Many people think they understand nothing about contemporary art. It is therefore reserved for intellectuals or, at the very least, a well-informed public. It’s true that it conveys an aura of elitist art, often reflecting the social status of those who appreciate it.
I think the reality is more nuanced and less rigid.
You simply have to dare to push open the door of a contemporary art gallery or museum. Contemporary art is no longer just figurative; it can be abstract, ephemeral, a performance, an installation – in short, it uses every possible medium. It uses digital technology, waste, the body in motion, etc. It is a vector for concepts, and often a committed one. Today, the freedom to create is infinite.
Increasingly, museums dedicated to this art form are offering audio guides that situate the works in their cultural and historical contexts, enabling us (at last) to understand what the artist was aiming for, if not to appreciate it.
Here are a few keys to understanding art in general:
- The artistic approach, which is a kind of introduction to the artist’s general work.
- The creative process, which is often a short text that sheds light on the artist’s vision, what he wishes to express through his work, and what was exploited and explored during its creation.
We can also leave aside certain rhetorical, falsely intellectual texts that we might consider to be ‘bullshit’, whose sole aim is to influence us to see a minimalist, banal or hideous object as a work of art. In my opinion, this is mainly due to the fact that many works of art are only used for tax exemption purposes. And to get the price down, people will write anything!
In my view, contemporary art is above all a way of re-evaluating historical aesthetic standards, and artistic canons are constantly evolving.
Now it’s up to each individual to find what moves them the most, without necessarily wanting to understand everything at all costs, but just by breaking down certain mental barriers. Let’s allow ourselves to appreciate or detest a contemporary work without attaching importance to general approval.