(Content warning: some videos [especially Understanding Contemporary Art 8.1] show artworks with unsettling themes or images of blood.)
With our winter break coming to a close and lockdown forging on, we could all use some lighthearted entertainment. As the winter term starts and students gain excitement for a new beginning (and new year), there is an opportunity to learn and expand our art education. Abbozzo Gallery is helping make art education easier and more accessible with a new educational project. This unique, video-based project is broken down into eight chapters: chapter 1: introduction to modern and contemporary art, chapter 2: understanding an artwork, chapter 3: starting an art collection, chapter 4: the art market, chapter 5: investing in art, chapter 6: the role of commercial art galleries, chapter 7: conceptual art, and chapter 8: photography.
This organizational method allows for easier access and absorption. The videos are collected through YouTube, which provides captions for those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, and the descriptive nature of the videos allows for the visually impaired to participate. There is a concern regarding some of the videos that rely heavily on images, however, meaning that visually impaired individuals cannot utilize them in their learning. Each section provides a series of videos presented as lessons, interviews, documentaries, and panel discussions to help us consume the material while teaching us about art.
Although the videos differ in length and in publication date, this does not dictate the amount of information given. Some shorter videos focus on one subject and look at it in depth, while longer ones provide overviews of modern and contemporary art and vice versa. The amount learned from each video simply depends on how much time or interest you have to give; one can still gain a good basis of understanding by picking and choosing videos with the presentation format that best works for them. I will not be discussing each video in length but will highlight some key points or ideas.
chapter 1 starts with a video about abstract art. It discusses the lack of understanding that existed when abstract art first emerged. As with anything that is new and that challenges traditional ways of thinking, people initially lacked mechanisms for understanding abstract art. Artists like J.M.W. Turner, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, and Victor Hugo demonstrated that abstract style is not necessarily abrupt through their depictions of real things, like landscapes, to show that such subjects can look abstract, too. In other words, abstraction does not entail a total disregard for realism, a style that was highly regarded at the time. Abstraction was not widely accepted, as many were not used to taking on the perspective that this art form provides. This style shifted the lens by which people considered and looked at art. The change in art that abstraction demanded occurred in parallel with the changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century and the development of photography, which contributed to the emergence of abstract art.
The development of photography allowed artists to pursue their interests in depicting natural things in non-naturalistic ways, as seen in the works of Matisse and Andre Derain at the turn of the twentieth century. Before photography, people wanted to depict and have things depicted as accurately as possible, which allowed art to act as a form of record. With the development of photography, a medium that takes a snapshot of the scene or subject in front of the lens at a given moment, artists were allowed to begin experimenting with the abstract and non-realistic. As a result, new art movements occurred such as Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, etc.
Art was used to portray new thoughts, feelings, levels of consciousness, and processes while calling on works from many different cultures. This widespread art movement allowed for subjectivity, and it has a timeless quality of critically analyzing art and our world. Although many saw abstract art as a drastic change, abstract forms had already existed in the traditional world (e.g. religion, currency).
Some of these educational videos use sophisticated terminology (which is usually defined or explained), while others use pop-culture references relevant to the time of publication to help viewers gain an understanding of the material. For example, the second video gives basic information—like the fact that modern art embodied an era of experimentation spanning approximately from the 1860s to the 1970s—to the analysis of such information, as is seen with the statement that art mirrors society, thus allowing viewers to analyze themselves and the world. Given that the video was produced in 2014 and was intended for junior/senior high students, it provides a good starting point for those new to art history while solidifying the knowledge of those previously acquainted with it. The second video, like many others, provides a general overview of art history leading up to the birth of modern art and modernism itself. Since these videos were produced earlier in time, some of the beliefs or theories purported about art reflect the scholarship at that time. It is important to note that art continues to grow and change.
The next few video chapters are a series of contemporary and modern art classes from Open Online Academy, New York. The instructor uses his own literature to teach and provides a more thorough account of art compared to the previous video. By using and explaining relevant terminology, the instructor allows viewers to become familiar with such terms and learn how to apply them to art. He importantly points out a helpful tool for understanding new art forms: by juxtaposing them with the prior style(s). The instructor pinpoints Manet’s Music in the Tuileries, 1862 as the hallmark of the turn to modernist art, regarding the lack of both a vanishing point and the traditional use of depth. This series has specific videos on particular artists to better contextualize one’s understanding of modern art, and concludes with contemporary art. The use of well-known artists grabs the attention of newcomers while adding some lesser-known paintings for comparison. Artists such as Duchamp, Kiefer, Pollock, and Rothko are discussed in terms of their contributions to modern art and the beginnings of contemporary art, which started around 1960.
An analysis of these art movements allows one to identify the questions that such movements raised about art, like with ready-made art. The focus on meaning and challenging the definitive was new to people who were used to looking at realistic artistic compositions. Many people disliked and continue to dislike modern and contemporary art but fail to recognize its meaning and significance. Understanding contemporary art first requires learning more about it, which, in a way, makes this art less intellectually accessible. Like abstract art, ready-made works use the familiar (i.e., recognizable forms) and change or challenge their meaning in an engaging, philosophical discourse.
Ready-made art or paintings like Whistler’s challenge the definition of art (is art really even definitive?). A video from The Guardian also questions art, in an honest way, by asking and suggesting answers to the question, “What is art for?” Important ideas are called into question regarding who gets to define art. In Whistler’s case, he was central to debates and underwent lawsuits that called these exact ideas into question.Although these videos focus on the most popular or important pieces of these artistic movements, one should note that there were many contributions to these movements from all over the globe. Europe, especially Italy and France, was seen as the birthplace of or leading contributor to many art styles, but one should still consider art coming from all areas during these times.
The TEDx Cornell Tech chapter addresses common issues and challenges faced when considering modern and contemporary art in order to help viewers understand the role and social impact of these movements. The video argues for an increasing inaccessibility to art, which is ironic if you think about it. In the age of technology, art is more physically available, yet to many is considered more intellectually out-of-reach. Overall, this video suggests some reasons for this and how we can ameliorate them.
Although technology is quite impressive, it is not seamless, as exemplified in the next video’s play-back issue (which may be dependent on the specifics of location or network connection—another downfall of technology that I am sure many of us are familiar with).
I hope that the discussion of Abbozzo Gallery’s educational project has sparked your interest. As aforementioned, this is not a comprehensive summary of the entire chapter but highlights some important and interesting ideas that are cohesive throughout the chapter. with art, it is best to be your own critic and go and judge for yourself. I hope you enjoy the project and take this opportunity to learn more about art!
