Hi Stephen et al.:

> I would tend to agree with Jay on the start-point
> for contemporary.  Certainly, Minimalism,
> Conceptualism, and Post-Painterly Abstraction
> peeled away from Abstract Expressionism, but
> the latter seems more the apex of Modernism
> than exactly the beginning of what was
> contemporary.

Most PPA proclaim their undying allegience to the hegemonic
Modernism of Clement Greenberg . . . and most owed the start
of their careers to his inclusion of them in the upper
echelons of the New York art world.  Modernism, though not
as closely aligned with Greenberg (from my knowledge), was
also striving after the purity of form, the lack of
'pretense' implicit in the illusion of the painted picture
window or representational sculpture . . . hence, the
non-representational and inorganic forms of Donald Judd,
Carl Andre, Agnes Martin, etc.

As for Conceptual: They were taking some ideas of Modernism
to a point beyond the Modernist comfort zone.  While they
accepted Plato's condemnation of mimesis, they forgot the
second half . . . Kant's discipline which criticizes itself
to achieve greater and greater purity.  The idea of a
painting is not to be mistaken for a pure painting . . .
hence, they were not, from a Modernist standpoint, creating
artwork, but parodying the ideas -- or, stated differently:
The Conceptual artists were involved in philosophy, not
art -- as art (according to Greenberg) was to extinguish
entirely subject matter and content . . . which the
Conceptual artsits insisted on forwarding while abandoning
the technical skill of art as originating in the ancient
Greek 'arte' (meaning skill).

> But the more fluid issue, perhaps, is when the
> contemporary ends.  One could argue that
> contemporary ended in the mid-1980s with the
> advent of post-modern, but if this is true it only
> spilled into a kind of swirling eddy where the
> by-now autonomic reflex toward 20 C. radicalism
> stuggled to stay afloat.  Cynically viewed,
> postmodernism was a kind of medley of all our
> favorite old tunes, trying to pose as something
> new by being ironic.  And it was new enough, I
> guess -- certainly new enough for the auction
> prices but I'm not sure it was new enough to mark
> the end or beginning of anything.   "Contemporary
> art" still tends to be the overarching term used
> to describe what is current, and "postmodern" did
> not really provide it with its other bookend.

I will agree that the advent of the postmodern did not
designate the 'end' of contemporary and 'beginning' of
something new.  I belive the postmodern pastiche of the
multitude of past styles and forms is indicative of a
similar critique and/or parody as Pop Art which elevated
specific subjects over others . . . That Norman Foster makes
reference to Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright is a
commentary about Bramante and Palladio.  That Barbara Kruger
references advertising, not Alberti, is significant.  Etc.,
etc., etc.

> But I will risk the hazard of a guess by predicting
> that the end of contemporary (along with its
> persistent echoes of modernism) is upon us with
> the advent of the "post-analog" -- not only art which
> exclusively embraces new-media or technology,
> but (perhaps more importantly) art which, whatever
> its manner of production, is conceived in response to
> the shifting cultural context that is a direct result of
> new technologies.

I absolutely agree!  More and more artists -- even some of
the 'traditional', 'Old School', Modernists who are hanging
on are beginning to explore new media.  Their rationale?  No
matter what medium one uses, one must strive to use it in
it's purest form.  (Sounds kind of cult-ish if you ask me .
. . LOL!)  However, cannot conceive of traditional
techniques and forms of art disappearing any time soon.

Sincerely,

Jay Heuman, Visitor & Volunteer Services Coordinator
Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68102
342-3300 (telephone)     342-2376 (fax)     www.joslyn.org

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