We often hear the term Contemporary Art made use of while we\’re wandering down the halls of a gallery, but just what specifically does it suggest? The solution can be discovered within the name itself. Essentially, the word \”Contemporary\” implies something that belongs to the present time. From this meaning, it is clear that any art that has been produced in our life-time could be called Contemporary Art. However if we are speaking, claim, on behalf of a 95-year-old man that was born in 1906, we will certainly run into a bit of trouble. Will our description work in that situation? It most likely won\’t, so to explain things in a less ambiguous manner, art history scholars have defined Contemporary Art as art which has been produced prior to World War II. Some art historians mark the beginning of the movement a little later and define Contemporary Art\’s timeline as beginning in the 1970\’s and continuing on into the present.

This type of art primarily concerns and sometimes even determines the numerous political as well as socio-economic changes the world has experienced since the 70\’s. The main feature of this art form was the lack of a clear distinction between different mediums.

The makers of contemporary art concentrated more on the theoretical ideas as well as the thought-process behind their work and became increasingly less focused on the medium they were working with. They were also much more interested in exploring new avenues to present their artwork, consequently making the viewer\’s responses the most pivotal part of the art experience.

Yet another appealing element of Contemporary Art is the way it can expose its viewers to different social problems such as national politics. Prior to the beginning of Contemporary Art, discussion of popular culture within the gallery had been almost unheard of.

The value of this art form stems from the importance it gives to the ever-changing political and social problems of our modern era. Contemporary Art is rapidly coming to be the mirror of society we should therefore pay it the attention it deserves.