Chapter 31: Contemporary Art Worldwide Chapter Sheet
Preview: Since the 1980s, artists worldwide have used art to explore a range of themes, from individual concerns to pressing political issues. A host of artists, including David Wojnarowicz, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Shahzia Sikander, have used art to examine sexuality and gender, while many African-American artists such as Lorna Simpson and David Hammons focus on racial identity and inequality. Abstract and figural painters and sculptors across the world continue pursue innovations in representational form and novel uses of material. Artists such as Maya Lin, Richard Serra, and Christo and Jeanne-Claude work site-specifically and bridge the gap between architecture and sculpture. Architecture has become a particularly diverse practice in recent decades, as architects pursue postmodernist, Hi-Tech, Deconstructivist and green building approaches. New technology has had a profound impact on art, allowing new forms of visual expression and multimedia spectacle never before possible.
Key Art & Architectural Terms: installations, Postmodernism, Deconstructivism, green architecture, site-specificity
List of Artworks (22 Cards Total)
1. Chapter 31 Context Card
Social Art: Gender and Sexuality:
2. Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face), 1981—pg.943
3. Robert Mapplethorpe, Self-Portrait, 1980—pg. 944
Social Art: Race, Ethnicity, and National Identity:
4. Faith Ringgold, Who’s Afraid of Aunt Jemima?, 1983—pg.946
5. Jean-Michel Basquiat, Horn Players, 1983—pg. 947
6. Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People), 1992—pg. 940-941
Political Art:
7. Shirin Neshat, Allegiance and Wakefulness, 1994—pg. 952
8. Krzysztof Wodiczko, The Homeless Projection, 1986—pg. 952
9. Xu Bing, A Book from the Sky, 1987—pg. 953
Abstract Painting and Sculpture:
10. Anselm Kiefer, Nigredo, 1984—pg. 955
11. Tara Donovan, Untitled, 2003—pg. 957
Figural Painting and Sculpture:
12. Jeff Koons, Pink Panther, 1988—pg. 958
13. Marisol Escobar, Self-Portrait Looking at the Last Supper, 1982-1984—pg. 959
Architecture:
14. Frank Gehry, atrium of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museo, Bilbao, Spain, 1997—pg. 962
15. Ieoh Ming Pei, Grand Louvre Pyramide, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France, 1988—pg. 964
Environmental and Site-Specific Art:
16. Maya Ying Lin, Vietnam Veterams Memorial, Washington, D.C., 1981-1983—pg. 965
17. Richard Serra, Tilted Arc, Jacob K. Javits Federal Plaza, New York City, 1981—pg. 967
18. Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Miami, Florida, 1980-1983—pg. 968
19. Andy Goldsworthy, Cracked Rock Spiral, St. Abbs, Scotland, 1985—pg. 968
20. Keith Haring, Tuttomondo, Sant-Antonio, Pisa, Italy, 1989—pg. 969
New Media:
21. Bill Viola, The Crossing, 1996—pg. 971
22. Tony Oursler, Mansheshe, 1997—pg. 972
Exercises for Study:
1. Give examples of artworks and describe how they engage the following themes:
African-American experience:
Gender & sexual identity:
Racism & oppression:
2. Compare and contrast the key features of Postmodernist and Deconstructivist, using an example of each for reference.
3. Compare and contrast the following pairs of artworks, using the points of comparison as a guide.
A. Maya Ying Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Fig. 31-37); Richard Serra, Tilted Arc (Fig. 31-39)
· Materials, scale & form:
· Function of works:
· Relation to sites: