What is Contemporary? w/ Banksy & Hiwa K Examples

Contemporary art is deemed, a present immersion of difference that is universal amongst all available perspectives. It has not distinct quality that is produced from past art time periods such as Cubism, Impression, and Modernism. It is the current state of affairs that address the multitudes of perspective specified from the artist themselves.

Banksy has been an ongoing cultural phenomenon that has a social and political focus on themes in his work. Kept anonymous, his style of produced work carries his own signature. Based out of England, Banksy is shown through a variety of street based graffiti works in public spaces that illuminate a controversial topic under which he finds the latter, more suggestive of the truth. Much of his recent work contextualizes a theme of childhood revolution that will harness a greater democracy for equality amongst those who are unjustly living to the standards met by society. His graffiti piece, “Season’s Greetings,” is initially welcomed with a childlike atmosphere and tune that’s relatable to any kid who grew up around the snow, but it is not until you turn the corner, that you find the child is receiving snowflakes from a flaming dumpster. This action of having the image be an unforeseen diptych, channels a metaphor of “turning the other cheek,” when it comes to viewing poverty in England.

The contemporaneity of Banksy’s work comes from a deliberation amongst current social and political topics that encompass ongoing problems that should raise questions of how to effectively move forward, and to ponder the deliberate ignorance that is met with uncomfortable situations. The depiction of “Devolved Parliament,” (although made a decade ago) has risen to become relevant once again, following the Brexit movement, further enhancing Banksy’s point of view of internal destruction upon organization amongst government. I believe he draws attention to social and political climates specifically, since people feel they are helpless in many situations to do something about it, when in actuality, people in numbers create the most change across a nationwide spectrum. His works fit in with the contemporary characteristics of this time, because beyond focusing on key topics in the current industry, it is also met with a “differentiation” by adapting his work to street art, which is more uncommonly met than digital media, which is highly centered on delivering messages to the public.

It is also mentioned that the genre of contemporary is met with “the coexistence of incommensurable viewpoints, and the absence of an encompassing narrative that will enlist the participation of all.” “Planetary consciousness, and planetary action, has become the most pressing necessity of our contemporary situation. “[Smith, 18, 19) This illustrates the movement as a globalization of participation that should be a call to action for anyone who views the artwork, and deciphers the message for what is to be done next. With his most recent presented work, “Gross Domestic Product: The Shop That Never Opens,” was an installation for window shoppers to view as they walked down the corner of a street in England, which drew attention to not only local or national issues, but global issues as a whole, that we as humans are all contributing to as a negative effect to the progression of our own downfall.

Another artist currently changing the way our minds think is artist, Hiwa K, a Kurdish artist now living in Berlin, Germany. Although his work stems from “his anecdotes,” his topics concern the ongoing political climate in both Europe and the Middle East. His recent work titled, “Qatees” deals with an individualistic story centering on the separation of population from cause of war between Iran and Iraq. The man, “Abas,” is a runaway from the system to avoid capture from enemy soldiers, and builds camouflaged antennas to enjoy films secretly under curfew in an attic, which he builds during the day in an underground lair to avoid the public. Although it is the story of one man, it is also the story of many. The political climate that Kurdish people face during the onset of war, create a universal feeling of fright, hesitation, revenge, flight, and self-reliance.

In another work titled, “My Father’s Color Period,” recalls the time color television first emerged, and it was banned in the Middle East, leaving only black and white pictures to be displayed to the public. Once word spread that a colored tv film would air, Hiwa’s father decided to cover their TV with cellophane, first with monochromatic single sheets, and then slit pieces of multiple colored cellophanes to cover the screen, to experience it in a multi-colored vision. This action was initially thought to be single handedly done by his father, and then Hiwa found that almost everyone without color television sets were doing the same thing! So in everyone’s own unique interpretation, they all had their own specialized color television. Although the subject seems outdated with the innovation of technology, it constitutes the political approach that the Middle East has upon their citizens, and it continues to restrict public freedom.

Hiwa challenges the contemporary field by being a “blind visual artist, looking for tools” that can break the “linear intellectual debate.” He finds that art itself, in all mediums, has a universal language that can deliver the message effectively to everybody. In his study of wrestling, he finds that many people lose the effect of thinking, and “experience the most existential of questions.” In this context, he is truly being present in the moment of the contemporary culture, not thinking about the culture itself, but immersing himself in the topics of today that create progression to a better future for all of us.