Art,Lighting,Sustainability

Through my research of modern (or perhaps more accurately post-modern) art lighting I found several good examples of conceptually based lighting products. In today's culture sustainability is an important aspect of any product. Consumers desire sustainable or green products. This trend has become a major concept in art lighting but it can also be seen in today's fine art.

Recently there has been a great deal of news regarding the evils of plastic water bottles, they are quickly piling up in our landfills.

I found an chandelier made entirely from used plastic water bottles.
From webecoist.com

This piece is definitely concept driven, experimental in its material and quick to produce, all of these are Post- Modern characteristics

Another great example of this trend is the work of Stuart Haygarth who uses garbage to create lights. Each piece uses garbage from a specific place or time, such as party poppers that he collected on new years day 2000 . Check it out at:
http://www.stuarthaygarth.com/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=1079

This same trend can be found in fine art. One example is the work of John Dahlsen, a contemporary painter who uses plastic waste as the subject matter for his paintings. He also creates images from old plastic bags. Images of his work can be found at:http://www.johndahlsen.com

A major trend in both fine art and lighting is the concept of sustainability with found objects as the material of choice. Garbage has become a new medium for creating fine art as well as consumer products.

Contemporary Art Movements

Throughout history art has been classified into different movements. From Baroque to Pop art, most people are familiar with these styles (or at very least there names) but what movement are we in now? I realized, (to my own horror) as a well educated professional artist that I couldn’t name a single art movement after 1960. Well, after some research I realized that there have been quite a few movements since the 60s, I found over 20. Here is a link if you would like to check some of them out: http://arthistory.about.com/library/outlines/blcontemporary.htm..

We are currently in the Post- Modern Era which is post 1960 to present. The Post -Modern Era is characterized by:

Conceptualism: meaning of work becomes more important than aesthetics

Experimentation: use of non-traditional materials and subject matter

Cultural influences that have had an effect on the Post -Modern Era include:

· New image making technology which allows artists to make work without traditional skill sets. This causes craftsmanship, expertise and traditional art skills and training to loose value. The artistic process moves from painstaking careful craftsmanship to quick instant gratification. Artists focus on production techniques rather than honing in on a particular craft skill.

· Increasing consumerism culture also affects visual art, placing value on novelties and entertainment. Art becomes more like a product providing entertainment through shock value.