Vaishnavi Suren|News|January 18, 2019

For centuries, artwork was a means of communication reserved for the elite. Paintings, sculptures, and buildings were commission-based and used for the upper class to reinforce their power. In an age without monarchs and aristocrats, however, art’s role in society now emphasizes accessibility and intimacy. A world in which art was a statement of wealth and power has transformed the artist into an independent critic of society and their own personal beliefs and identities.

In her article “The Institution of Art in Postmodernity,” Nancy Hanrahan, a professor of sociology at George Mason University, said, “Many postmodern artists have challenged the art establishment’s exclusion of women, gays, and people of color. Questions of diversity, multiculturalism, ways of seeing, prejudice and stereotyping all play a role in connecting art to everyday life.”

Hanrahan’s observation on the prevalence of postmodern art’s accessibility focuses on how art addresses societal issues. As art has become more accessible, works have begun to express more diverse content, such as the AIDS epidemic from the 1980s and 1990s when Postmodernism first began to emerge as a style of art. Artists such as Felix Gonzalez-Torres took ordinary objects, such as beds, and added their own personal meanings to them to create artwork. Gonzalez-Torres’ piece “Untitled” is an image of a bed on a billboard, but intends to make a statement on the mass vacancies of bodies in bed (a sign of intimacy) due to deaths of millions of gay couples during the AIDS crisis.

As traditional museum pieces were transformed into more personal works, new media of art emerged that were more accessible to lower classes in society, such as graffiti, which utilizes turning words into artistic statements to increase accessibility in art. Accessibility challenges society to redefine art, making it a broader and more inclusive form of expression.

“Art has moved out of galleries for the elite and into public spaces,” said Mr. Steven Ingram, an English and AP Art History teacher at Stanton College Preparatory School. “The question, ‘what is art?’ started at the beginning of the twentieth century, with more abstract and conceptual pieces such as those of Dadaism, which questioned the meaninglessness of the modern world.”

Emerging from society’s disillusionment with World War I, Dadaism was based on rejecting the creation of “beautiful” art. Most pieces were made of everyday objects to show that art could be made out of anything and anyone could be an artist. Dadaism later went on to influence surrealism, marking the beginnings of society redefining “art.”

As the idea that anyone could be an artist gained popularity, diversity in postmodern art also contributed to its accessibility. In 1969, the Art Workers Coalition, a New-York-based group of artists, critics, and museum staff, proposed the creation of a new wing in the Museum of Modern Art. The wing would show black and Hispanic art exclusively. Two exhibitions focusing on black and Hispanic art were created by 1971, and marked the beginnings of inclusivity of minorities becoming a key aspect of the postmodern art movement.

Now that academic courses offered at high schools are becoming increasingly diverse as well, classes such as AP Art History provide insight on the evolution of art over time. This encourages students to think more critically about art and its inclusivity by providing them with an accessible curriculum of artworks to learn about.

“Teaching art history to students allows them to see and discuss a multiplicity of points of view from different eras,” said Mr. Ingram. “Students in the 21st century are living in a global environment, and this course enhances their critical thinking in a way that data collection in STEM fields does not offer.”

For many youth and marginalized groups, artwork has become a key form of expression due to its increase in accessibility. No longer exclusively for the social elite, art can now play the role of both a connection to and expression of everyday life as well as a platform for social critique. While this transformation is still in progress, it is nevertheless shaping the purpose of art through the prevalence of new media and availability of education on art in schools.

“I believe the debate on redefining art in the modern world is healthy,” said Mr. Ingram. “It forces us to recognize more diverse perspectives on global issues and teaches us new ways to express ourselves.”

Art in the Modern World

Vaishnavi Suren|News|January 18, 2019