The world of contemporary art is rich, diverse andunpredictable (Robertson and McDaniel, 2009). What the writers really mean bythis statement is that the world of contemporary art is evolving and there arechanges that can be seen from the 1980s to the present. According to thewriters, the diversity and rapid transformations in technology together withthe change of the world demographics had driven the contemporary arts to be influx. The fast increase of immigrants due to wars, famines and economicpressures had had open up the opportunity for the artists to express theiremotions and ideas in their artworks (Robertson and McDaniel, 2009).
Because ofthe influx of this contemporary arts, there are many great artworks that aremade for public views. Public dollars funded many public art activities, makingit easier for the artists and institutions to develop their skills and hadincreased the attention to contemporary public art (Robertson and McDaniel,2009). For example, Charles Ray’s artwork of a boy with a frog that was madepublic at the Grand Canal in Venice showed the artist’s great combination ofconceptualism and humor. I personally think that this kind of public art in thepublic settings would help to promote art among the visitors and willindirectly instill a sense of appreciation towards art in themselves. The maindrivers of the changes in the world contemporary art are the changes intechnology and globalization.
The changes in technology are helping the artistsand society in expressing their ideas into a more visual image that could beseen by the world. This rise in technology not only complement the art world,but it also helps in forming new art creations. We can easily turn our ideasinto various forms of arts that we desired just with the help of technology.
Accordingto Robertson and McDaniel (2009), the computer with the help of improvedtechnology makes possible the almost instantaneous dissemination of images anddata of all kinds. As we can see, the introduction of the internet and theWorld Wide Web help connecting people all over the world and make changes ofidea easier and cheaper among artists and society. Our present generation hadno difficulty in discovering art since social media such as Twitter and Blogwebsites help to link the audience, interact about art and function as thepopulist art critics (Robertson and McDaniel, 2009). I strongly believe thatinternet and social media play a great role in influencing people and youngergeneration on how important the art is and directly promotes the new ideaproduced by the local artists. Then nextimportant factor that had influenced the changes in the world contemporary artis the globalization.
According to Merriam Webster, globalization means the developmentof an increasingly integrated global economy marked especially by free trade,free flow of capital and the tapping of cheaper foreign labor markets. Theglobal economy has affected the entertainment and culture markets (Robertsonand McDaniel, 2009). The globalized market had helped the artists to promotetheir artworks throughout the world, for example through trading andinternational art fairs. In this new era, trading activities such as exportsand imports play an important role in boosting up the economic and socialgrowth.
An artwork is being traded between countries and exchange of ideas isbeing made with the help of globalization. Besides, artists would enjoy a wholebunch of great opportunities in this globalized economy in promoting andexpanding their artworks around the world, without barriers. As a result of theglobalization, artists could benefit from a higher profit when their artworksare being marketed internationally. As mentioned in the article titled “Globalization of the Art Market; Good, Bad, andInteresting”, there is a dramatic increase in lower-priced works (thoseunder $10K), rising to 56% of the market share due to the globalization of theart market.
As an Economics major, I cannot deny that globalization is a key toa great economy and that it has helped the mobility of artists from countriesall around the world. Conclusively, it istrue that contemporary arts have gone through many changes and improvementsover the past several years, making it accessible to every person in the world.These changes in globalization and technology help in promoting art globallywith fewer costs. I am so blessed to be born in a generation where art is beingpromoted everywhere in diverse designs and being able to appreciate the meaningof each artwork.
