Art in the 21st Century

Visitors at The Museum of Modern Art in front of Julie Mehretu, Empirical

Construction, Istanbul, 2003, ink and synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 10' x
15' (304.8 x 457.2 cm). Photo: thatgirl
Visitors at The Museum of Modern Art in front of Julie Mehretu, Empirical Construction, Istanbul, 2003, ink
and synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 10' x 15' (304.8 x 457.2 cm). Photo: thatgirl

Introduction
21st-century art is a burgeoning field of practice, research, and publication,
making it an incredibly dynamic field of study. Many important topics have
been resonating in the new century and inspiring new thinking and scholarly
debate, such as the surge of bio art in response to scientific research in the
life sciences, and the critical theory known as relational aesthetics that
developed in response to an increase in art that invites viewers’ participation
and interaction. Other topics that were much-discussed in the late 20th
century remain vital for the analysis of 21st-century art and visual culture,
including semiotics, post-modernism, and feminism.

Art of the 21st century emerges from a vast variety of materials and means.
These include the latest electronic technologies, such as digital imaging and
the internet; familiar genres with a long history that continue to be practiced
with great vigor, such as painting (see, for example, the work of Julie
Mehretu and Shahzia Sikander); and materials and processes once associated
primarily with handicrafts, re-envisioned to express new concepts. Many
artists regularly and freely mix media and forms, making the choices that best
serve their concepts and purposes. Activities vary from spectacular projects
accomplished with huge budgets and extraordinary production values to
modest endeavors that emphasize process, ephemeral experiences, and a do-
it-yourself approach. The notion of influences has also shifted with changes
in communications and technology; every location around the world has
artists who respond to local geographies and histories as well as the sway of
global visual culture.

Globalization
Wangechi Mutu, Complete Prolapsus of the Uterus, 2004, Glitter, ink, collage
on found medical illustration paper, 46 x 31cm
Wangechi Mutu, Complete Prolapsus of the Uterus, 2004, glitter, ink, collage on found medical illustration
paper, 46 x 31cm

A key feature of the art scene in the 21st century (and of many sectors of
21st-century life) is the impact of globalization – the accelerating
interconnectivity of human activity and information across time and space.
Aided by the internet and mass media, awareness of the vitality of
contemporary art in localities around the globe has grown exponentially.
Anyone with access to the internet can follow developments in Shanghai,
Sydney, São Paulo, or Nairobi. Simultaneously the increased movement of
artists across borders and oceans has added to the intermixing of influences
and artistic vocabularies. For example, Wangechi Mutu, originally from
Kenya, pursued further education in South Wales and then in the United
States. Her collaged images of women are informed by African tribal arts,
20th-century European and American collage artists, and the latest
illustrations from fashion, pornography, and medical sources.

The meaning and consequences of globalization are much debated by

scholars. Economically and politically, is globalization a force for growth and
freedom in societies everywhere, or does it contribute to further exploitation
of developing regions by the wealthy? Does globalization work in different
ways in different localities?

Regarding globalization and art, do practices in Asia, Africa, the Middle East,
and elsewhere challenge the traditional assumptions and value judgments that
are the basis of the Western canon? Are Western institutions rethinking that
canon or simply adding art from other places to their rosters in a token and
uncritical gesture of inclusivity? How do curated exhibitions that address
themes of globalization represent artists from various parts of the world? The
expanding art market and the proliferation of biennials and art fairs helped a
select group of artists from every continent to gain an international presence;
but have the underlying structure and values of the art market changed
otherwise?

Visual culture
In the 21st century visual culture has grown as a recognized interdisciplinary
field of study, taking a multi-faceted approach to understanding how images
of all types communicate and participate in the construction of identity,
gender, class, power relationships, and other social and political meanings
and values. Medicine, science, politics, consumer culture, and religion and
spirituality are some of the arenas that visual culture studies examine along
with art. Visual culture scholars analyze film, television, graphic novels,
fashion design, and other forms of popular culture in addition to established
fine art media such as painting, and they draw upon many methodologies and
theories, including semiotics, sociology, psychoanalysis, reception theory,
feminism, and the concept of the gaze, to name a few.

Just as visual culture scholars are examining images and media of all types
so, too, are 21st-century artists drawing inspiration, imagery, materials, and
concepts from diverse areas of culture, moving well beyond influences from
the history of fine art and design. The world of professional sports and fanatic
fans has been a topic for Paul Pfeiffer, while the commercial television
industry has informed various video installations by Christian Jankowski.

Wim Delvoye, Study # 147, 2004, pencil, colour pencil, marker & sticker on
paper, 77 x 112 cm
Wim Delvoye, Study # 147, 2004, pencil, colour pencil, marker & sticker on paper, 77 x 112 cm
Most contemporary artists do not draw rigid distinctions between high art and
popular culture. For instance, a number of contemporary artists embrace
traditional techniques of fiber art but use them to create unorthodox forms or
address current social and political issues. Along these lines, Ghada Amer has
used thread to embroider on canvas repeated motifs of nude women engaged
in sexual acts, then partially obscured the embroidered images with gestural
painted brushstrokes. Her themes include the expression and repression of
female sexuality and eroticism in both Western and Islamic societies.
Another example of intermixing visual cultures is the complex array of
interactions between science and contemporary art, with many artists
engaging with scientific imagery and ideas in their practice. For example,
Wim Delvoye’s ongoing series called Cloaca imagines humans as cyborgs,
representing the human digestive system as a kind of biomechanical
contraption. Finally, many 21st-century artists are deeply affected by their
immersion in global visual culture, which is now made vividly present
through online networks. Many artists maintain a personal website, and some
create art expressly for dissemination through social media. As always, new
technologies provide new opportunities and challenges.

Public and participatory art

Public art was a well-established genre by the late 20th century, attracting
both traditional and experimental practitioners. Public art in the 21st century
has expanded even more as a field of activity in which creative investigation
can take place. In addition to continuing familiar forms such as site-specific
monuments, murals, graffiti, and collaborations between artists, engineers,
and architects, public art encompasses new purposes, forms, and locations,
including pop-up art shops, street parades, and online projects. Public artists
in the 21st century might use established approaches such as installation and
performance but introduce new variations. For instance, it is now common
for artists to hire other people, sometimes with special skills, to undertake
performances on their behalf. In this vein, Vanessa Beecroft hired fashion
models for performances, and the collaborative artists Allora & Caldazilla
directed professional athletes as performers in some of their installations.

A pronounced tendency in the 21st century has been art that is participatory,
in which the social interactions prompted by a work become its content.
Often called relational art, the work literally engages the public in some way.
For instance, Carsten Höller has installed giant slides in museums for visitors
to slide down, and Rirkrit Tiravanija has prepared Thai food and served it to
gallery goers. Artists attracted by the immediacy and connectivity of globally
networked media often create online projects that invite social interaction.
Relational aesthetics has developed (and been contested) as a critical theory
for analyzing and evaluating such undertakings. Key questions in these
debates include: Does it matter if the social interactions prompted by such
works promote a better world or are conviviality and entertainment sufficient
goals? To what extent should the physical products of relational art (such as
Höller’s slides) be evaluated aesthetically as well as for their social effects?

The 21st century is just beginning—issues and ideas are evolving rapidly and
new artists are constantly gaining attention and influence.

Essay by Jean Robertson, Chancellor’s Professor of Art History, Herron

School of Art and Design, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

This content was first developed for Oxford Art Online and appears courtesy
of Oxford University Press. Visit to learn more about contemporary art and
see a list of significant 21st-century artists.