The Winchester Guide to Keywords and Concepts for International Students in Art, Media and Design

PART BCONTEMPORARY THINKERS AND CONCEPTS

While many contemporary theorists and art historians draw on the insights of Marxism, psychoanalysis, phenomenology, language theory and vitalism, they argue that all lingering claims to ‘objectivity’ are misleading. Contemporary theory rejects belief in objective truth and the possibility of universal cultural narratives. It reflects the almost total collapse of belief in the possibility of a science of the study of culture – that is, that there can be an objective understanding of cultural development and change. Earlier methodologies, it is claimed, also failed to fully recognise the significance of the fact that visual artefacts are part of a much wider category of objects whose functions within society are closely aligned with political, economic, ethnic, psychological and gender issues.

It is understood that the nature of the arts and meaning in general is deeply embedded in mediating systems, and almost all areas of experience should therefore be seen to be like ‘texts’ to be ‘read’ and ‘decoded’. At the same time, these ‘texts’ are recognised as being more intricate and potentially more subversive than they might at first seem. Contemporary approaches therefore aim to show that paintings, sculptures and similar objects are not mysterious objects, and that it is misleading to think in terms of genius, inspiration, creativity or any ...