The Sistine Chapel, widely regarded as one of the most influential and beautiful artworks in world history, took Renaissance artist Michelangelo four years to paint. In 1508, Pope Julius II commissioned 5,000 square feet of frescoes — plaster soaked in paint — which cover the ceiling with depictions of the First Testament in the Bible. The intricately painted interior of the Sistine Chapel transcends simple oil paintings, from the outstretched hands of God and Adam in the “Creation of Adam” to the terror-stricken faces of Noah and his family portrayed in “Noah and the Great Flood.” However, the world has turned its artistic gaze from masterpieces like the “Creation of the Heavens and the Earth” to a banana duct-taped to a wall that sold for $6.2 million.
Modern conceptual art focuses less on a finished product and more on the usage of unconventional materials to convey artists’ ideas. The era of contemporary art began with French painter Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain” in 1917, which featured an upside-down urinal signed with a fake name to test the open-mindedness of the Society of Independent Artists (SIA). Co-founded by Duchamp, the SIA helps give new progressive artists a chance to feature their work in an annual exhibition. Despite this, the society rejected the “Fountain,” exemplifying the hypocrisy in their mission. “Fountain” caused major controversy among artists and art critics because it challenged traditional art forms and pushed the boundaries of what people considered art.
“Fountain” paved the way for modern art forms to challenge conventional art mediums such as oil painting and charcoal. Conversely, as contemporary artists continue to defy the definition of art, their work begins to lose meaning. Society shouldn’t direct attention to talentless endeavors labeled as “art,” and they certainly shouldn’t pay absurd prices for them, like buying a messy bed for $3.7 million.
Alexandros of Antioch created the “Venus De Milo,” in the Greek Hellenistic period, and today, it sits in the Louvre Museum in Paris. While the exact time it took to sculpt this treasure remains unknown, the elaborate detail and Aphrodite’s perfectly proportional body suggest that the creation took months or even years of labor. Joseph Kosuth’s “One and Three Chairs,’ on the other hand, looks like it couldn’t have taken more than 10 minutes to make, yet the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía displays it. A chair against a wall, a picture of the chair and the definition of a chair is not “art,” but simply uninspired and dull. Unlike “Venus De Milo,” “One and Three Chairs” lacks the dedication and uniqueness needed to create a real piece of art.
Senior Bella Starr says creating new art doesn’t seem to take as much time and effort compared to old art.
“Classic art requires a level of talent and skill,” Starr said, “whereas modern art, it feels like anyone could do it.”
New York’s Center for Curatorial Studies gallery displays Roman Signer’s “Sand Column” in an exhibit called “Countdown.” The piece, in which stacked buckets of sand eventually fall over as sand leaves the bottom bucket, drew lots of attention on social media. On Instagram, many commenters criticized the piece and questioned whether it even qualifies as art. In the face of timeless paintings like Vincent Van Gogh’s “A Starry Night,” “Sand Column” looks like child’s play, lacking artistic techniques. The two pieces demonstrate a clear divide. Marketing artwork that requires little skill as a masterpiece ruins the reason why art is so admired and respected. While Signer created “Sand Column” to express his feelings about life’s inevitable decay, the work itself isn’t special or unique compared to Renaissance paintings or Greek sculptures.
Those who enjoy modern art’s aesthetic appeal are free to spend preposterous amounts of money on it, even if the work is easy to recreate and lacks distinctiveness. Yves Klein famously painted “Blue Monochromatic” in 1961, decorating an entire canvas with a single blue color. The piece didn’t include drawings, writing or any other details — it was just a blue canvas. Klein’s painting, despite having no remarkable qualities, garnered tremendous attention worldwide, selling for $3.3 million. The National Gallery of Art in D.C. and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York display renditions of the blue canvas, occupying space that could instead highlight talented artists and help grow their platforms.
On sidewalks of large cities, painters often sell their artwork for low prices while many people unmindfully stroll by without taking a second glance. Classic oil paintings are selling for around $100 to $1000. Artwork that takes hours to create should be worth more than a plain blue canvas. Roughly 85% of artists earn less than $25,000 a year, while one piece of simple modern art can sell for millions.
Since current art takes many unconventional forms, it’s harder to classify, reducing the number of pieces labeled as “modern art” and driving up demand for these seemingly rare products. Sociology teacher Suzanne Johnson highlights the reasons why modern art attracts people.
“It’s updated, it’s fresh, it’s contemporary,” Johnson said, “as opposed to seeing Monet or Renoir.”
Contemporary art emphasizes spectators’ responses, so aesthetically unappealing pieces may still conjure up passion. While modern art is still emerging and defining itself, it shouldn’t facilitate a trend of minimizing effort for maximum profit.
AP Art History teacher Katherine Stanton believes that modern art’s subjectivity causes many to resonate with it despite its general lack of attraction.
“I am 100% about the aesthetic emotive, which is just the idea of your emotional response to anything artistic,” Stanton said.
While modern art can evoke emotions, it isn’t on the same level of complexity and specialty as traditional art. People should judge art by artists’ ability to showcase their talent and dedication through delicate brush strokes or intricate chiseling, not by how much it moves them.
One of the most baffling valuations of modern art was on a banana duct-taped to a wall 1.6 meters above the ground. The piece, titled “Comedian” by Maurizio Cattelan, fetched an astounding $6.2 million from cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun at a Sotheby’s auction. While Sun didn’t take the same banana home, he received a certificate of authenticity allowing him to duct-tape any banana to any wall and call it “Comedian.” This transaction introduced the concept that art doesn’t need to be a physical manifestation of one’s thoughts and feelings, but rather an idea. “Comedian” illustrates the disservice some modern artists have done to the industry by outshining genuine talent with mediocre, unoriginal works.
Individuals can and should continue to express themselves through different mediums, but people shouldn’t call all of them artists. Instead, the world should save the esteemed title for those who’ve put in the work and truly created a masterpiece.
