Contemporary Art Museums

Contemporary art museums are institutions supported in many countries, having effects such as revitalizing tourism, stimulating the service sector, rehabilitating peripheral neighborhoods of cities, and reviving cities in decline.

The Musée des Artistes Vivant in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which J. Pedro Lorente describes as models of contemporary art museums, were institutions that defined artistic paradigms in the 19th and 20th centuries. Although the artistic taste trends shaped there were imitated in some countries and entirely rejected in others, it is certain that they transformed into museological criteria.

In his book "Çağdaş Sanat Müzeleri" (Contemporary Art Museums), J. Pedro Lorente discusses the history of these institutions in two periods, presenting various approaches and answering questions about terminology. He places the concept of the contemporary art museum within a historical-geographical perspective, tracing its evolution over time, and reveals how cultural policies are determined today.

J. Pedro Lorente works in the Department of Art History at the University of Zaragoza.