In the exhibition, Contrasts, A Glass Primer, the Museum of Glass will be trying to show visitors the diversity and scope of studio glass by using comparison and contrast. In that tradition, I would like to start a series of articles explaining general art terms that can be confusing.

The full name of our museum is The Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art. Many visitors express uncertainty about this. “Contemporary” and “Modern” are two words often assumed to be synonymous; however, in the art world they are two very different fields. This article should assist your explanations to visitors of exactly what Contemporary Art is, and understand its separation from Modern Art.

The word modern means “of or pertaining to present and recent time; not ancient or remote”*. This word signified a break from the traditional styles used previously. These idealists devised revolutionary ways to create art, inventing new processes and materials and reworking old ones. It is no coincidence that the Studio Glass Movement began during Modernism.

Modern Art, or Modernism, is a genre of the fine arts created from the mid-19th century, which strayed from traditional techniques and styles. Most historians set the beginning of Modernism around the Impressionists (1870’s), or the style immediately afterwards, called Fauvism (fauve is French for beast). Vincent Van Gogh is often considered to be the first truly modern artist. In fact, most of the artists thought of as contemporary are Modernists: Picasso, Pollock, Kandinsky, Dahli, and even Warhol.

Looking for a common theme for all Modernism can be a challenge; even so, in most of the work there is an interest in technology, either as subject or material. There are many famous movements within Modern Art, including Cubism, Dada, Op Art, Pop Art, Minimalism and Surrealism.

Most historians agree that Modernism ended around the end of the 1960’s or middle of the 70’s though there are still artists creating works in the Modern tradition today. (Most Modernists would find this amusing as they were attempting to break away from tradition all together.)

Contemporary is defined as “characteristic of the present; occurring in the same period of time; or a person of nearly the same age as another”. In the case of art it is clear that the first part of the definition is the useful one. Contemporary art is artwork created during the late 20th and early 21st century (ironically making all the various works contemporaries of the others). This genre also embraces a range of shorter lived styles, the most clearly identified of which is Post Modernism, sometimes called Po-Mo.

Contemporary works generally share an interest in new media and conceptual expression, but whereas Modernism was fairly optimistic, Contemporary works tend to be more uncertain of the future. When dealing with visitors, it is best to explain Contemporary as a time period, specifically now, since we do not have the distance to be able describe the field properly. However, you can now compare it to Modernism, which is both a time period and a genre of art with a character of its own.

My next article will describe Po-Mo in the context of Contemporary Art. Many of the exhibits we are currently showing have Po-Mo in them, including Fresh and Transparently Built.

*all definitions found at www.dictionary.com