Main Monthly Meeting - 4/24/21 - Dr. Brian Sahotsky is presenting on Current Trends in Contemporary Art. This discursive talk centered on the most pressing issues and trends at the heart of contemporary art. Cultural production in the 21st century has been challenged by the socio-political milieu and urged forward by the constantly changing conception of the avant-garde. Contemporary art has proved that it is no longer beholden to what is considered traditionally beautiful and has thus shifted into uncharted theoretical and experimental aesthetic territory. The emergence of digital technologies and alternative media types has given art a variety of new platforms to interrogate, which the art community has enthusiastically embraced. This talk introduces and reflects upon the relevant discourses currently taking place in the art world. Topics include the hyper-commodification and consumption of art, the formulation, expression, and performance of identity, the constantly fluctuating arena of religion and spirituality, the presentation of scientific knowledge and epistemology, the eliciting of response and memory in experiential projects, and the employing of the body in/as art.
Dr. Brian Sahotsky is an Assistant Professor of Visual Arts in the Department of Art & Design at the County College of Morris in Randolph, New Jersey. He currently offers courses in Art History, Contemporary Art, and the History of Design. Professor Sahotsky received a PhD in Architecture from UCLA, a Master’s in Art History from the University of Colorado, and a dual degree in Art History and Architectural Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has shared interdisciplinary research at annual meetings of the CAA, SAH, AIA, and MedWorlds groups, and his interests include classical to modern art, experiential architecture and visual mapping, contemporary cultural production, and the capacity of art to elicit response, interaction, and memory.
