THE CONTEMPORARy MUSEUM/THE MUSEUM Of CONTEMPORARY ART: THE CONTEMPORARINESS DEBATE (WHAT IS CONTEMPORARY?) FROM A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Contemporary art is a situation or, rather, a plurality of situations, whose definition/naming involves irreconcilable differences. If what was contemporary fifty years ago is no longer contemporary, what name shall we give it? Does it automatically fall into the category of the “modern”? If so, will what is “contemporary” today become “modern” in the museum of tomorrow? Or will it be “after-modern”? Or will it, perhaps, directly be transformed into a “classic”? The article discusses the possible functions of a museum of contemporary art today. The lack of venues for contemporary art in Sofia, as well as of museums for both modern art and contemporary art, has been the subject of heated debate in recent years. What is contemporary and rightfully could belong in a museum of contemporary art is a central question in these discussions. “Contemporary art” cannot serve as a concept that is defined once and for all. Every time the term is used, it is used from within a particular situation and needs to be negotiated. This text contends that contemporariness is plural. To be legitimate, its presentation can/must also be plural.