The disagreement between public and contemporary art: Signs of a failed cultural transition in Spain

Abstract

In a society of information that makes massive use of images, we can observe how paradoxically those that have been created by current artists generally produce misunderstanding or even rejection. A large part of the Spanish public fails when trying to interpret images encoded by an art of experimental nature. The lack of interest in creative current affairs that is perceived in Spain should not be ignored, since over time it could cause a cultural gap from the rest of the surrounding nations, inviting us to think that the political transition that the country experienced after the dictatorship, has not had similar cultural relevance. According to our opinion, three are the main causes of the problem of the reception of contemporary art in Spain: The gradual disappearance of the arts and humanities in education systems, the complexity of its intellectualized discourse by a certain cultural mediation, as well as the eccentric and banal image that is projected about this type of manifestations by numerous media. We believe that a thorough analysis of these three factors can reveal a diagnosis that helps to establish the necessary means to improve this unwanted cultural situation in Spain.