Art history timeline atlas
Global Biennials And Postmodernism
Postmodern and global contemporary art questioned originality, identity, center-periphery narratives and the museum's claim to neutrality.
Postwar Experiments And Global Networks
Historical context
Biennials and global exhibitions expanded visibility but also created new market and institutional pressures.
Postmodern strategies included appropriation, quotation, irony, fragmentation and critique of master narratives.
How to look
- Look beyond one center. Postwar art moves through New York, Paris, Mexico City, Lagos, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Seoul and many other networks.
- Notice how the artwork becomes action, environment, document, idea, institution critique, body politics or public argument.
Makers, works, and materials
Date range: c. 1970-2000
Regions: Global
Media: Installation, Photography, Painting, Video, Text
Movements: Postmodernism, Global contemporary art
Makers to research
- Cindy Sherman
- Shirin Neshat
- El Anatsui
- Cai Guo-Qiang
- Doris Salcedo
Named works to compare
- Appropriation photography
- Global biennial installations
- Postmodern image works
The exhibition as world map
A biennial can present itself as global conversation, but its choices reveal money, access, geopolitics and curatorial power.
Legacy and why it matters
Global contemporary art changed the map of art history, making it harder to tell a single-center story.