Leading Edge Artists

The dictionary definition of Ð''leading edge' is said to be Ð''the foremost position in a trend or movement.' In terms of the art world the Ð''leading edge' is defined by many ideas, some key ideas being innovation, trend setting, and thinking outside the box. These themes all allude to the new; things that have not been done before, which is the basis of contemporary art. I haven chosen the artist Yuk King Tan as I consider her to have shown the qualities of a leading edge artist through her artwork.

Within my essay I will investigate further into the ideas of Ð''leading edge,' and how my selected artist Yuk King Tan shows these through her art practice.

Through out my investigation into ideas of leading edge I have found definite themes. The first theme being innovation in which new ideas are explored through different mediums, forms, and environments. The next theme I encountered was that of artists thinking outside the box in relation to the more traditional view of fine arts, this requires the artist to have a unique perspective on conceptual art. The last theme I identified was originality or Ð''new art'. In order to achieve originality the artist must reject art from the past as a model and look towards other outlets for inspiration.

Artists who display innovation explore the confines of subject matter and form through experimenting with space and new materials. Artistic innovation can lead to trend setting and inspire contemporary artists for years to come. World renowned artist Do Ho Suh provides examples of innovative art with sculptural-installation pieces like Floor (Fig.1) and life sized reconstructions of his living spaces from semi-transparent fabrics. Suh is innovative in the materials he uses and the spaces in which he creates his work turning away from those methods conventional to fine arts practice. In Floor(Fig. 1) Suh uses the space in which he displays his artwork as part of the architecture, in this case a floor, creating a flagstone appearance with thousands of small figurines struggling to hold up the glass encasing them. Suh's works Seoul Home (Fig. 2), Staircase (Fig. 3) and 348 West 22nd St., Apt A, New York, NY 10011 (corridor) (Fig. 4) consists of semi-transparent fabrics sewn to recreate his living areas, whether it be his apartment in New York, his family home in Seoul, or his landlords staircase. These works have been beautifully created in full scale so that the viewer may walk through the areas, inviting them to interact with the art which is a current trend that has emerged in contemporary art. Another innovative way of using space. The idea of being able to pack your home into a suitcase and take it where ever you go is strengthened by Suh's choice to create the artworks out of fabric; an unconventional approach to sculpture.

Thinking outside the box is a key idea behind the more conceptual contemporary art where the concept takes precedence over the traditional media. Andy Warhol was founder of the conceptual art movement. In his time Warhol was at the leading edge of the art world and it was through his ideas and the thinking of Ð''outside the box' that opened the viewers eyes to a new way of looking at the production of art. He challenged the narrow confines of the art world by producing such works as Campbell's Soup Can 1968. Through these works of famous American products Warhol explored ideas of the massed produced and then using a silk screen mass produced the artworks themselves. At this time in the art scene, such concepts of mass produced art had not been done which caused controversy and lead to Warhol's current fame as he thought outside the box to bring us these works and brought with it the acceptance of conceptual art.



Originality is paramount to contemporary art and is fuelled by constant innovation.

New art should be progressive and stimulating. Although many artists over time have shown originality in their work, once something new has