Temporary art

also: Ephemeral art

genre 20th century-present Worldwide

Ephemeral art - also called temporary art - names any artistic expression conceived around transience: work that is not meant to survive as a conservable object. The impulse is as old as sand mandalas and the burnt Fallas of Valencia, but it became a program in twentieth-century art, when Futurism's manifestos exalted impermanence and happenings, performance, installation, land art and conceptual practice treated the event rather than the artifact as the work. Temporary art is usually staged outdoors at public landmarks or in unexpected places, often promoted by cities and festivals. Because the piece melts, burns, decays or is dismantled by design, documentation and memory become part of the work - a passing, momentary art made for instantaneous consumption and judged by the social taste of its moment.

Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead. Built 1914-17 by Arthur Stockwell to house the art collection of wealthy local solicitor and art collector,
Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead. Built 1914-17 by Arthur Stockwell to house the art collection of wealthy local solicitor and art collector, CC BY-SA 2.0 (credit: Andrew Curtis) · source

Defining characteristics

  • Built to end: works melt, burn, decay, or are dismantled by design (ice figures, wax sculptures, a decomposing apple)
  • The event and its documentation stand in for the object - photos, film and memory carry the work forward
  • Staged outdoors at public landmarks or in unexpected, unannounced places
  • Perishable, everyday materials: ice, food, flowers, sawdust, balloons, graffiti paint
  • Tied to festivals and civic events; commissioned as temporary public art
  • The fleeting and unrepeatable is the point - 'what will never be seen twice'

Key figures

  • Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944) — Futurist founder whose 1911 manifesto exalted impermanence over immortal art
  • Yoko Ono (1933-) — Conceptual artist whose Apple (1966) made decay part of the exhibit
  • Christo (1935-2020) — Wrapped buildings and landscapes with Jeanne-Claude, works removed after display (The Umbrella Project, 1991)
  • Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009) — Co-creator of the Christo installations, staged to exist only temporarily
  • Damien Hirst (1965-) — A Thousand Years (1990) let decay and death run inside a single work

Example works

  • Apple — Yoko Ono (1966)
  • A Thousand Years — Damien Hirst (1990)
  • The Umbrella Project — Christo (1991)

Sources

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