or do you prefer taking things slowly but surely? What items do you plan to sell and how would you price them? Who is your specific target market? Do you want to manage your online store, or will you hire people?
Ask yourself these kinds of questions and use them as a guide in formulating a strategic plan for your contemporary art website. You can also use this guide to create an action plan on unexpected events which may hinder your success in managing the best contemporary artists' websites. And right after perfecting this part, you are now on for the next important step—getting the best website building platform.
2. Get An Online Platform
Online platforms play a huge role in helping you survive eCommerce. They are the ones responsible for helping you showcase your contemporary art online. Every website building platform has its own unique way of helping you reach your goals. They have different offers which can either bring you to the top or drag you down. Find the best website building platform which does not suit your taste but can also help you with what you really need.
To save yourself from picking the wrong one, do not hesitate to spend time doing background research. Take your time searching for website-building platforms that make beautiful websites and have reasonable pricing offers.
Here at Strikingly, we ensure that our users enjoy creating beautiful websites and, most importantly, get affordable offers. Our platform offers affordable website building pricing plans packed with excellent features our users can take advantage of.
3. Build Your Website
After choosing your platform for your contemporary art, you can now start building your website. Pick your template wisely and start designing your website layout. Here in Strikingly, you can quickly start your website without worrying about how to actually start one. Got zero experience in website building? No worries! Our intuitive website builder can help you start one.
You don’t need to be a pro when making a website with us. All you need is to pick your plan, choose from our huge collection of free designer templates, set up your contemporary art website, et voila! You’re good to go. You can even start your own online store in less than thirty minutes. Our website is also equipped with the best live chat support. Something came up? Hit them up and find the best solution for your worries quickly.
4. Promote
Owning a website does not end with creating one. If you seek to get more attention, you have to promote your website. You can simply do this step with Strikingly. Simply connect your contemporary art website to your social media accounts, and you're done. With this feature, you can easily share updates to your contemporary art website viewers and get more followers through your social media accounts. You can even widen your reach and let more people know about your existence. Sounds fun, right?
Image taken from Anne Sigismund
Making art is something each of us can enjoy even though we have zero clue how to do it. We just got to express ourselves and let our imagination do the work. It may sound challenging at first, but as soon as you get the grip of it, you’ll surely enjoy it along the way.
If you want to learn more about the wonders of website building, chat with us today, and let’s get you started.
