What is Contemporary Fine Art?
This is a good question for discussion; what is contemporary fine art? We are contemporary to modern times. No one should be sneered at for not knowing that The Art World has its own separate definitions for each of these terms.
Are modern art and contemporary fine art different?
In any other instance, the English language pretty much allows for “modern” and “contemporary” to be swapped at will, but not in this case. As you have already guessed, the single most important thing anyone needs to know about Modern Art is that Modern Art and Contemporary Art are two different things altogether.
A good rule of thumb is:
- Modern Art: Art is the period from the Impressionists (say, around 1880) up until the 1960′s or 70′s.
- Contemporary Art: Art is the period from the 1960′s or 70′s up until this very minute.
In Art History, Modern Art started with the winding of the Impressionists While this is acceptable, strong arguments can be (and have been) made that Modern Art does not have a fixed date in particular and that it began at a variety of different dates. Depending on the survey course that a person has taken, Modern Art can be said to have begun with:
- The early 1800′s Romanticism,
- The 1830′s Realism,
- Daguerre’s announcement, in 1839, that a direct positive image method was invented by him.
- The writer Baudelaire who, in 1846, called upon artists to “be of their time”,
- 1874’s The first Impressionist show or
- The “-isms” of the 1880′s (Tonal-, Symbol-, Post-Impression- and Neo-Impression-)
So then, which of above is right? Well, all we can say is that none of them are “wrong” for sure. (Here, it was simply a case of “1880″ working out well, for me, in terms of organization.) To keep it simple, let’s just agree on the fact that Modern Art began in the 19th-century, and ran through a whole slew of “-isms” up until the end of the 1960′s.
Regardless of chosen starting date, the crucial factor is that Modern Art means: “The point at which artists (1) felt free to believe in their inner visions, (2) express those visions in their creations, (3) use Real Life (social issues and images from modern life) as a source of inspiration and (4) experiment, innovate and be creative as often as possible.”
I know it’s wordy! Art has gone its own mess to deal with. It’s often easier to make it, than to try to explain it – and making it can be about as natural and easy as childbirth, it just takes some days. But that’s Modern Art (and Modern Life) for you. Say, now that you’re sure about the meaning of contemporary fine art, why not go have some fun poking around in all of those delicious “-isms”?
What is a tablet? Basically, it is an input device that can be used on its own or in combination with any pointing device such as a trackball, mouse and others. A tablet is also known as drawing tablet, graphics pad or digitizing tablet. A tablet has two parts: a smooth, level surface for drawing and a stylus or pen that was set to work with the tablet. Some packages also include a pen holder and a cordless mouse that can be used on the drawing surface. Even ordinary users can use the tablet. They will discover that it is more ergonomic, thus preventing injury due to recurring strain.
The following are some things you should know about tablet.
- Tablets come in different sizes. Depending on what you will use it for, there is a variety to choose from. For regular users and hobbyists, the 4 inches x 5 inches or the 6 inches x 8 inches will suffice. If you are a graphics artist, CAD user or illustrator, you should opt for the bigger size. Take note, that the price is directly proportional to the size.
A bigger size does not necessarily imply that it is better. Many individuals prefer the smaller surface area to avoid too much movement of the arm. But for digital artists, wide sweeping motions feel more natural since they are used to it when they paint or draw.
- One more thing that you should note about tablet, is its given dimensions only refer to the surface area that you will be working on. The actual size of the whole unit is much larger. For bigger-sized tablets, for instance, the actual size is about four to five inches more than the input area. You should remember this when planning on buying a tablet and deciding on the best place to put it on.