A Kunsthalle or Kunsthaus is a term in German-speaking regions for a facility that

mounts art exhibitions. The term roughly means "Art Gallery" in English but with a
somewhat more specific meaning.

Following a donation by sculptor Marisol Escobar in 1968, the museum soon

changed tack and began assembling a permanent collection, formalized in 1974.
With a thriving collection and the continued success of innovative and compelling
exhibitions, the MCA expanded into an adjacent three-story townhouse in 1977. The
following year saw the museum host Frida Kahlo’s landmark first U.S. exhibition.

Further success and growth throughout the 1980s necessitated another expansion,
and in 1990, the MCA sealed a move to the site of the Illinois National Guard’s
Chicago Avenue Armory, utilizing the vacant building for Art at the Armory:
Occupied Territory (1992) before its demolition. In 1996, the brand new building
designed by German architect Josef Paul Kleihues was unveiled, with more than
25,000 people attending a 24-hour preview for the public. With seven times the
gallery space of the previous building, a sculpture garden, and a brand new
performing arts theater and program called MCA Stage, the new building
quadrupled MCA’s visitors in its first year alone.

With 50 years of history and a remit to continue to celebrate the best contemporary
and local art and culture, the MCA remains a vital part of Chicago’s art scene. It’s
closed on Mondays, free for Illinois residents on Tuesdays, and the suggested
admission is $12 for adults and $7 for students and seniors.
The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the most visited museums in the world,
preserving some of art history’s oldest and most beloved masterpieces. We profile
ten must-see works at his Chicago institution.
Throughout the fifties, the ICA became known for groundbreaking exhibitions,
including those held by members of the Independent Group such as Growth and
Form (1951) and Parallel of Art And Life (1953). Aside from its associations with proto-
Pop artists such as Richard Hamilton and Eduardo Paolozzi, the ICA also staged
exhibitions by Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud, and Pablo Picasso, as well as attracting
a raft of engaged designers and architects to include J. G. Ballard, Terence Conran
and Jane Drew

Modern, contemporary. Contemporary, modern. These terms are often used

interchangeably. So is there actually any difference between them? And if so, why?

One answer is simple: time. Modern art came before contemporary art. But as well
as time difference, there are also other differences—in method, medium, and
approach. And when we talk about modern and contemporary art, we’re also
talking about lots of different movements and forms, from Post-Impressionism, to
Dada, to Pop Art, to Installation Art.
Key difference: Modern art refers to artistic works produced in the period beginning
in the 1860s and ended in the 1970s. Contemporary art follows modern art,
beginning from 1970s to now and ongoing.

Modern vs Contemporary Art

In art, modern and contemporary forms are largely interchangeable. People often
use the term “modern” for describing some art form of recent times. Actually, this art
form is considered contemporary.
Modern and contemporary art are art forms of two different times. Modern art refers
to the period that began in the 1860s and that lasted until the 1970s. Contemporary
art can be said to be the art that was developed after the 1970s and is still emerging.
Artists like Van Gogh and Manet are credited with revolutionizing the art in the 1880s
and giving a new realm to it. Modern art broke away from the conventional forms of
art. They emphasized on the subjective representation of subjects rather than
focusing on realism that was prevalent before the 1880s. Modern art had its unique
style and reflected the inner and the outer world. Modern art focused on surrealism
rather than depicted life as perceived by the church or the influential in society.

Contemporary art is one created by artists who are still living. The late 1900s saw major
social, political, and cultural reformations across the world which had greatly
influenced this art form. There was no rigid form in contemporary art, but some rigid
forms could be seen in modern art. Every topic of relevant significance like
globalization, global warming, human rights, environmental destruction were
reflected in the contemporary arts.

Unlike modern art, contemporary art has some social impact. Moreover,
contemporary artists had significant freedom and liberty to experiment with all styles.
Modern artists tend to find the pure idea of art. Contemporary artists are very liberal
in their attitudes, and they are least concerned about purity in art.
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A B S TR A C T E X P R E S S I O N I S M
Abstract expressionism is the term applied to new forms of abstract art developed
by American painters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de
Kooning in the 1940s and 1950s. It is often characterised by gestural brush-strokes
or mark-making, and the impression of spontaneity
What is Kinetic Art? – Characteristics

In visual art, the term kinetic art, derived from the Greek word kinesis, refers to works
that incorporate real or apparent movement. It explores how things look when they
move, so in its widest definition, kinetic art embraces a huge number of different art
forms, as well as media types and styles. Thus, for instance, it may include cinematic
and animation art, happenings and other types of performance art such as mime,
clockwork/ clocktower figurines, stroboscopic or light-related artworks (Lumino
Kinetic art), land art or any artifact that disappears (snowman) or undergoes a
process of visual change, robotic art, motion graphics and other artworks created
with new media technologies. It also incorporates Op art paintings, drawings and
prints, whose 'motion' is merely an optical illusion. The most famous works of Kinetic
art, however, are various types of hand-powered or motor-
powered sculpture by Jean Tinguely, and mobiles invented by Alexander Calder,
whose movement is caused by air currents.

Op Art or Optical Art is the term used to describe paintings or sculptures which seem
to swell and vibrate through their use of optical effects. The movement'sleading
figures were Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely who used patterns and colours in their
paintings to achieve a disorientating effect on the viewer.

a form of abstract art that gives the illusion of movement by the precise use of
pattern and color, or in which conflicting patterns emerge and overlap. Bridget
Riley and Victor Vasarely are its most famous exponents.

The Gutai Group was one of the most important artist collectives in postwar Japan.
Founded by Yoshihara Jirō in 1954 near Osaka, its name translates as “concrete,” a
reflection of the artists’ desire to push beyond the abstract painting of the day with
experiments in pure materiality. Using everything from mud and Elmer’s glue to
plastic tubing and sound art, these artists strove to create new, vital experiences
that blurred the boundaries between art and life. Early experiments, such as Kazuo
Shiraga’s calligraphic paintings made by smearing paint around on a canvas,
evoking the gestural abstraction of Jackson Pollock or Art Informel, were soon
followed by an emphasis on performances, immersive installations, and video. For a
nation recently defeated in World War II and emerging from the shadow of
totalitarianism, Gutai’s call for vitality, play, and new artistic frontiers served as a jolt
to a culture of consensus. The group actively promoted itself abroad through the
distribution of mail art and a well-circulated journal, and in 1958 prominent New
York dealer Martha Jackson staged an exhibition of their work. Gutai’s focus on
performance and materiality has often been cited as a precursor to Arte
Povera and performance art of the 1960s.
MINIMALISM
Minimalism is an extreme form of abstract art developed in the USA in the 1960s
and typified by artworks composed of simple geometric shapes based on the
square and the rectangle

P O S T MO D E R N I S M
Postmodernism can be seen as a reaction against the ideas and values of
modernism, as well as a description of the period that followed modernism's
dominance in cultural theory and practice in the early and middle decades of the
twentieth century. The term is associated with scepticism, irony and philosophical
critiques of the concepts of universal truths and objective reality.

During the 1960s when postmodernism was first used to describe contemporary art,
it was generally understood that it meant that a work of art was not only
chronologically “after” modernism, it was also “against” it, rejecting the dominant
art movement of the twentieth century’s ideology. Postmodernism has since
become an accepted descriptive term for culture during the final decades of the
twentieth century. But what does it mean for art (architecture, literature, dance,
music, film, fashion) to be “postmodern”?

Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the United Kingdom and the United
States during the mid- to late-1950s. The movement presented a challenge to
traditions of fine art by including imagery from popular and mass culture, such as
advertising, comic books and mundane cultural objects

The term Pop-Art was invented by British curator Lawrence Alloway in 1955, to
describe a new form of "Popular" art - a movement characterized by the imagery
of consumerism and popular culture.

In a way, Pop Art was a reaction to the seriousness of Abstract Expressionist Art. Pop
Art is meant to be fun. Pop Art began in the 1950s, but became very popular in the
1960s. It started in the United Kingdom, but became a true art movement in New
York City with artists like Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns.

Skepticism wagers that it is unfathomably possible to obtain ultimate truth or

knowledge. Etymologically derived from the Greek verb skeptomai, meaning “to
search,” skepticism is the practice of learning, of making the sincere effort to obtain
full truth and knowledge. This line of philosophical inquiry follows in the tradition of
Plato. In Plato’s works, he’d often establish a setting where Greek philosophers
(particularly curated by Socrates), politicians, and other notable individuals
debated over topics as broad as love, government, and purpose.
The Difference Between the Modern and
Contemporary Art
In the English language, ‘modern’ and ‘contemporary’ are synonyms. Unfortunately, in
the art world, these two terms describe two different times of creation and two different
approaches to art making and the functionality of art, and more often than not they
create the biggest confusion. For the understanding of the Contemporary Art category,
we must first understand the difference between the two.

The term Modern Art is usually associated with art made during the period extending
roughly between the 1860s and 1970s. The art made during this period celebrated
experimentation and placed traditions of the past aside. Experimenting with different
materials and ways of seeing art, the functionality of art developed with the move away
from the narrative, characteristic of the traditional arts, towards abstraction. This
newfound freedom and revolutionary way of relying on the inner visions and expression
of such visions marks the biggest influence of Modern Art. This reflected not only the
move towards non-figuration but also influenced the approach to real life, social issues
and images of modern life.

The Cut-Off
For many, the cut-off period, or the end of Modern Art is marked in the year of 1970’s and
with the birth of the term Postmodern. Towards the end of the 20th century, with the
development of technology, we see the rise of the Video Art and Performance Art,
alongside the experimentation and appropriation from multiple disciplines and sources.
At the same time, we also see the rise of the theory and philosophy research into the
term Postmodern and the dominance of the present, where the focus is on what we have
in front of us, and that’s what demands the knowledge into the latest trends. Now, this is
the time when everything starts to build up and form this eclectic and diverse
Contemporary art.

View and explore contemporary art on Widewalls Marketplace!

Influenced by the postmodern ideas that everything is fragmented and at the same time
an entity on its own accord, questioning every definition, creates the governing spirit
behind the Contemporary Art category. With its diversity and the challenging
nature, Contemporary Art offers works with a dynamic combination of materials,
methods, concepts and subjects that challenge the traditional and defy easy
definition. Artists explore ideas, concepts, questions and practices of the past with the
aim to understand the present and envision the future. It is due to the diversity of
these approaches that Contemporary Art is often viewed as lacking a uniform organized
principle, ideology or label and at times so straight forward that the public is left wondering
if they are missing something.

What is a Contemporary Art Subject?

Long gone is the idea that the Artist is the sole author of the work. With the
development of Contemporary Art, the audience became an integral piece in the
creation of the meaning and reflections of the created works. The process becomes
important and the variety of different approaches helps create different categories within
a category. This escape away from the dominant definition only strengthens the
postmodern spirit. In comparison to one of the dominant and influential movements of
Modern Art, Abstract Expressionism, Contemporary Art seems to lack that shared idea
and expression, since the time that the Contemporary art is created is the time of
constant questions, re-evaluations, and experimentation. This experimentation is leaving
nothing sacred. Everything is up for grabs and everything can be Art. Due to all of this, the
subjects of the contemporary works, followed by the trend of the moment, create the
trend of the moment themselves and always attempt to expand the ideas of what is
considered to be Art in the first place. Topics of such works, more often than not, reflect
the heated issues of the contemporary society with the aim to re-define the world and
accepted values.

In The End
What are we to do now? If there is a certain feeling that the dominant definition is
missing, and the variety of approaches to Art is endless, how are we to understand the
difference between Contemporary and Modern Art? What seems to be one of the biggest
differences between the two categories is in this – Modern Art referenced the past and
with this reference and appropriation, it attempted to understand the present time.
Contemporary art also aims to understand the present, but the present itself is now
more fragmented and shape-shifting. In this setting, the works produced can only
reference the vastness of the variety on offer and since the category demands one be
aware of the world around them, the issues questioned are just like the wind. They are
there and they influence how we see and relate to the world but the next minute,
something new comes up and the focus shifts.