A modern artist, by definition, is an artist who focuses specifically on works that were popular from the 1860s decade to the decade of the 1970s. Somewhere along the line, the 1980s to the present day were not included in this representation of modern art, causing one to wonder: what does a modern artist do, and why are the most recent decades in our existence not considered modern art? Below, an explanation of what a modern artist does and what other popular forms of artists do as well, from those involved with contemporary works to those who focus their creations on art of an abstract nature.
To start to explain this concept and make the distinction among these various forms of art, a look at famous modern artists is in order. These modern art artists have created respective names for themselves as artists who understand modern art as an art form in and of itself. These artists are listed in alphabetical order on some websites that have the express purpose of highlighting these famous and not so famous artists. These sites are good too at naming all famous contemporary artists, who work on present day materials, thus answering the question above about what today’s artists represent.
These contemporary artists, then, are different from today’s modern artist in that they focus their energies on creating contemporary, or present day, works. So today’s contemporary artist is more interested in making a name for himself or herself in the area of today’s works rather than the works of yesteryear, from the 1860s to 1970s as previously described. Taking this one step further, today’s abstract artist is inherently concerned with creating art that is abstract in nature, meaning that the art created does not really have a rhyme or reason to it but that uses a visual sort of language, line, or color to create works that can exist with a certain amount of independence or freedom from the limits and constrictions of other types of art.
Of course, on these sites are listed abstract artists, and contemporary and modern ones too. From these sites, then, one could explore the artists making their respective impacts in these fields of art. From art students to those who just like to know the difference between a contemporary and a modern artist, these sites offer excellent clues into these worlds and into the respective art forms that each represents.