In contextual studies I will be considering the question 'does art history matter?' Through research of artists and contemporary art movements as well as explaining the transition from one to the next.

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This question is not to propose what art is bad or good as that is down to personal preference, but to instead discuss how and why the artists and movements became as big as they were and still are in contemporary, modern art and deciding if that's down to art history or through the rejection of standards in contemporary movements.

Older art movements that rejected the norm of the time such as Dadaism, Cubism and Constructivism.

More contemporary art movements that rejected the norm such as Graffiti/Street-art and Subversion in design. 

Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881-1973) was a Spanish painter, printmaker and sculptor who helped to establish the growing Cubist movement of the 1910's by rejecting form, perspective and scale. ​

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Inspired by his father, Picasso's style of realism evolved with the introduction he had to symbolic movements which helped Picasso's work to develop into Modernism and Cubism​. Many of Picasso's works were Cubist interpretations of portraiture, still life or nature and sometimes the women in his life (there were many), viewing a subject from multiple angles to capture a process, not just a result. ​A lot of Picasso's work were developed into synthetic cubism, a form of cubism which allows for simpler shapes, more colours and even physical attachments to work such as that found in collage. 

Sources: Pablo Picasso (pablopicasso.org)

The piece depicts Dora Maar, Picasso's mistress at the time (again, there were many) which was painted during the Spanish civil war, the war broke out in 1936 as the fascist movement was beginning to take precedent and the republicans, this was a part of a series responding to the deadly conflict and expressing opposition to the fascist movement. This motif, the weeping woman, became a subject which would apparently 'haunt' Picasso as he gained and obsession over the image. ​

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I like the idea of using many angles in a single study, it truly captures the emotion and grief the woman pictured is clearly suffering and is also an eerie reflection of the grim horrors that come with warfare, as well as cementing the fascist era of the 20th century in emotion and pain, of which, fascists caused a lot.

Richard Mirano (born 1961) is an American graffiti artist, from the Bronx, and is often known as 'the godfather of graffiti' although he did not pioneer the movement of graffiti and street art, his colourful pieces that would often appear on subway cars and public walls helped popularize graffiti into fine art circles in the 1980's. Another thing his work is known for is the use of popular culture and characters in his work such as comic book heroes and Looney Toons characters which would make some argue that his work borders on the pop-art style in more recent years at least. ​

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In the 1980's, the artist also studied tattoo art and opened one of the most successful tattoo studios in New York City and continues to do exhibition work, working with many acclaimed artists such as Banksy.

Sources: SEEN - Biography (askART.com)

In this piece, you can see typographic, graffiti writing painted with presumably aerosol spray paint cans (perhaps Krylon, a popular brand of spray paint that would often be shoplifted by graffiti writers during the 1970's and 1980's) as well as a Looney Toons character (known as Yosemite Sam) angrily exclaiming and pointing at the writing, the writing also is coloured in different shades of blue with white 'sparkles' that are purposefully large and cartoon-like. ​

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I like the use of creative typography in graffiti, that probably wasn't purposeful as graffiti as an art form roots were always based on nicknames from younger people in poorer regions of major cities such as New York City. I also enjoy the loose, cartoon feel to his work, something to consider in my own research going forward.

Keith Haring ( 1958-1990) was an American artist and muralist who rose to popularity alongside the New York City graffiti scene in the 1970's/1980's, his work is most known for its cartoon/animation like style which often has a humanitarian message such as combating homophobia (Haring himself being a Homosexual) as well as fighting stigma related to the AIDS epidemic (Haring spoke out about his battle with AIDS in 1988, he would die due to complications with the disease in 1990) as well as other problems such as the crack epidemic in the United States in the 1980's, it's because of all this contribution that his work has almost defined the 1980's (at least in America) and has become 'a sign of the times.' 

Sources: Keith Haring - Art, Death and Facts (Biography.com)

In this piece, you can see three figures that, whilst have no discernible features, show a lot of movement and expression with a bright colour scheme and the words 'ignorance = fear, silence = death, fight aids, act up' this was an AIDS awareness poster painted in 1988 using acrylic paint.​

​Whilst the piece has a deeper meaning than just the surface of it, I really enjoy the figures and the lines of motion that surround them, they became a motif in Haring's work. 

Shepard Fairey (born 1970) is an American artist and muralist who is most known for his OBEY campaign work dating all the way back to 1989, his work has since evolved from skateboard-based street art and into mural works and fine art circles in the 2 or 3 decades and has even turned into a successful fashion brand. ​

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Most of the artist's work is depicted in the same manner of propaganda, taking inspiration from constructivism and street art graphics, but using that powerful visual communication to promote ideas of medical research funding, stopping racism and other social injustices.

Sources: Shepard Fairey Paintings, Bio and Ideas (Artstory.com)

In this piece you can see a boot stomping down on the militant population below with a textured, wallpaper-like background that softly blends with the harsh red colour.

In terms of context, it is important to note the use of imagery such as the boot, which symbolizes the authoritarian and oppression and has a similar connotation to what is found in fascist posters and propaganda. The reason this is important is due to the artists personal influence of constructivism and propaganda pieces of the past.   ​

​I like Shepard Fairey's work in general, but his piece speaks out to me visually because of its striking composition and attention to detail, something that's not always easy to get so much of when using the technique that he would often use which is stenciling. 

It is also interesting to note how the artist, as provocative as his work can be still made its way into art galleries and exhibitions.

Imagery within artwork is very important in understanding how art stands the test of time, if an art piece is memorable or uses memorable imagery of it's time it typically becomes associated within that time period. 

On the left, is the Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci during the Renaissance era. It has become affiliated within that time period due to the tones used, the references to antiquity and inspirations, it is also worth mentioning that Leonardo Da Vinci himself is associated with the renaissance era due the fact he was a vigorous polymath, combining antiquity and tradition with advancements of the time in technology and philosophical thinking. Moreover, it is important to note that in recent years it has become widely regarded as the 'most famous piece of artwork' as the imagery is incredibly recognizable and parodied because of how visible it has become in popular culture with internet memes, posters and even fashion that has marketed of the imagery of the Mona Lisa. The reason any of this is important to my question is that because an argument could be made that due to it's influence in popular culture, it has 'cheapened' it's imagery but even so, inadvertent or not, it has to play and market itself of the important context behind the original artwork. 

In this piece to the left, created by Keith Haring, is a light, bright cartoon-ish piece of work which is focused on the AIDS epidemic of the 1980's. The subtle but powerful imagery is important to note here, on the bottom to the right, is a pink triangle which was used by Nazi Germany to differentiate known homosexuals but due to artists like Keith Haring using it in their work during the epidemic, has since become synonymous with issues that face the LGBT community even today which is why context within the imagery that makes up a piece of artwork is important. It can help artists truly realize their influence and utilize it to change social attitudes towards often difficult or taboo subjects, something Keith Haring did by creating murals and artworks.

Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) was an American graphic artist, who started to establish himself in the field of pharmacology and medicine after enrolling in university at 18, after dropping out he was drafted into the US navy from 1944-1946 as a neuropsychiatric technician before going into the visual arts after enrolling into the Black Mountain College in 1948. Rauschenberg's work helped pioneer the pop-art movement of the 1950's and 1960's but was also known as a 'neo-dadaist' often highlighting the ridiculous and significance of consumerism and global tension in his work, he often used many techniques from screen printing, painting and collage in his work.  

Sources: Rauschenberg (Wikipedia) 

Rauschenberg sculptures, bio, ideas (TheArtStory.com)

In this piece of Rauschenberg's work, you can see different signs of the 1960's such as John F. Kennedy and an astronaut, a juxtaposition of the progress of technology that western civilization was beginning to uncover but also the lack of progress, the social regression, of John F. Kennedy being assassinated in 1963 due to partly different theories but also political and social views. ​

This is important in terms of context, because, as mentioned, there are a lot of references to the 1960's and I believe the mix between using cleaner, more formal elements that being screen printed images and references of JFK and an astronaut, and the more chaotic elements such as ink and/or paint being smeared and dragged across the piece is a reflection of the chaotic, but at the same time, progressive nature of that decade.

​You can also see the different techniques used as the profile of John F. Kennedy is screen-printed whilst some of the more abstracted components of the piece are in oil paint on canvas. ​

​I like the collaged look of his work, it's a way of fitting a lot of information into one piece and requires the use of symbiotics to make things stand out, the astronaut in this piece could be seen as a symbol of progress as previously mentioned. 

Dadaism occurred in the 1910's and 1920's as a response to the first World War and the geopolitics of the time, the movement was almost like a collective of artists who rejected reason and aesthetic in their work, often using unorthodox methods of creating work, it became an expressive way of discontent with rising ideas of the time such as nationalism, warfare, monarchies, imperialism and early 20th century capitalism in general. Popular in Europe and North America, the roots of the movement can be traced to Cubism and the Avant-Garde through the development of Collage and Abstract art.​

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Dadaism takes an almost sarcastic approach to art, in the 1960's and 1970's it made a slight resurgence among some pop-artists that would utilize icons of pop-culture and Cold War tension.

Sources: Dadaism (Tate.org)

Graffiti is an art form which typically uses the public space as a canvas such as walls, trains, lampposts, etc. It is a movement that arose from New York City in the turbulent 1970's and 1980's, starting from subway cars that would be painted with names in large, decorated and colourful ways. The movement largely comes from the poorer boroughs of New York City where HipHop was beginning to take hold, it is seen as a crucial developmental point in the history of the scene and the city itself, a reflection of the dangerous time in which they lived through, these areas were also typically the epicenter of the emerging crack cocaine epidemic as well as poor infrastructure to support those affected. This, combined with the largely African-American and immigrant population in these areas (particularly Irish, Italian and Central American) lead to the increase in 'criminal damage' these artists were causing, but that controversy helped to get the scene from the subway cars and walls to fine art circles inspiring many contemporaries since. ​

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Later, graffiti would hit the spotlight again with the development of street art which began gaining infamy in the 1990's and 2000's, street art broke the 'rules' of graffiti by moving away from traditional bold, colourful lettering and instead used imagery, posters and stencils to express their artwork on the large canvas that was cities. A rift would occur between the two movements causing drama in fine art circles, a rift which still occurs to this day. 

Sources: Where Did Graffiti Originate? (Allcitystreetart.com)  Graffiti - History, Definition and Facts (Britannica.com)

Cubism was an art movement that grew from the Avant-Garde during the 1900's and 1910's, it rejected perspective, scale and the traditional artistic methods that came before it and completely revolted against the norm, forever changing European art. ​

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During the fascist era of the 1930's and 1940's, many governments in Europe deemed Cubism as 'degenerate art' and would often ban or censor the art form, in response, many Cubist simply created more and more whilst fleeing from these Fascist governments, it was no longer just a revolt against what fine art was but also a revolt against unjust laws and the governments that upheld them. 

Sources: Cubism (Wikipedia)  All About Cubism (Tate.org) 

A part of what makes these art movements so influential, both at it's time and the influence it has over contemporary, modern art and design is how disruptive to the norms they were, take graffiti as an example, it was new and different but the reason it has lasted as an art oddity and a social perversion (at least some might say) is due to how abrupt it was, in New York City it was seen by everyone of any creed and class, because regardless of who you were at the time, it was something you would see on your commute to work, something which fine art just doesn't offer.

Another thing that makes these movements stand out from the wave of different types of art, is how against the grain they became, Dadaism, for example, would make satire of very serious and inflicting geopolitical tension of it's time with the end of the First World War and the rise of Fascism. 

The First World War (1914-1918) was a global catastrophe that killed millions of both soldiers and civilians across Europe, Africa and Asia. Part of the reason why it was as brutal as it was, is due to the fact that it was a turning point in warfare, from the old technologies and tactics to the new brought on by imperialism and the industrial revolution. An example of this would be the unsuitable clothing soldiers on all fronts would have to wear, due to the previous styles of combat, uniform was seen as ceremonial rather than just functional, so many soldiers' uniforms could not stand the conditions of ongoing trench warfare and chemical attacks, they soon had to adapt.

The reason this is important to my contextual studies and project proposal is because Dadaism and partially Cubism found it's diversion during this turbulent period. Dadaism especially became a way to protest the state of war and geopolitics with Europe and abroad as a result of this conflict, it also highlighted big social changes that and the artwork and movements of that time reflected that, becoming less formal and more abstracted, just as the state of the world and ideas of the 20th century became further and further abstracted as well.

Sources: World War 1 (Britannica.com)

The AIDS epidemic is something that began to take precedent in 1981 and all the way through the 1980's it caused a lot of misinformation and discrimination, typically in the LGBT community. Keith Haring (see previous slides) was an artist who used his work as a means of spreading awareness of AIDS before passing away from it in 1990 himself. ​It was also very common amongst drug users in the 1980's as the crack epidemic also spread across poorer regions of cities across the western world and many of these drug users would share paraphernalia. 

The reason this is important to my contextual studies and project proposal is due to how it affected the LGBT+ community and how it ties into the drug epidemic, something that would end surrounding and engulfing artists, well established or not, throughout the 1980's and 1990's.

It also provides an insight into how artists realized the potential of their artwork becoming more public, realizing that the artwork can be used for change. This can be seen with artists like Keith Haring, who painted a fair amount of murals in his career (approx. 45 known murals) in relation to the AIDS epidemic and the crack epidemic in the United States. 

Sources: The AIDS Epidemic in The United States (CDC.gov) 

Fascism was a political and social ideology that is particularly dangerous because it rises from a very extreme nationalist edge and contributed to the deaths of millions of Jews, Homosexuals, Disabled people, Black people, Romanis and many more the Nazi's and other European fascists deemed 'unsuitable' for their world view. 

On top of the worst things, they also heavily censored and monitored the lives of those who lived within their borders creating a mass exodus of displaced artists whose livelihood and work was deemed 'unacceptable' by their social standards. Cubism became a way to creatively protest that supervision.

This is important to my contextual research because, behind the major social and geopolitical tension which the fascists were creating across Europe, it shows that censoring art did not work at all, essentially due to the changes in attitude that artists had post World War One, the metaphorical ball was rolling in how artists interacted with geopolitics, which is often a chaotic, satirical insight. 

Sources: Fascism (Wikipedia) What is Fascism? (totallyhistory.com)

What makes these issues, as complex as they were, so influential was due to the reality shaking nature of them for many people, for example Fascism, a very dangerous ideology that caused great suffering for many people of many different ethnicities and abilities (Jewish, Romani, Slavic's, Poles, etc) and beyond the 'cleansing' it also effected international trade, making many nations that were considered 'superpowers' considerably poorer, such as that found in post-war United Kingdom.

Another thing to consider is the long term effects these issues had such as that found in the AIDS epidemic, something that to this day carries a lot of negative stigma due to the nature of the disease, something that is often sexually transmitted, which only further isolates people and sets a dangerous precedent for ignoring the other methods of disease transmission.

As mentioned, when these issues were taking place, they often became reality-shattering for many different communities, but this allowed artists, of all forms, to be able to self-reflect on the societies they lived in and find ways of disrupting what was considered the norms or even simply to pass off some of their personal frustrations as a direct result of these issues. 

I think these movements are more important due to it's social significance and the fact these pieces of artwork often define a generation, an idea or a wider societal problem, they speak to people, that are outside of fine art circles and wealth, because of this.

It is no secret that the art world is one of wealth and luxury and whilst many people will tut or sigh at the prices that artworks sell for at big auctions houses, what they might not know is exactly why it sells for so much.

There are many videos and other resources that can explain this in depth, but to sum it up this is usually how it works, first of all, you would be a hypothetical billionaire with many assets (and probably many skeletons in your closet) who will go to an auction house and buy a piece of artwork, historical or contemporary, for several millions, this piece of artwork then becomes another capital asset (capital gains not being taxed nearly as fairly or as much as standard labour taxes) you would then loan this piece of artwork out to a museum or gallery, this would then be considered a 'donation' for which you would get an even larger tax break from on your capital gains.

The art world, or at least it's relation to fine art, is no longer about buying art for the sake of buying art but instead buying pretty pieces of tax evasion.

Resources: 'The Art Market is a Scam (And Rich People Run It) - Wendover Productions.

How this point relates to my previous research is that all the artists I have researched have broken the rules of art in their time or at least used those principles of subversion in art as a major influence.

I believe it also relates to my brief because I can talk about the public misconceptions of famous pieces of artwork (subversive or historical) throughout my presentation. 

It is important to note that there is a large disinterest in fine and historical art from the public, this is due to the fact it is a largely exclusive market and without the capabilities to travel, many regular people will go without seeing it. 

In the digital age, for any industry it is hard to ignore the wide scale utilization of social media. One particular area that it has really redefined in recent years is art, before the rise of social media to get recognized as an artist, professionally or otherwise, you either had to work in an art/design related field (often to land these jobs it required years of dedicated training as well as attending universities which might have been difficult to get into for some, more on that later) or be recognized after death (a common theme in art history) but now if you are a creative, you can use social media tools to your advantage, which makes your work far more widespread then it might have been otherwise. 

In the past, it was often the upper classes that had more freedom and money to attend universities to specialize in an artistic field as a career path, it can then be credited to the rise and influence of things like social media and mass industrialization in the late 19th century which allowed social attitudes to change and make things more accessible to all.

A con of social media, as previously mentioned, is that it can often misinterpret historical art, and by extension European culture, as something that is disproportionate to what it actually is, which can create apathy towards art as a whole. But this can also be seen as an advantage, making art and culture that might otherwise be inaccessible due to costs of travel and so on widely seen by people who may not get a chance by the touch of a screen. 

Grants are often a good way to get communities interested in art and an education in the creative industry 'Arts Council England' for example often provides grants for cultural development projects and, on a more individual scale, funding to developing ones creative practice, which, as far as I know, could lead to more recognition for an individuals artistic efforts and contributions. 

This is all huge progress for some communities, but the fact is that in the UK, the creative practices (and by extension grants) since around World War 2, have been complemented not just by public and government funds but also private investments, this means in areas where there are larger populations (poorer or not) often get recognized more and therefore those specific community projects receive more funding privately than others might. 

This, combined with government priorities always changing, leaves grants and funding in a tricky place, whilst they can provide amazing opportunities for those who may not get it otherwise, the way the system works it can leave areas more prioritized than others, regardless of wealth.

An argument could be made in favour of this system of course, that is if arts were to be solely publicly funded then it means that people who may not have interest in the arts as much would still have to pay, at least to a certain degree, for others and that can bring in it's own problems. 

Personally, I think arts that can be easily translated into a career should be publicly funded, it can enrich areas that might not get the opportunity without the funding, can provide communities with a new educational purpose and create unique cultural identities amongst different areas and communities in England. But I agree that there should be an increase in openness and transparency of public funding so that the public can easily find out how and where their money is being spent (and on a personal level I think the wealthy that hide their money behind highly auctioned art should pay far more than the average earner, if they are going to con the art auctioning system, they can at least pretend to care about it,)

Sources: Arts Funding - Should art be funded by the government? Politics.co.uk

Our open funds | Arts Council England

As previously stated, art, both visual or otherwise, can be important in defining regional cultures and reflecting the different values they may have. This, however, does not necessarily mean that arts are a sectarian thing, in many ways, it can be used to fuse different cultures together. In North Africa, for example, they have a mix of cultural art and architecture that ranges from the Arab/Islamic history and culture but also traditional Saharan art styles (seen below.)

In India, the government has taken to funding the arts and cultural projects more seriously, funding things such as schools, museums and exhibitions. In return, the tropical sub-continent has seen a larger societal appreciation for traditional and contemporary Indian artists and art styles. Unfortunately, there are problems in this area, as these institutions are claimed to have been packed with loyalists, making these institutions vulnerable to political pressures. 

In Italy, one of the most distinct artistic areas in the entire world, arts is barely spent on and local institutions are struggling to maintain the nations cultural roots. This is a shame because the Italian government loves to boast it's cultural supremacy, and in many ways, for good reason too, as the nation has some of the most visited UNESCO heritage sights and countless pieces of classical artworks in the world, but yet this seemingly conservative government fails in recognizing the nations talents, both historically and contemporary. 

Sources: How the arts are funded outside the UK - BBC News

Over the past century or so, technology has been used and applied to the creation of artwork to support creatives in their work. However, in recent years, AI and digital creation has taken over the art market, NFT's for example are digital property tokens that sell for a laughable amount of money but the problem with them is that whilst the intellectual ownership of the artwork goes to the buyer, it is easy enough to copy or screenshot that artwork, art theft has never been so easy as a result. On the lines of theft, AI has put a lot of artists that use digital software or the internet to reach an audience to shame with the way it is able to replicate the styles of human created work in a myriad of ways very, very quickly, therefore, able to reach an audience quick and use an algorithm that social media depends on much more robotic and clean than an artist trying to reach people. 

As discussed, AI created artwork has been slowly taking over the art market in recent years selling for millions, celebrity endorsements and art critics quick to hop on the fence.

However, when I bring up value, I am not strictly talking about monetary value, I am also talking about the sentimental value it has to would-be buyers or anyone interested in the work itself. What I mean is, it is easy to think that if you take one piece of artwork, created with AI, that is technically perfect and pristine by any quantitive measure would have much more value and admiration rather than a piece of work that is created by a human, that is rough around the edges and has it's imperfections, but I, and many other creatives, don't necessarily think this is the case, work that is created by AI, no matter how perfect it is, is not of human expression. A 'rubbish' piece of artwork created by human, is still, at the end of the day, human and therefore holds far more admiration and sentimental value in the hearts of many than something created by what is essentially, a robot.

Sources: Is Artificial Intelligence Set To Take Over The Art Industry? (forbes.com)

Below, are some answers to a question I have asked some people, asking what their favorite piece of artwork is, why it is their favorite and what they think the context behind it is, the reason this is, is because it shows that context can be both subjective but important in understanding how people associate art with history and cultures.

When conducting research such as what is above, it is important to consider conducting such research in a proper manner. 

So, with that being said, all the messages above are anonymous screenshots of my question posed to them and they all know it has been added for my contextual studies research. 

Also, during my own research on artists and so on, I was sure to use reliable sources from websites and videos to which I have linked under 'Sources' and in a bibliography at the bottom of this page. 

In conclusion, I think the art world is unbeatable and has become less and less a

Pablo Picasso (pablopicasso.org)

SEEN - biography (askART.com) 

Keith Haring - Art, Death and Facts (Biography.com)

Rauschenberg (Wikipedia) 

Rauschenberg sculptures, bio, ideas (TheArtStory.com)

Shepard Fairey Paintings, Bio and Ideas (Artstory.com)

Dadaism (Tate.org)

Where Did Graffiti Originate? (Allcitystreetart.com)

Graffiti - History, Definition and Facts (Britannica.com)

Cubism (Wikipedia) 

All About Cubism (Tate.org) 

World War 1 (Britannica.com)

The AIDS Epidemic in The United States (CDC.gov)

'The Art Market is a Scam (And Rich People Run It) - Wendover Productions.