How Has Death Been Presented In Western Contemporary Art

The issue of death is one of the fundamental issues that people will face when they are alive.It is also a traditional topic in Western art.In the history of Western art,the interpretation of death has never stopped and is constantly changing and updating.The presentation of art to death is based on the change of times,the change of social and cultural environment and the development of art itself.In the 20 th century,the western culture of death experienced a significant turning point.The turning point is that religious theology lost the monopoly position of interpreting death.Contemporary art has also experienced this turning point.In concept,before the 20 th century,western art works on the topic of death could not be separated from the influence of religion and theology.The concept of death conveyed in the works is also based on the interpretation of death in religion and theology.Since the 20 th century,the concept of death centered on God's death has declined in art,and the human centered philosophy of humanism has become the mainstream concept of death.In terms of artistic expression,taking body as the medium to present the theme of death in contemporary art has become a prominent phenomenon that can not be ignored,and has its own characteristics different from the past.Therefore,in this paper,literature research,interdisciplinary research and case analysis are used to discuss the topic of death theme in western contemporary art in five chapters.The first chapter is the introduction,which will explain the research background,research content,research methods and research status at home and abroad,and define the research scope and some concepts.The second chapter attempts to deconstruct the conceptual basis of the contemporary western death theme from the characteristics of the western social and cultural environment,analyzes its complex and contradictory social and cultural background and acute death problems,expounds the concept of death produced in this context and explores its impact on contemporary art.On this basis,thethird chapter will explore why the western contemporary artists use the body as a medium to involve death in their works,and analyze the relationship between the body as a medium and the death theme in western contemporary art.This paper expounds the characteristics of body as a medium in presentation and sorts it.The fourth chapter takes the influential and representative artists and their works as examples to analyze the content,concept and presentation of death theme in western contemporary art.The fifth chapter will discuss the presentation of death theme in western contemporary art from two aspects of value and controversy.The reality of death in today's western society is full of contradictions.The good news of continuous victory over disease,the fear of sudden death and the shadow of war exist at the same time.The attitude of taboo and indifference to death in the society makes the contemporary death problem be ignored.In this case,although the artist's realistic creation and bold presentation have caused controversy,the controversy is also a part of its value.What can't be ignored is that the presentation of death theme in western contemporary art tries to break the taboo and indifference of death in Western cultural environment.Artists' works convey the positive spirit of facing death directly by disclosing the reality and paying attention to people's real suffering.The acceptance of the inevitability of death does not mean the erasure of the meaning of life.On the contrary,facing death squarely is the first step to seek the meaning of life.Facing death squarely is about living authentically.