The University of Edinburgh Keywords: Contemporary

What do we mean when we speak of contemporary art? To what does ‘contemporary’ refer and how does it relate to other categories such as modern or postmodern art? If we accept that the contemporary is not only a chronological category denoting art produced in our present time, but a critical construct, some important questions arise. Which implicit or hidden assumptions and criteria form this category? What is included and what is excluded by the term ‘contemporary’? In this event, art historians Prof Jonathan Harris (University of Southampton) and Dr Angela Dimitrakaki (University of Edinburgh) debate the meaning of the word ‘contemporary’ in an informal and conversational format. They will discuss the term’s origins, its use in the fields of art history, theory and criticism, and the politics at stake when describing art as ‘contemporary’. Chaired by Dr Dominic Paterson (The University of Glasgow).

The event is part of KEYWORDS, organised by the School of History of Art, The University of Edinburgh. The series examines contemporary art and language by inviting scholars and art audiences to consider, critically, how and why we use specific words recurrently in writing and discussing contemporary art, and what the political implications of our use of language are. Other events address the words politics, institution, aesthetics, and realism.