Is “contemporary” the name of an art historical period that has succeeded modernism (and postmodernism), or does “contemporaneity” mean that periodization is past (an anachronism from modernity) both in the general culture and in art? Does it then follow, as many argue, that contemporary art can only be a kind of modernism that has outlived its time? Or, as some have suggested, do the multiple modernisms and non-modern practices within twentieth century art prefigure the diversity of contemporary art?
We need to ask whether or not contemporary conditions have reshaped our conception of “the world” (in planetary terms, for example as worlds-within-the-world) and a global contemporary art. Are the evident interconnections between each region, people, city, even locality in the world today sufficient to enable us to speak of a new, contemporary phase in the “world” history of art? In his lecture Professor Smith explores these questions in relation to the ideas offered in his recent book “What is Contemporary Art?” (2009), and his forthcoming book “Contemporary Art of the World: Late Modern to Now”
- Date: Today: Monday, November 8
- Time: 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM
- Place: Russell House
- Cost: Free!
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