Arts & Ecology Blog

Temporary Art

The term “temporary art” is sometimes used to describe the genre of art commonly referred to as installation art, which first gained popularity in the late 1960s; however, installation art can be either permanent or temporary. Both nomenclatures are used to describe art that relies more on the sensory reaction of the viewer than a more academic appreciation in a traditional setting. Perhaps no other cultural phenomenon better illustrates the influence of temporary art than the Burning Man festival held each summer in the Black Rock desert near Reno, Nevada.

Since its inception in 1986, Larry Harvey, founder of the Burning Man project, has encouraged artists to create temporary works for the week-long event, especially collaborative pieces of art that generate interaction with the festival’s participants. Following the tradition of the “burning man,” whose effigy is set on fire at the conclusion of the festival, many of the temporary art installations are burned as well, synchronous with a core ethos of Burning Man to leave the desert as pristine at the end of the festival as at the beginning.

Inspired by the success of temporary art at Burning Man, in 2001, Burning Man founders created the Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF), an organization that promotes community-based art projects encouraging social participation. BRAF provides grants to installation artists, and works directly with communities to foster art outside traditional models and institutions. BRAF occasionally facilitates reproducing art originally exhibited at Burning Man, proving that “temporary” art can recur again and again.

Modern Art

Although many would consider art that has been composed within the last few years as modern, that is incorrect. Art that is being or has been created since 1960-1970 is considered Contemporary Art. Modern Art is art that was created from around the late 1860's until the 1960's or 1970's.

Dubbed "Modern Art" due to the experimentation with paints and other mediums, Modern Art did away with the past reflections and considerations as to what constituted Art. One major characteristic of Modern Art was the use of abstraction. Although their works are not considered Modern Art, the Romantic and Impressionist artists of the earlier 1800's are thought to be the pioneers of Modern Art. Although Modern Art is considered to have started in the late 1860's, the term was not used until 1939, when American art critic Clement Greenburg coined the phrase while referring to a piece of art by Jackson Pollack.

Modern Art is also referred to as the art of the -isms. Examples include cubism made popular by Pablo Picasso, Fauvism, created by the young, hedonistic artists in Paris, such as Matisse, and Surrealism, the art that scared and surprised, by such artists as Munch.

Modern Art is not simply exemplified in paintings, but was also shown in free formed abstract sculptures, papier mache, and steel workings. Popular in Europe at the end of the 19th century, the United States did not become a center for Modern Art until after artists moved to America after World War l.