Doubt by Morris Louis

The exhibit ‘Turning Point: The Demise of Modernism and Rebirth of Meaning in American Art’ was very interesting.  It traces the change in modern art in the 1960’s to the present through Late Abstraction, Minimalism, Conceptualism and Contemporary Art.  What that means in a nutshell is that over my lifetime, art has morphed from abstraction that doesn’t represent a known object to creating meaning with the viewer, making political statements, and inviting the viewer to create an image in their imagination.  I really like the minimalist piece with the large gray boxes and ocean blue Plexiglas.  The ‘paper’ piece takes the idea of origami to the next level.  I also enjoyed the ‘wall of artists’ showcasing the names of artists over the last 100 years or so.

It is also interesting that the UMFA currently has an exhibit of Modern and Contemporary Art.  And both museums have recently expanded their staffs to include curators for Modern and Contemporary Art.  If we aren’t already engaging in the art of our time, wouldn’t now be a good time to explore it?