THE USE OF THEMES IN CONTEMPORARY ART
The Use of Themes in Contemporary Art
Laura Paulk
University of Central Florida
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Introduction
Identity, place, language, and science are common themes used in contemporary art. The
artists and artwork selected for this curriculum represent these themes. By looking at the themes
we will investigate the whole meaning of the work of art, considering how the materials,
techniques, form, and subject will impact the content (Robertson & McDaniel, 2010). The focus
of this curriculum project will be to introduce students to the generative themes of others so that
they can see the world through someone else’s eyes. Students will understand “the meaning of
artworks in terms of the complex aesthetic, social, and historical contexts out of which they
emerge” (Anderson, 1990; Gude, 2007). The idea is to identify themes that hold a widely
recognized importance and relevance in daily life. This is important because “students whose
work investigates issues of real concern to them are more engaged in the learning process”
(Gude, 2007, p.8). A primary principle of this project is that meanings of any artwork are
flexible and negotiable. Interpretations are affected by a plethora of factors that the artist,
society, and the viewer bring into play (Robertson, 2010). The “abilities to investigate, analyze,
reflect, and represent are critical skills for citizens of a participatory democracy” (Gude, 2007
pg.14). Through this curriculum project students will “learn new strategies of making meaning
through which they can interrogate received notions of “the real”. They will learn how to play,
not just with materials, but also with ideas” (Gude, 2007, p.14). Students will learn how
contemporary artists address and challenge social issues in their artwork. This will lead to
students questioning the status quo and reflecting on their own ideas and beliefs.
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Carrie Mae Weems
Introduction
Identity was a major theme in artistic production in the post World War II United States
and Europe. For most of these artists identity meant individual identity. Today when Western
artists use the term identity, they are typically referring to social and cultural identity (Robertson
& McDaniel, 2010). Identity is something that a lot of people struggle with, especially
teenagers. Through studying the work of Carrie Mae Weems students will become comfortable
with how their identities are formed. Through understanding different identities we can relate
better to other people.
Biography
Carrie Mae Weems was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1953. Weems earned a BFA from
the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia (1981), and an MFA from the University of
California, San Diego in 1984. She continued her studies in the Graduate Program in Folklore at
the University of California, Berkeley from 1984–87. Carrie Mae Weems currently lives and
works in Syracuse, New York (Art21, 2009).
Significance of Work
Many contemporary artists are interested in the theme of identity. They are ask the
questions, Who am I as an individual? and Who are we as members of groups? In the Kitchen
Table Series Weems has shown how identity is shaped by many variables, including gender,
relationships with others, status, and social history (Robertson & McDaniel, 2010).
Weems has cast herself as the model in her Kitchen Table Series. In this series of twenty
untitled photographs the model is always at the same kitchen table but with different props and
symbols around her. Weems masterfully incorporates storytelling into her work; she uses it to
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express the human condition. She incorporates humor and sadness, loss and redemption into the
story, just as it is present in everyday life (Weems, n.d.). Students will be read the following
quote from Weems discussing her work:
My work has led me to investigate family relationships, gender roles, the histories of
racism, sexism, class, and various political systems. Despite the variety of my
explorations, throughout it all it has been my contention that my responsibility as an artist
is to work, to sing for my supper, to make art, beautiful and powerful, that adds and
reveals; to beautify the mess of a messy world, to heal the sick and feed the helpless; to
shout bravely from the roof-tops and storm barricaded doors and voice the specifics of
our historic moment. (Weems, n.d.)
To fully understand Weem’s process it is important for the students to view all twenty
photographs in the series. The photographs tell a story of everyday life from the unique
perspective of an African American woman. Weems was playing with the idea of “whether it
might be possible to use Black subjects to represent universal concerns” (Friis-Hansen, n.d.).
Students will study the photograph of the woman sitting at the table with a man playing cards.
She obviously has a relationship with this man since she is spending time socializing with him.
On the back wall a photograph of the civil rights leader Malcolm X represents the social history
of this woman. This symbol helps us understand something that is important to her and relates
her to a larger group of people. The kitchen table is often the heart of the home, where important
meals, discussions, and activities take place.
The photograph of the woman at the table with a telephone in the foreground will also be
discussed. There is a stark contrast between this photograph and the one discussed in the
previous paragraph. The woman is by herself at the table with a single glass. By placing the
telephone in the foreground on the table Weems is making us feel the tension as the woman
waits for the call to come (Friis-Hansen, n.d.). We can reasonably guess that the woman in the
photograph is waiting for the phone to ring, hoping it will be the man from the previous
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photographs. The dramatic crouched position of the woman in the chair also tells of her despair.
Through this entire series Weems is “exploring a full range of life's complex emotional
experiences-- desire, seduction, isolation, commiseration, companionship, responsibility,
independence, and self-reliance” (Friis-Hansen, n.d.). How does this image portray this woman
in terms of her gender roles? Students will explore stereotypes that are often assigned to women
in this photograph. This woman might be viewed as weak because she is at home waiting for a
man, but if you look at the rest of the photographs you will see that this is not the only
relationship that defines her identity.
Students will analyze how the use of props helps tell the story of the woman’s identity.
What props would they use for telling the story of their own identity? What people and
relationships would also be involved in their own story? How does your gender affect your
identity? Students will learn how their identity is shaped by many factors and gain confidence in
telling their story using them. “Young people need opportunities to authentically engage in
autobiography and storytelling, and connect with issues that matter most to them” (Klein, 2008
p.52).
Liza Lou
Introduction
Liza Lou’s work focuses on the enduring theme of place. Place is important as a theme
because it makes up a large part of a person’s identity. The physical, historical, and cultural
attributes of the places or place where one has lived affect what one knows and their world view.
Many contemporary artists use the theme of place in response to their memory of places or
specific scenes in their view (Robertson & McDaniel, 2010). Students can relate to and
understand the theme of place because everyone comes from somewhere and has a story to tell
about it.
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Biography
Liza Lou was born in 1969 in New York City. She briefly attended the San Francisco Art
Institute before venturing out on her own to pursue her artistic vision. She received the John D.
and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2002. Lou decided to move to Durban,
South Africa to find a way to work that promotes social responsibility. She currently lives and
works in Los Angeles and South Africa. Her artwork has been exhibited in numerous museums
and galleries around the world. (L&M Arts, n.d.)
Significance of Work
Liza Lou does an excellent job of combining real and artificial elements of place in her
work. The environments she creates “evoke real places through their accurate details, …but the
encrustations of brilliantly colored beads transform the places into fantasies” (Robertson &
McDaniel, 2010, p.167). “Lou often seems intent on glorifying something humble or beautifying
something awful” (Bagley, 2008, p.2).
While traveling in Europe, Lou was inspired by the beauty of the cathedrals she saw in
Florence and Venice. The detail and the time that were devoted to the mosaics was transforming
in thinking about her own art. Stumbling upon a bead store in San Francisco became a major
turning point for her as an artist. Beads became a material far more fascinating to her than paint.
She received a lot of criticism for her choices in dealing with beads (Bagley, 2008). It is
interesting to consider how the material and techniques play an important role in the content of
her art. Students will be read the following quote of Lou talking about her art:
I like that with art you start with an idea—the artist’s idea—but it inevitably opens out
into other people’s ideas, other people’s narratives. I really love that, so that art becomes
a kind of mirror or reflection a place where you can contemplate and come up with your
own feelings. There isn’t one kind of polemic that you’re trying to bash people over the
head with. And hopefully, above all, it gives people pleasure. That pleasure of looking.
That you are drawn in by the sheer volume of material and form and care and love. My
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work almost argues that the pleasure of looking is part of what it is to be alive. It gives
our lives dignity. It separates us from just being work machines and money makers. It’s
the idea that you can just go into the MOMA or the Met and sit down on a bench and just
look and look and look. It’s one of the pleasures of being alive. And it’s one of my
motivating forces in my work: to make things people will sit down and look at, and make
associations and hopefully it will have meaning, but hopefully also some pleasure.
(Schultz, 2008)
Lou’s first major piece of work, Kitchen, took her five years to complete. She tediously
hand-glued each glass bead in this life-size installation herself. The details she included in this
replica of a suburban kitchen are amazing. The boxes of food and cleaning products bearing
familiar brand names to the pie in the oven create an image of a gleaming celebration of
domestic bliss. Once the installation is examined further the humor and satire used in the work
become more apparent. The headline of the newspaper on the kitchen table reads “Housewife
Beads the World.” This piece comments on a woman’s responsibility to keep her home
sparkling clean and the physical labor that involves. In today’s culture a woman’s home is often
seen as a reflection of herself. When thinking about Kitchen, Lou describes it as pain and
drudgery, but when you look at it you experience joy (Dubin, 2008).
Lou’s colorful and cheery early work dealt with feminism and mass culture, her later
work takes a darker turn, examining violence and confinement (Bagley, 2008). Maximum
Security is four narrow cage-like structures made from chain link that intersect to form a cross.
The first thing that a viewer notices is the sparkling silver colored beads that cover every inch of
the sculpture. Lou has been able to turn chain link, fencing usually overlooked in the built
environment, into something stunning and magical (Dubin, 2008). Once again, like in Kitchen,
when you look closer you realize that everything is not as perfect as it appears at the first glance.
The cages of Maximum Security are enclosed corridors, large enough for one person, with no
way of escaping. Who is this security cage protecting-those on the inside or those on the
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outside? Do we all live in some form of a cage? In this piece Lou is dealing with the large
social issues of conflict throughout the Middle East, the treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo
Bay and Abu Ghraib, and the idea of imprisonment (Dubin, 2008). The tedious and slow nature
of Lou’s work requires her to find joy in the process. Maximum Security took a year to create
with the help of Zulu artisans in South Africa. Lou has made art as an act of revenge against
injustices she sees, but after viewing the final product of Maximum Security she believes that art
can be an act of forgiveness (Bagley, 2008).
Students will understand that the process of creating art is just as important as the end
result. Through the examples of Lou’s work they will learn ways to incorporate humor and irony
into their own work to create layers of meaning. They will gain an understanding of how the
material you select (in this case beads) plays an important role in developing the meaning and
content of artwork.
Nina Katchadourian
Introduction
Language is an important theme to explore in contemporary art because it is a major form
of communication. Language has the endless potential to generate meaning from basic building
blocks (Robertson & McDaniel, 2010). Nina Katchadourian has a talent for revealing the hidden
order and potential for poetry beneath our nose (McFarland, n.d.). She gives a unique
perspective on how we use language in our daily lives.
Biography
Nina Katchadourian was born in Stanford, California and has spent part of every summer
on a small island in the Finnish archipelago since childhood. Her parents are immigrants to
America and she therefore grew up in a multilingual and multiethnic household (Robertson &
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McDaniel, 2010). She graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a master of
fine arts degree. Katchadourian currently lives in Brooklyn, NY and is represented by Sara
Meltzer gallery in New York and Catharine Clark gallery in San Francisco.
Significance of Work
Nina Katchadourian’s ongoing Book Sorts project can be considered a form of portraiture
(McFarland, n.d.). The nature of her creating process reveals information on the subject. She
works in public and private libraries and book collections. She sorts through all the books and
carefully selects books to form clever poetic arrangements. She is playing with words and how
they can represent identities and ideas. It is necessary to examine the physical qualities of the
books she selects. Size, color, thickness, and typography all play an important role in the poetry
of the sequenced titles (McFarland, n.d.). A Day at the Beach is composed of all white books
except for the title Sudden Violence whose red title stands out boldly in the composition. Below
she talks about how the Book Sorts got started:
Sorted Books started in grad school when a bunch of us decided to, we were invited by a
friends parents to live and work in the house for about a week and make art with what we
found. I got really interested in the couple's books and ended up spending days and days
in their bookshelves pouring over their books and then eventually doing this thing,
putting them into stacks. I never intended to do anything more with this than show them a
sited situation of books on shelves but then photographed them to document them and
then over the years this has really become more of a photography project as well as, in
the case of this show, where the actual books are shown. So, a few years ago the project
started getting blogged. A lot. I wish I could figure out where that all began. I think that
site Boing Boing ran something about it and a lot of people read that and from there it
kind of just spread. There was suddenly a lot of things online where people were trying
their own hand at this. Somebody set up a Flickr page saying, Here's my version of Nina
Katchedourian's Sorted Books, and I really liked that. It sort of gave me the idea of what
would happen if I intentionally put this project into other people's hands. So I have
worked with a couple art classes and students from different schools. (Port, 2010)
The Geneology of the Supermarket is a diagram that undermines the system of symbolic
communication. It is made up of 78 framed photographs that show relationships of people who
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appear on common products in the grocery store. They are organized into one large family
(Katchadourian). “The Sun Maid Raisin maiden is sister to Saint Pauli Girl, who mates with
Samuel Adams; they give birth to the Brawny paper-towel man” (Robertson & McDaniel, 2010).
Katchadourian’s humorous logic employed here makes us consider the limitations of any attempt
to “order the universe using structures of human design” (Robertson & McDaniel, 2010, p.225).
Communication can occur without any words being spoken and using humor often grabs
people’s attention. It is interesting to consider the connections that individual people make with
imaginary people from the advertising world.
Students will learn how to play with ideas and words to make meaning and develop
content. They will understand the value and importance of language in our culture today. They
will realize that every art form provides some kind of communication to the world.
Sue Coe
Introduction
Robertson states that there is a heightened interest in using language in artworks because
words supply cognitive content (Robertson & McDaniel, 2010). Language empowers those who
use it. Sue Coe’s work also deals with the theme of language. In many respects Sue Coe can be
thought of as an investigative reporter. She uses her drawings to reveal realities that are often
hidden from the general public. She believes she can influence social change by bearing witness
to acts that are currently taking place (Galerie St. Etienne).
Biography
Sue Coe was born in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England in 1952. She studied at the Royal
College of Art in London and then immigrated to the United States in 1972. Early on in her life
she was exposed to bombed out areas, a slaughterhouse near her home, and a factory farm
attached to her house. She feels that “living among innocents who were about to die, and the war
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memorials of the dead” have a large impact on her art today (3x3). She is currently living in
New York City. She has established a reputation as a sociopolitical artist.
http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/biography.aspx?searchtype=BIO&artist=104556
Significance of Work
Students will be read the following quote from Sue Coe describing her working process:
It starts with direct seeing of some event, that is disturbing, and needs the light of day to
shine on it, or an attempt at illumination, such as the most obvious weapons of mass
destruction, like factory farming, and poverty - so much is concealed in this culture, so it
is my trying to find out the information about these subjects. The images could stay in my
mind for years, or minutes, before that scene is filtered through my memory to the paper.
Around an image, I do a lot of research to make sure that the series of works is accurate, I
tend to work sequentially, in a mode that I think of reportage, or visual journalism. The
work process is one of reminding myself, that content creates the form, not the other way
around. (3 x3)
The work of Sue Coe is dark, often depicting gruesome scenes that happen in slaughter houses using satire, sarcasm, and humor. Through her artwork she is seen as an animal rights
activist. In Modern Man Followed by Ghosts of his Meat Coe is commenting on the animals that
had to die to provide the common meal from McDonald’s fast food chain. There is a butcher
shop in the background of this image. Coe infuses humor into her drawing by having the
animals follow the man down the dark moonlit street. She is using art to speak for those that do
not have a voice (3x3). Coe’s work is about educating people so that they can make informed
decisions. She believes that color can take away from strong content, so she uses it sparingly
(Galerie St. Etienne). Coe sees a connection between the victimization of animals and social and
political oppression. She believes that the “abuse of animals is a variation on the theme of
exploitation of the weak by the strong” (Brown, 2002).
Coe’s Untitled work from 2002 depicts a sinking ship carrying livestock being abandoned
by the crewmembers. The words in the bottom right corner of the drawing tell us that only one
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member of the fifty man crew was lost. There are animals in the water that the crewmembers are
doing nothing to save. In this piece the crewmembers are the strong and the animals are the
weak. What is Coe trying to tell her audience? These animals had no chance of surviving. This
image reminds me of the sinking of the Titanic. What could have been done to save those that
need a little extra help? Although these images portray animals being neglected and ignored
they conjure up images of humans being treated the same way.
The students will examine the artwork of Sue Coe and understand that she is exposing
social issues that she is concerned about. I will lead a discussion about practices that are
happening around them that they are concerned about. This could include bullying, fighting, or
abuse. Then we will discuss ways to bring about social change in our community through art.
Students will learn the value of using language as a communication tool in their artwork
to enhance the content. Language in the form of words can add meaning and description to the
clarity of the content. Sometimes language may be as simple as the title of the artwork.
Students will learn how to express ideas and beliefs through descriptive storytelling.
They will also draw connections between the environment Coe grew up in and the content of the
artwork she is creating.
Alexis Rockman
Introduction
Throughout history science has been a popular theme in artist’s work. Today the interest
in science and technology has a dominant presence in the visual arts. Scientific research is
constantly expanding at a mind-boggling pace (Robertson & McDaniel, 2010). Students will
continue to see many advances and controversies in their lifetimes. Environmental issues such
as evolutionary biology and genetic engineering to deforestation and climate change are issues of
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much concern to a large number of people. Rockman addresses his concerns about these issues
using fantasy, parody, and irony (Artnet, 2006). According to Gude (2007) and Anderson
(1999), “the contemporary study of nature also leads almost inevitably to consideration of the
ways in which human societies impinge upon and potentially threaten the natural environment”
(p.10).
Biography
Alexis Rockman is a native of New York City. Growing up he spent a lot of time in the
Museum of Natural History. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design from 1980-1982.
In 1985 he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from School of Visual Arts in New York, NY.
He has been depicting the natural environment as he sees it with intelligence and wit for more
than two decades. His paintings have been exhibited in cities worldwide, including London, Los
Angeles, Rome, New York, Salzburg, Cologne, Boston and Tokyo (Artnet, 2006).
Significance of Work
Do you think of your paintings as science fiction, or as fiction, or science?
I think that in a classic sense what I have in mind, and what the viewer brings to the table,
might be entirely different. But the things I’m interested in are how often science reminds
us of our own constructs and fantasies about the world and how often science undermines
those fantasies. I think that science has always been treated with a level of suspicion.
There is a level of intimidation that goes with the scientific community that alienates
people in an unnecessary way. I’m trying to popularize these ideas. And that is something
I might have in common with Stephen Jay Gould and Peter Douglas Ward. What ends up
happening with a lot of scientific information is that it becomes relatively unavailable
emotionally, so people have a very hard time understanding all the wonderful and
interesting stories.
My art practice is to turn science inside out and roll around in it and make it
almost indistinguishable from fiction. There is a paradox there that I’m eternally
interested in. (Gladman, 2002)
In The Farm Rockman specifically addresses the changes that are occurring with genetic
engineering. The overriding idea behind this painting is that the demands of agribusiness
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override the integrity of animals and plants (Robertson & McDaniel, 2010). Do we even
understand the implications that this will have on society as a whole? Rockman shows
watermelons and tomatoes that are grown square for the convenience of packaging. The left side
of the painting shows farm animals as they exist in nature while the right side shows Rockman’s
imagined bioengineered versions. The vivid colors that Rockman paints with give this piece a
happy appearance until you look closer and see the frightening and humorous images that are
depicted. This painting forces the audience to consider how humans are potentially threatening
the natural environment. Rockman is creating a dialogue about the constant tension between
nature and culture (Smithsonian, n.d.). He is using fantasy to explain how he envisions a world
where humans continue to manipulate nature.
Rockman’s series “Big Weather” explore the devastating effects natural phenomena can
have on the built environment (Artnet, 2006). He is interested in how global climate change can
have the potential to provoke natural disasters. In Maui Rockman has painted a cliff landscape
where a mudslide is taking place. A house and swimming pool are located at the edge of the
cliff. The backyard, including the pool and deck has been half swept away in the mudslide. I
will ask students to think about why the house and pool would be built so close to the cliff in the
first place. Through his vivid paintings Rockman challenges us to delve deeper into
understanding the relationship between humans and the natural world. His passionate interest in
the natural environment is inspiring and full of many layers of content to discuss with students.
He claims he is not trying to warn us of what could possible occur in the future; he is simply
offering up a motto to live by-be conscious (O‘Sullivan, 2010). Science and the natural
environment are themes that I think students of any age will find relevant. They can see the
damage that humans are doing to the environment all around them, from air and water pollution
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to deforestation. We have to take care of the environment so that it will be around for future
generations to enjoy. This seems so basic, but sometimes we all need to be reminded of this.
Through studying Rockman’s paintings students will learn how to address highly debated
social issues using fantasy and black humor. They will see how content drives the form and
concepts used in the work. Students will understand how art is connected to real world, big
picture issues that impact everyone. Drawing, painting, and photographing the natural
environment “sensitizes students to the complexity and beauty of the world around them” (Gude,
2007, p.10). Students will also understand the importance of researching the subject to present
an informed opinion on ideas they are expressing.
Media Study
Introduction
Today people of all ages are constantly bombarded with visual images in the media.
There is no way to escape it with televisions, the Internet, laptops, and smart phones at our
disposal. It is important that students realize what is going on around them and how it impacts
them. Students will be shown two videos of political ads from a recent election. The first
commercial is for Alex Sink and the second commercial is for Rick Scott. They were both
candidates for governor of Florida in the 2010 election. They will be asked to critique the ads
using three of Paul Duncum’s seven principles for visual culture education.
Power, ideology, and representation are three principles that Paul Duncum offers as a
way to examine various forms of imagery. He says that power must be considered when looking
at imagery “because all images involve an assertion of ideas, values, and beliefs that serve the
interests of those for whom they are made” (Duncum, 2010, p. 6). The audience also has the
power to interpret the message. With these two political campaign ads the students will consider
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what the creators may have intended their message to be and reflect upon their own
interpretations. Students will learn that they have the power to negotiate the meaning of the ads
and can accept or reject the message accordingly. The principles of ideology and representation
are closely aligned with power. Today “visual culture is saturated with ideologies that reveal the
hopes, fears, expectations, certainties, uncertainties, and ambiguities of our lives” (Duncum,
2010, p.7).
By using pictures and stories from his childhood, Esther Scott is painting a picture of an
all American boy. He represents the American dream to a certain degree. The ad also appeals to
different generations, which is important in campaigning. Alex Sink’s ad went a different
direction. She is trying to make us belief that she will rise above all the fighting that goes on in
politics.
What are the beliefs and values that are used to promote Rick Scott in his commercial?
How are they represented? Did the message change any since his mother was delivering it?
What values and ideals did you see in the Alex Sink commercial? Who is producing these
commercials? How does that affect the message and ideology that is being delivered? I think
this could lead into students making videos for student government elections at school.
Conclusion
The exploration of themes that contemporary artists use to address social issues provides
a good foundation for art students to think about their interactions with the world around them.
Students can identify with the themes of identity, place, language, and science and hopefully find
meaning in them. The examples of work provided within this project reinforce the idea that the
viewer has the power to negotiate the meaning of the piece of art. Providing students with the
opportunity to critique, analyze, and reflect on the meaning of these images will help them grow
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in their critical thinking and ultimately in their art making skills.
This project has been beneficial to me in analyzing and reflecting on the meaning and
techniques used by Weems, Lou, Katchadourian, Coe, and Rockman. The more I learned about
each one of these artists the more interested I became in their lives and work. They are
passionate, responsible, and captivating artists. It was interesting to me to see how their
backgrounds and childhood experiences had such a profound impact on the artwork they are
producing today. They are each challenging the status quo in their own way and made me think
more critically about how I express my concerns and opinions about the world we all live in.
I used a variety of themes and artists so that students can see the possibilities that are
available to them when creating art. The goal of this project was to allow the students to see the
world through someone else’s eyes and to learn from the experience. This will help students
become compassionate and socially responsible adults. I want to teach students to “investigate
big questions about the uses of art and other images in shaping our interactions with the world
around us” (Gude, 2007, p.7).
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References
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Bagley, C. (2008, September). Liz Lou. W Magazine, 522-529. Retrieved from http://i1.exhibite.com/lmarts/6bc255f6.pdf
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Klein, S. (2008). Comic liberation: The feminist face of humor in contemporary art. Art
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