Modern or contemporary – does there any difference lie between these two?

Every era, there are several subsets and styles that elaborates the different art aspects. The popular artists from Modern and Contemporary Art describe the beauty of art through cultural, political, human conditions, inner emotions and evolution of society. Sometimes, it’s quite difficult to understand and articulate the actual meaning of art because each reflects different interpretations. 

Even, people easily get confused while learning about different art styles like modern and contemporary. However, both terms are interchangeable and relate to more specific eras. 

So, how do you define the difference between these two terms?

Let’s help you to find the difference!

Table of Content

What’s the Difference Between Modern and Contemporary Art?

Definition

Era

Movements

Examples

Wrapping Up!

What’s the Difference Between Modern and Contemporary Art?

• Definition

Modern art belongs to art composed during a particular period before, which represents an era of “Modernism”. The time of modernism began during the 1860s, lasting up to the 1960s. Modern art defines more recent and originality, but it’s by no means current. It contains diverse movements, like impressionism, cubism, abstract art, expressionism, futurism, dadaism and surrealism. Edouard Manet was the first representative of modern art. 

On the contrary, contemporary art is formulated by living artists or those who have as of late passed or retired. It picturises the current works of art or associates with what’s being generated today. Hence, contemporary art was made onwards from the 1960s or 1970s. 

Today’s contemporary artists pick various mediums to express their art – video art, object design, tech-enabled artworks, graphics arts, etc. 

• Era

Various movements exist within each period. Each era has different central beliefs and ideologies. Modern artworks belonged to pragmatic and detailed works, which took a turn to reality and perspective. Artists of modern art were focused on exploring and representing the meaning of their art. Instead of relying on realistic representations of people and landscapes, the modern artists gave preference to the audience’s point of view. They believed in offering suggestions and meanings of what they may have been intended for along with an artistic image.  

On the other hand, contemporary artists started to focus on representing the ideas and concepts behind their artworks rather than presenting the image and its meaning. The famous Jackson Pollock splashed his inner mind and emotions through painting. Over time, contemporary art began to determine the new mediums, including installation and performance art. The overall purpose behind contemporary art is to create connection and communication between art and audience. For example, the Ganesh Gohain art gallery inscribes abstract, sculptural endeavours, and poetic visuals to allure the audience. 

• Movements

Every era is featured with different movements and styles that operate under the central concepts of parameters. The numerous movements of modern arts are Impressionism, Abstraction, Cubism and Surrealism. 

Conversely, contemporary art incorporates Pop art and Post-Impressionism, installation and performance art. The artists make representations that are current in style. But, it doesn’t mean it’s modern art. It defines that art is related to current trends. 

Examples

The world evolved quickly between 1880 to 1970, so did art styles as well. The artists came up with completely different art forms and ideas that had never been seen before. Artists started addressing arts through abstraction, symbolism, dreams, and personal iconography. Whereas, others started to focus on some non-traditional materials, presenting screen printing, photography, collage, and modern sculpture. The popular artists were Vincent Van Goh, Kandinsky, Salvador Dali, Mark Rothko, Henri Mattise, Wassily, Pablo Piccaso, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edvard Munch, Jackson Pollock, and Piet Mondrian. 

Contemporary art is recognised by technologically exceptional mediums or methods, political, social, and other current topics. Some popular contemporary artists – Yayoi Kusama, Alec Monopoly, Banksy – have picked different movements to exhibit their artwork to the world. 

Wrapping Up!

In the journey of learning and understanding different art forms, it’s necessary to familiarize yourself with different styles, eras, and classifications. For example, one of the popular artists of a Singapore art gallery displays their deeper and more thought-provoking concepts through paintings. Hence, the more you explore such fine art galleries, the easier it becomes to obtain maximum knowledge about different styles.