The Multidimensional Interpretation of Contemporary Art as an Organism

The concept of contemporary art does not emphasize the boundary between art and non-art. It will constantly include non-art objects into the category of art. Contemporary art has thoughts and souls. It focuses on human psychology, society, history and other broad fields. Contemporary artists are often people who are rich in philosophical thinking. They should learn to observe the world in depth and express their thoughts on the world with their works. Since the 20th century, with the awakening of People’s self-consciousness and political consciousness, artists’ exploration and application of body symbols constantly express their reflection and introspection on society, there is also a change in the way of understanding and constructing one’s own identity. The identity issues such as feminism and ethnic minorities have triggered a series of social movements. This article will take the body expression in modern and contemporary art as the incision, and will carry on the research from the following two aspects: 1) taking the body’s plasticity, empathy and sociality as the representatives, the paper analyzes the language characteristics behind the body’s expression; 2) This paper discusses the body as a critical weapon from the perspective of its discourse power, attitude, power and as a tool of identity construction. And through a number of body-related works of art research, analysis of its expression in the context of modern and contemporary art direction. Is a work of art an “organism”? In order to answer this question, we must first clarify the concept of “organism”, which usually refers to living individuals. The Modern Chinese Dictionary simplifies it to “human beings and animals”. The more popular definition in psychology is “the organic matter with the ability to adapt to changes in the environment”. An interpretation closer to the artistic dimension comes from Aristotle, who believed that “poetry is an organism”. Later, Coleridge, an English poet, developed his idea, believing that “the life of a poem originates from the seed of the poet’s inspiration, which unconsciously absorbs the components of external substances acting on the human brain, thereby forming an organic entity that unites content and form, thought and emotion, concept and imagery” (Whistler,