Salt Lake Community College

Ethnography project

How are African-American Cultures Affected by Contemporary Art in Salt Lake

Madalyn Henderson

Anthropology 1010

Professor Viviane Luiza da Silva

4/26/2022
Literature review

The goal is to understand how different cultures are affected by contemporary art in Salt

Lake City Utah. We want to see if their culture is represented well in Salt Lake as well as to

create a better understanding for how different art pieces can affect one individual more than

another. So what is contemporary art and why is it important? It’s important because it has a

historical impact, it brings people together and it gives people a creative space. First and

foremost, what is contemporary art? In order to answer our goal we first need to understand what

contemporary art is. Contemporary art is modern art, typically made during the second half of

the 20th century till now. However contemporary art and modern art are not the same thing. The

biggest difference being that contemporary art gives an opportunity to reflect on society.

Which is also one of the biggest reasons why contemporary artists are so important. As it

gives us a chance to reflect on different issues in our cultures and societies, but can also be used

to express our cultures and our differences with the world. However, what else makes

contemporary art so important? Well there are a few answers to that question; historical value,

educational value, esthetic value, and spiritual value to name a few. Though the thing to link

them all is that they all use are to learn from. Whether that be learning of something that

happened in the past like a war, or learning about a different custom or holiday set another

culture celebrates. It also has the importance of bringing people together, art can have a strong

emotional impact on a person or group and can often have people relating not only with the art

but with each other as well. But could contemporary art be considered a bad thing?

In some place that answer is yes. In places where there is a stronger government control

something like contemporary art can be considered wrong and seen as propaganda. Oftentimes
contemporary and modern art is hidden or banned by someone who is trying to control what kind

of media is being displayed, much like a library banning a book or a website banning a post.

Though overall contemporary art is not a bad thing. As stated before it is beyond important to

society for both its emotional connection and its historical impact. But it is also important

because it gives people a place to express themselves and their creativity. Without the output of

art there would be so many people that would feel that there is nowhere to express themselves

and to talk about the issues that they face everyday. Therefore contemporary art is extremely

important to our society, and shouldn’t be pushed away or hidden.

Work cited

Contemporary art: What is contemporary art definition? Eden Gallery. (n.d.). Retrieved

April 26, 2022, from https://www.eden-gallery.com/news/what-is-contemporary-art

Delagrange, J. (2022, April 6). Why is contemporary art important? – cai. Contemporary

Art Issue - Platform, Publisher & Gallery on Contemporary Art. Retrieved April 26, 2022,

from https://www.contemporaryartissue.com/why-is-contemporary-art-important/

Modern forms. Modern Forms. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2022, from

https://www.modernforms.com/
Applying methods

Our group decided that the best way to find more information on our topic would be to

divide and conquer. So we each decided to choose a different culture and then do various

amounts of research online. As well as talking to local people and physically going out and

seeing the art ourselves. Once we actually divided into our own topics we kind of went into our

own way of finding information. I personally did most of my research online, looking for

different articles on how African-American cultures are represented in contemporary art.

However I also went to a local museum with a friend of mine who is an African-American

descent who was also born and raised in Salt Lake City it got a few of her opinions on the topic

as well.

Essay

How does contemporary art affect African American cultures in Salt Lake City? It is

affected in many ways including, what contemporary art is, if it’s represented or not, and can you

learn from it? The goal is to understand how different cultures are affected by contemporary art

in Salt Lake City Utah. We want to see if their culture is represented well in Salt Lake as well as

to create a better understanding for how different art pieces can affect one individual more than

another. So what is contemporary art and why is it important?

It’s important because it has a historical impact, it brings people together and it gives

people a creative space. First and foremost, what is contemporary art? In order to answer our

goal we first need to understand what contemporary art is. Contemporary art is modern art,
typically made during the second half of the 20th century till now. However contemporary art

and modern art are not the same thing. The biggest difference being that contemporary art gives

an opportunity to reflect on society.

Which is also one of the biggest reasons why contemporary artists are so important. As it

gives us a chance to reflect on different issues in our cultures and societies, but can also be used

to express our cultures and our differences with the world. However, what else makes

contemporary art so important? Well there are a few answers to that question; historical value,

educational value, esthetic value, and spiritual value to name a few. Though the thing to link

them all is that they all use are to learn from. Whether that be learning of something that

happened in the past like a war, or learning about a different custom or holiday set another

culture celebrates. It also has the importance of bringing people together, art can have a strong

emotional impact on a person or group and can often have people relating not only with the art

but with each other as well. But could contemporary art be considered a bad thing?

In some place that answer is yes. In places where there is a stronger government control

something like contemporary art can be considered wrong and seen as propaganda. Oftentimes

contemporary and modern art is hidden or banned by someone who is trying to control what kind

of media is being displayed, much like a library banning a book or a website banning a post.

Though overall contemporary art is not a bad thing. As stated before it is beyond important to

society for both its emotional connection and its historical impact. But it is also important

because it gives people a place to express themselves and their creativity. Without the output of

art there would be so many people that would feel that there is nowhere to express themselves

and to talk about the issues that they face everyday. Therefore contemporary art is extremely

important to our society, and shouldn’t be pushed away or hidden.

 In order to find out how African-American cultures are affected by contemporary art, Our

group decided it would be to divide and conquer. So we each decided to choose a different

culture and then do various amounts of research online. As well as talking to local people and

physically going out and seeing the art ourselves. Once we actually divided into our own topics

we kind of went into our own way of finding information. I personally did most of my research

online, looking for different articles on how African-American cultures are represented in

contemporary art. However I also went to a local museum with a friend of mine who is an

African-American descent who was also born and raised in Salt Lake City. I got a few of her

opinions on the topic as well.

Through this research it was found that there is not as much representation for

African-American cultures in contemporary art in Salt Lake as there should be. Though there is

quite a bit here and there it is shown through a western lens. Oftentimes falling under the

category of art being altered so that people see what they want to see and not the true meaning

behind it. So that is what contemporary art is there for to tell a story or to get a message across,

but can very quickly be seen as propaganda We’re going against what the majority wants to be

seen. So a lot of African American art gets altered for that majority to enjoy it even if it means

that it takes away the authenticity of the actual art itself and the meaning behind it.

Having that filter over the art can also make it hard to learn from it. Especially with a

culture that has experienced so much inequality and so many hardships. Instead of allowing art to

build them up and to celebrate their cultures they are expected to be “white washed” to appease

other peoples cultures. however not all of the art was like this a lot of the art did properly

represent African-American cultures. There are a lot of artworks out there that can bring pride
and familiarity to African cultures because it does show a lot of what it is like to grow up in that

culture and have that background.

Through all of this I learned that in Salt Lake City there isn’t a whole lot of representation

for African-American cultures and contemporary art. However, with what there is it is still

something you can learn from and potentially even create a better understanding for their culture.

Which is why contemporary art is so important to society, because it gives us a learning

opportunity as well as a chance to relate and connect to someone else’s experiences and culture.
 Work cited

Contemporary art: What is contemporary art definition? Eden Gallery. (n.d.). Retrieved

April 26, 2022, from https://www.eden-gallery.com/news/what-is-contemporary-art

Delagrange, J. (2022, April 6). Why is contemporary art important? – cai. Contemporary

Art Issue - Platform, Publisher & Gallery on Contemporary Art. Retrieved April 26, 2022,

from https://www.contemporaryartissue.com/why-is-contemporary-art-important/

Metmuseum.org. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2022, from

https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/collection-insights/2021/black-history-month-videos

Modern forms. Modern Forms. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2022, from

https://www.modernforms.com/

Onuzo, C. (2021, November 12). Why Black Contemporary Artists shouldn't just be

shown through a western lens. The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. Retrieved

April 26, 2022, from

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/11/12/why-black-contemporary-artists-shouldnt-just-be-

shown-through-a-western-lens

Tue, C. (n.d.). 11 contemporary Black Artists You should know. Art & Object.

Retrieved April 26, 2022, from

https://www.artandobject.com/slideshows/10-contemporary-black-artists-you-should-know-more

-about