Artistic Shifts: Body, Identity, and the AIDS Crisis
The Reintroduction of the Image in Contemporary Art
The change in the practice and theory of art that has occurred in recent years has been a reintroduction of the image in the forms produced. Robert Gober noted that an effective way to reach the concept of narrative is through sensitivity and the image of the gay community. Between 1982 and 1984, the flowering of a feminized postmodernity and the emancipation of homosexual consciousness took place, changing political relations in art. AIDS ravaged the American art community, and a further consequence was a desire to put aside the slogans of the left and conceptualist theory identified as male, academic, white, and heterosexual. Experiences and images with the body became the dominant concern among young artists at the time. There was a renewed interest in aesthetics and facilities. Art Slack became interested in the unfinished and second-hand, operating on a dual strategy: first, fascination with the interest, and then disappointment for the unfinished works. It tries to give another meaning to the cold formulas of minimalism.
Art Narrative, Reportage, and the AIDS Crisis
Many of these works have aspects of the contaminated, tainted presence of body fluids. Key features include: Art Narrative, Reportage, and AIDS, representing a change in the content of art and images of body experiences. The main interest is in marginal cultures, particularly those of the West Coast. The physical space ceases to function as a neutral background and proceeds to take on importance as a context for physical objects. There is a fascination with the dirty and worn.
The facility is used as a critique, a vindication of female concerns, and a challenge to the attitude of men. Robert Gober collected objects associated with violence, race, America, domesticity, and perhaps death.
The Emergence of AIDS and its Impact on Art
Between 1982 and 1984 came a blossoming of a postmodern, feminized, and homosexual emancipation of consciousness. The emergence of AIDS in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York in 1981, its recognition in 1982, and its rapid expansion led American artists to consider the “content” of art in a different way. Douglas Crimp required educational programs and medical support. Thus, the relationship between politics and art was changing. A result of this AIDS crisis in America was the emergence of a desire to put aside the slogans of the left and conceptualist theory identified as male, academic, white, and heterosexual. Experiences and images of the body became the dominant concern among the young artists of the time.
Postmodernity on the West Coast
David Wojnarowicz and other artists were not ashamed of the narrative, imagery, and content of their works, and were prepared to explicitly change the sign systems in order to speak directly on matters of the moment. Their main interest was in marginal cultures, Chicago, and the American West Coast. Gay artists of the area were pointing to the narrative trend, where exhibitions included Helter Skelter (Art in the 1990s, Los Angeles). It was proposed to celebrate what they called “the dark side of contemporary life.” Artists like Robert William, Larry Johnson, and Raymond Pettibon embraced this trend.
Installation Art and its Resurgence
Installation art, part of Dada and Surrealism, resurfaced with Fluxus, conceptual art, and other radical movements. Points of interest include:
- The physical space becomes more important as context, taking precedence over a neutral background of the work and creating unreal spaces.
- The concern with adolescence leads to a fascination with dirty objects and worn art.
- Art Slack: concern for the unfinished and second-hand. It rejects the aesthetic and commercial. It acts on the basis of a dual strategy of fascination and disappointment.
Artists like Laurie Cady Noland and Karen Kilimnik Parson are notable figures in this movement.