altermodern exhibition




https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/altermodern

'Want to know what's happening in contemporary art now? Then visit Altermodern, the fourth Tate Triennial at Tate Britain. This selection of new contemporary art presents some of the best that current British art has to offer, alongside international artists who are working with similar themes. It includes artists working in all media, from painting, to film and video, to extraordinary installations and features many new works being shown for the first time. This year's Triennial has been curated by Nicolas Bourriaud who co-founded the influential contemporary gallery Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2002.

Bourriaud is proposing the new art term 'Altermodern' to describe how artists are responding to the increasingly global context in which we all now live. Altermodern claims that the period defined as postmodernism has come to an end and a new culture for the 21st century is emerging. Increased communication, travel and migration are having a huge effect on the way we live now. Altermodern describes how artists at the forefront of their generation are responding to this globalised culture with a new spirit and energy. Is postmodernism dead? What does it mean to be modern today? Decide for yourself.'

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I first came across this term when I stumbled upon this show at Tate Britain I found online form 2009 - ‘altermodern’ being a term proposed by Bourriaud and he said he’s been inspired by personal experience as well travelling between so many places - and what that means for artists..

I was shocked to see John martin’s painting The Great Day of His Wrath because it’s one that really speaks to me, for a while now. I think it’s definitely really in line with the term and makes us think about the painting in relation to current times..





  'The End of the World, commonly known as The Great Day of His Wrath, is an 1851–1853 oil painting on canvas by the English painter John Martin. Leopold Martin, John Martin's son, said that his father found the inspiration for this painting on a night journey through the Black Country.'

The Black Country in the 1870s