Altermodern

Description

Altermodern, a blend word defined by Nicolas Bourriaud, is an attempt at contextualizing art made in today's global context as a reaction against standardisation and commercialism. It is also the title of the Tate Britain's fourth Triennial exhibition curated by Bourriaud.

Altermodern can essentially be read as an artist working in a hypermodern world or with supermodern ideas or themes. Read more ↗

Key Artists

Nicolas Bourriaud
French curator and art critic who coined the term 'Altermodern' and curated the landmark 2009 Tate Britain Triennial defining the movement.
Lindsay Seers
British artist featured prominently in the 2009 Tate Triennial, noted for complex biographical narrative installations and docufictional video works.
Walead Beshty
Artist whose conceptual, travel-worn FedEx glass boxes and photograms exemplified the movement's themes of global transit and materiality.
Tacita Dean
Featured in the Altermodern exhibition, exploring journeys, planetary time zones, and the fragility of analog film formats.
Mike Nelson
Installation artist represented at the Tate Triennial whose labyrinthine architectural environments embody cultural nomadism and hybrid histories.
Matthew Darbyshire
British sculptor featured in the 2009 Triennial who interrogated standardized global design and domestic consumer environments.

Famous Artworks

Extramission 6 (Black Maria)
Lindsay Seers · 2009
Tate Britain Triennial 2009, London - Multimedia architectural and video installation
FedEx Kraft Box © 2008 FEDEX 330508...
Walead Beshty · 2008
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York - Laminated clear glass shipped via FedEx
Majesty
Tacita Dean · 2006
Tate Collection, London - Gouache on overpainted black-and-white photograph
The Coral Reef
Mike Nelson · 2000
Tate Collection, London - Fifteen-room immersive architectural installation
Altermodern: Tate Triennial 2009 Prologues
Nicolas Bourriaud and Participating Artists · 2009
Tate Britain, London - Curatorial manifesto and performative symposium series

Fun Facts

Nicolas Bourriaud coined 'Altermodern' as a portmanteau indicating an alternative modernity - arguing that postmodernism had officially reached its end due to globalization and creolization.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org
Rather than focusing on static artistic objects, Altermodernism champions what Bourriaud calls the 'journey-form,' where artworks serve as navigational traces across time zones, geography, and digital networks.
↗ Source: tate.org.uk

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