What is 1980s Art? | A guide to art terminology (2024)

1980s art was marked by a wide range of artistic styles, including neo-expressionism, abstract paintings, and installation and performance artists.

In the 1980s, there was a departure from the minimalistic and intellectual art of the previous decade. Instead, artists explored various forms like painting, photography, graffiti, and sculpture. The era also saw a rise in conservative values as a reaction to the radical counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s. The booming economy led to a revived art market, bringing Neo-Expressionist painting, notably by artists like Julian Schnabel and Anselm Kiefer, into the spotlight in New York City, Italy, and Germany.

What is 1980s Art? | A guide to art terminology (2024)

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What is 1980s Art? | A guide to art terminology? ›

1980s art was marked by a wide range of artistic styles, including neo-expressionism

neo-expressionism
Neo-expressionism developed as a reaction against conceptual art and minimal art of the 1970s. Neo-expressionists returned to portraying recognizable objects, such as the human body (although sometimes in an abstract manner), in a rough and violently emotional way, often using vivid colors.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Neo-expressionism
, abstract paintings, and installation and performance artists. In the 1980s, there was a departure from the minimalistic and intellectual art of the previous decade.

What was the art style in the 1980s? ›

The art world of the 1980s was a place of artistic diversity and aesthetic contention. Neo-expressionists jostled for theoretical (and commercial) position with abstract painters, installation and performance artists, appropriationists and others. And little, upon reflection, was as it seemed.

What are the terminologies of art? ›

Art Terminology 101: 20 Art Terms to Describe an Artwork
  • Acrylic. Acrylic paint, which first started to be used by artists in the 1960s, consists of a mix of pigment and synthetic resin. ...
  • Avant-garde. ...
  • Diptych/Triptych/Polyptych. ...
  • Limited Edition Print. ...
  • Oil Paint. ...
  • Photorealism.
Sep 21, 2021

Is the term modern art refers to art from the period 1860s to 1970s? ›

Modern art refers to artistic work produced from the 1860s to the 1970s. During this time period, artists began to experiment with their mediums in response to dramatic shifts in the social, economic, and technological landscape of Europe and America following the Industrial Revolution.

What is the art term technique? ›

An art technique refers to specific methods or approaches used by artists to create their artwork. These techniques can include various materials, tools, styles, or processes.

What is the 80s pattern called? ›

Memphis Design is a 1980s design aesthetic characterized by scattered, brightly colored shapes and lines. It typically combines circles and triangles with black-and-white graphic patterns such as polka dots and squiggly lines.

What was the main style in the 80s? ›

Velour, velvet, and polyester were popular fabrics used in clothes, especially button-up and v shirts. Looser pants remained popular during this time, being fairly wide but straight, and tighter shirts were especially popular, sometimes in a cropped athletic style.

What is the art term style? ›

Style is basically the manner in which the artist portrays his or her subject matter and how the artist expresses his or her vision. Style is determined by the characteristics that describe the artwork, such as the way the artist employs form, color, and composition, to name just a few.

What is some art vocabulary? ›

Art has a specific vocabulary. It is a visual language composed of many elements such as color, line, shape, texture, light and space. An artist combines these elements to create a composition which, because of its unique arrangement, has a mood all its own.

What do the 7 elements of art refer to? ›

The seven elements of art are line, shape, space, value, form, texture, and color. These elements are the building blocks, or ingredients, of art. A line is a mark made on a surface.

What refers to art created from 1880s up to the 1970s? ›

They are, however, distinct and describe two different time periods. Modern art is a specific movement and period of art created from the 1880s up to the 1970s.

What is 70s art called? ›

The period of the late 1960s and early 1970's offered a fresh definition for creative production. This period marks the birth of contemporary art, also known as 'Postmodernism'. It was a period of change, greatly influenced by the hippie movement and student protests of 1968.

What is modern art called now? ›

Modern art is that which was created sometime between the 1860s (some say the 1880s) and the late 1960s (some say only through the 1950s). Art made thereafter (e.g., conceptual, minimalist, postmodern, feminist) is considered contemporary.

What is art terminology? ›

Details that define an object or piece of art.

What is an example of terms of art? ›

A term of art is a word or phrase that has a specific meaning in a particular field, different from its general meaning. For example, in law, "and his heirs" and "res ipsa loquitur" have specific meanings that are different from their everyday use.

How are terms of art defined? ›

A word or phrase that has a special meaning in a particular context. "Legal terms of art" denote "words or expressions that have through usage by legal professionals acquired a distinct legal meaning".

What is the 80s aesthetic art style? ›

Essentially, the 80s deco style in graphic design entails clean, sans-serif fonts, pronounced angles and curves. Drop shadows and outer glows were also commonly added to emphasize the text. However, in terms of interior design, it meant decorating rooms with black lacquer furniture and arched ceramic vases.

What was the style of the 80s years? ›

The 1980s was possibly the boldest decade in modern fashion history, a magical era of over-the-top silhouettes, teased perms and saturated colors. They were the years of puffed shoulders and power suits, flashy skirts and spandex leggings, velour, leg warmers and voluminous parachute pants.

What design era was the 1980s? ›

Pop culture influence and post-modernism

The design style of the 1980s was heavily influenced by popular culture and the rise of postmodernism. References to the past, including art deco, Memphis design, and the pop art movement, were reimagined through a contemporary lens.

Which art movement was revived in the 1980s? ›

Although this art style dates back to an era previously, Appropriation art saw a revival once again in the 80s. It's defined as the use of pre-existing objects or images with little to no transformation or adjustments applied to the piece.

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