Modern art, which had a lifespan of 90 years, was initially started by Édouard Manet. While many people adore Modern art, most dislike it. People claim it lacks originality and meaning, though I believe there is more to it.
For many years, thousands of people have been hating Modern art. People commonly say that the piece looks like the artist didn’t put any effort into it. A common phrase they say is, “I could make that painting,” whenever they see an art piece that looks easy to make. Art lovers have mixed feelings about it; some may be beautiful, while some consider it dull.
Ajay Orona, a professor at SAC who was formerly an art journalist, and Yaiza Gomez, an MCHS Freshman student who is passionate about art, hold two very different opinions about Modern art.
“It lacks creativity and time. Some people just want to make quick money and throw random paint splotches on a canvas while giving it extremely debatable meanings. While yes, art is supposed to be abstract, it should at least be shown how it connects and has something that relates to it instead of random paint splotches or colors,” Gomez said.
Many people, much like Gomez, have expressed these types of concerns. As she said, it is very debatable since different people have different opinions on that certain topic. For example, one very controversial piece of art is “Blue Poles” by Jackson Pollock, which angered many people due to the ridiculous price it commanded.
“A single dot lacks meaning because there is no time put into it and can easily be altered to have a false meaning just so it looks like real effort was put into it. Something so dull and simplistic cannot have any true meaning because it is disconnected from reality,” Gomez said
Many argue that the majority of Modern art found in museums is simple. Lots of the pieces are being purchased for thousands of dollars, while other works that had time and effort invested into them aren’t getting the recognition they deserve
“Art should be this or it should be that. So when they see abstract art, they’re like, whoa, that’s ridiculous. And they, the common phrase often is, “oh, I could do that.” They don’t say how hard that is or, often, the amount, the rigor that goes into making something that could look fairly simple just at first glance is complex, you know, or, is conveying a message, you know, about, you know, the artist’s feelings or their histories or something at large in society. And, something that could be felt if you look at it for a while. But for most people, when they don’t have that experience with abstract art, they haven’t been around too much art then. They see it and they go, abstract art is meaningless,” Orona said.
People depict Modern art in a certain way, yet art serves as a way to express creativity. Modern art was created to represent the changing world. It represents that nothing stays the same, explaining why Modern art evolves so much.
“I think it’s important to know that modern art, even though it’s modern, seems like a contemporary, what we call modern art started around the 1950s or even 1940s. That’s a long time ago, right? So it’s like our grandparents’ or even our great-grandparents’ time. So even though it’s modern, so much has changed. So it’s worth looking into the different decades. Perhaps you don’t like modern art now, or quote unquote contemporary modern art now in the 2020s, but you might like what was called modern art in the eighties or the nineties or the fifties, you know? So to me, it’s worth investigating. It’s worth looking at. So if someone were to tell me, I hate modern art, I would say all of it. Like you hate all of it across the board, like look into it. Maybe there’s something you might like, right?” Orona said.
There are many different types of genres in Modern art that you could explore that fit your personal preferences. While some may appear to lack meaning, others have the potential to catch your attention.
