Tea Excuse Talks 45: Confusion of Meaning in Contemporary Art
The 45th of the "Tea Excuse Talks" program series organized by Muş Alparslan University and which has become a tradition, was realized with a speech titled "Confusion of Meaning in Contemporary Art" by Dr. Abdulkadir Öznülüer, Lecturer of the Department of Handicrafts.
In the program, which our Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Alican also attended, Dr. Öznülüer addressed the developmental processes of confusion of meaning from the perspective of art history and made the following statements:
“Art History shows us that the emergence, development and acceptance of the concept of ready-made object went through certain stages. The wars experienced in the first half of the 20th century in particular were a critical turning point in the birth of this concept. The deep traces left by wars on humanity caused aesthetic values to almost completely lose their appeal. The destruction caused by World War I brought about a radical transformation not only in the social structure but also in the art world. Art did not remain indifferent to the developments around it; has shown a change in various forms, methods and materials.”
In this context, Dr. Öznülüer also emphasized the innovations that Marcel Duchamp brought to the art world. He stated that the concept of “ready-made object”, prominent in Duchamp’s art, was one of the basic elements that accelerated the transition from modern art to postmodern art. Drawing attention to the fact that the artists’ state of mind played a decisive role in this transformation, Dr. Öznülüer said, “It is a fact that art constantly changes depending on environmental conditions. Lynton’s statement, ‘In fact, there is no such thing as art, there are only artists’ clearly reveals this situation. Thanks to Duchamp’s contributions, contemporary art was placed on a philosophical basis and many works of art were produced with this approach.”
Muş Alparslan University 
