Is modern Art rubbish?

Question

I went to the tate modern and couldn't decide

Answer 1

best deals are at the dump!

Answer 2

Think about this question with a bit more insight and you should see it can't really be answered properly - it covers too broad a subject! You could replace moden art with any other category e.g. food in France, rock music, television, and get a lot of conflicting answers. If art matters to you (it does to me) then through attending exhibitions and developing a critical sense you'll grow to understand what works for you and be articulate about what doesn't work. Please bear in mind just because something is not readily understandable does not mean it is not of value or the product of a charlatan. Look, compare, return and look again. It's a slow but deeply rewarding activity - personally I find most of my enjoyment in art pre 1970's - after that I find it gets too conceptual and not sufficiently visually arresting for my tastes. Everyone has different ideas of what constitutes 'modern art'. Modernism, post-modernism, Abstract art, conceptualism: still broad terms but at least these are all sub-headings under this very broad term: Modern Art (beware the Daily Mail blinkers!). Tip: If you haven't done so already go and see the Rodin show at the RA. He was considered 'too modern' by many people 100 years ago, but now the links back to Michelangelo and Egyptian art is clear and his importance not in doubt.

Answer 3

Well, it's subjective. Just as we don't all like the same kind of music "That's not music, it's just noise!" we can't all appreciate the same kind of art. I didn't used to like modern art. I didn't understand it & I thought it was silly. Now, because I love contemporary interior design, I have a new appreciation for modern art because it works so well in a modern space. You just can't expect modern art to be what representational art is. It's different. It's more about a statement. Patterns & effects, shapes. It started as a reaction against realistic art. Once they invented the camera, why do we need to bother painting exactly what we see? Why not do something else? Some modern art is deliberately silly or irreverent. It's a reaction. I actually love Picasso now & I can appreciate the beauty & randomness in a Pollock. I love Kandinsky's sense of colour. I'm most partial to Expressionists who paint what they feel.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Sure, to some it may be rubbish. To another it may be a priceless treasure.

Answer 4

You have to understand the history of art to understand how styles in modern art developed.

After the invention of photography in the late 1800's, it became unnecessary for artists to continue painting in a realistic manner, hence, the beginning of abstract art!

Also art up until 1900 who usually patronized by the church or the wealthy elite, who determined the subject matter for artists.

Throughout the 1900's artists began exploring a variety of different subjects including urban landscape (the Futurists), dreams (the Surrealists), colors (the Fauvists), visual and verbal puns (the Cubists and the Dadaists), etc.

By the 1960's artists became interested in industrial production and commercial imagery which ushered in the advent of pop art, where common images from advertising were painted in repetition. Or sculptures were made in factories, using new materials and often repeating forms and shapes, in response to mass production.

There is way too to much to say about this subject, and I know my summary was very brief. but I think modern art is fascinating.

If you have a chance, read "Art on the Edge and Over:Searching for Arts Meaning In Contemporary Society 1970's-1990's" by Linda Weintraub. The book discusses a few important artists and their works from the end of the twentieth century.

P.S. Did you get to go down the slide???????

Answer 5

It depends what you mean by 'Modern Art'. Do you mean 'Modern Art' to be something modern that has come as result of previous art movents? Or do you mean something like Conceptual Art (for example Tracey Emins bed piece), Installation, or Minimilism then they aren't in fact 'modern' at all; these movements started around in the 50's/60's. Many art movements in the 20th c. have taken art away from needing to be realistic/figurative. In this case 'modern' art started roughly 140 odd years ago. 'Modern Art' as you say brings a fresh outlook to art; a lot of it being the artistic ideas and thinking behind it rather then the execution. If this is the case I think Modern Art has a value.

Answer 6

Wow! did you get a lot of answers to your questions very quickly! The worth of any type of art form will always be a hot-bed of debate. That is one of the most exciting part of creating and viewing art. (-of any kind:performance, visual,whatever) In any age the artwork is "new" or modern. Time helps weed out some of the bad or as you say, "rubbish". But that is not always the case. Some of the most breathtaking art is not seen by the general public. To sum up my answer to your question, I would like to quote my dear, deceased, very colorful, grandmother. "Honey, opinions are like a--holes, we all have one and they all stink." But then that was just her opinion!
I am curious to know what type of art you love most.

Answer 7

did you know that modern art actually spans from the renaissance through pop art (circa 1300-1970)?

the tate modern has alot of the later modern era artwork, dada, surrealism, ab ex, pop. and you have to realize that those artists were reacting against society and culture with WW II and other social changes. also photography became widely used and took away the idea of painting realistically. so art and artists began to reduce art into its purest form (the literal idea of paint on a canvas). art became more about intellectual ideas and concepts than representing what you can see!

Answer 8

How can art be rubbish? It might not be to your taste but it will be to somebodys. Personally, I haven't seen 'modern art' that I like and I certainly wouldn't go to a gallery to see it but it sells for millions all around the world every day so there has to be something good about it.

Answer 9

Modern art is not rubbish. It's just like old art except old people cant understand the meaning of it!

Answer 10

Well, since rubbish/ excrement can be modern art, does the corollory make logical sense -yes! Exciting, thought-provoking but in the end rubbish- just like all art!

Answer 11

Did you see the huge slide installation? I heard a woman on an arts review programme said it fascinated her because it tapped into the human fascination with fear and death. Dosent every slide? Yes modern art is a load of Jackson Pollocks