Globalization and Critical Approaches in Contemporary Visual Arts After 1960’s

Abstract

After the industrial revolution, modern developments began to grow and by entering to the 20th century they reached to the highest zeniths of grace consequences. Through the path to such revolution, artists displayed several tendencies in showing their interests in fast speed of modern conversions and industrial and pragmatic approaches based on new psychology and geometry. Some where praising the new world’s results and some where worshiping the power and talent within human being as the center of this glorious world of knowledge and promotion. Several styles were formed in this time to show concerns of art and modernity. Lots of artists were interested in showing the inland reality of human being. As this reality was unseen physically, the result was ascendant abstract and formalistic shapes to make it visual. Gradually, links between artists and masses got inconspicuous. Artists were part of elites of societies. Elites where cerebral wings of modernity and masses where consumers and executives of their decisions and products. So there was no role for familiar social, cultural or historical subject matters in art anymore. Artists like Jackson Pollock believed that no reality is more real than the one within them. Some like Donald Judd believed that if only one person believes that what they’ve done is art, so it is. No need to be able to communicate more. It seemed that a majority of modern movements tried to pale any sort of obvious subject matter in visual arts. In another word, what was important in visual arts was the style not the content. But a bit later, almost in sixty’s, consequences of modernism brought tones of fatal experiences for mankind. Disasters such as the two World wars, mass destruction weapons, elapse of human values, environmental pollutions, etc. Therefore modern man started to criticize himself and his product both theoretically and practically. Opposite movements began to act against modern policies. Lots of rebels and objections around the world were opposing in front samples of modernity. Artists also joined people in streets. Lots of them captured what was going on in between masses subcultures and used them in their works of art. Content was going to be more important than style gradually. After awhile western art scene found interests in other cultures and began to show interest in multiculturalism. This essay tries to study on mentioned radicalism and the critical approaches which was formed because of the failure of Modernism to. The term “critical approaches” addresses generally to radical trends which criticize negative consequences of Modernism. These tendencies are mostly based on the aims of Postmodernism in showing opposition to Modernism. Lots of theorists believe the 60’s as the time of modernism’s failure. They announce the birth of Postmodernism during this decade. The most important bases of cotemporary movements and approaches in arts where formed in that time. What this essay tries to analyze are new changes and trends which shaped after this time in the western contemporary art and then communicated to the east under the term of globalization.

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