What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say “Masterpiece”? Maybe it’s Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Van Gogh’s Starry Night? What about a banana duct taped to a wall? Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian”. While that might sound like some bizarre joke, that banana is a modern art piece that is simply made up of a banana and a piece of duct tape, both frequently refreshed for the longevity of the piece. You may say “well that sounds absurd”, but don’t worry, that’s a sentiment held by a large part of the art community. In fact, modern day art as a whole has split the entire online art community into factions. One believes its validity and importance, while the more outspoken side believes that it shouldn’t even be considered art at all instead, abiding by traditional art standards. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see disparaging comments in the posts of modern artists. As an artist myself, I believe that modern day art should be recognized for challenging the limits of art’s definition and who can express themselves with it.
It is said that art is a vital piece in the spectrum of expression as it provides us with an outlet to convey emotions that can’t be expressed through word of mouth or in the lines of poetry. With this understanding, it becomes easier to see modern day art’s importance. With the classic definitions of art being challenged, it makes it more accessible to those who want to provide the world with their own view of the world around them, essentially giving individuals a microphone in the form of a paintbrush and letting them fill the air with a voice that might not have been heard otherwise. This has brought us inventive new works, from artists using mediums that might not have even been considered art in the past. One example of this is an artwork by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu labeled “Can’t Help Myself”. The piece itself is a large robotic arm in a room, tasked with the repetitive job of cleaning the room of a red liquid which is constantly seeping from itself.
With pieces of art that stray so far from the classic norms like this one, how do we judge art at all? Usually it’s judged solely on its visual aspects, but I believe today we should continue to move away from judging art solely on its visual qualities. People should instead look more deeply at their meaning as it could be held in artworks that don’t fit past standards.
One artist who encapsulates this idea is Keith Haring, known for his colorful stick figures. On the surface, Haring’s pieces can be seen as mere silly expressions, but with a deeper look into the meaning of his pieces, they are in fact commentaries on the issues of his time, such as the Aids epidemic, for example, which took his life sadly at 31.
In all, I believe that modern art holds a special place within our society and should be more widely accepted as it challenges our standards of self-expression by providing more people with a voice. So the next time you’re in a gallery and find yourself puzzled by a work, take time to think and feel, you may have just found yourself a masterpiece.
