Paradigmatic breakings in art history and their reflections on painting

The purpose of this study is to focus on the breaking points of the art history and the power relation dynamics that shaped these breaking points in the current period. In addition, we aim to emphasize the place and the role of painting in this permissive and pluralistic contemporary art environment. Art history, cannot be considered without the power relations that determines social and economic relations. Western art has been shaped by different historical forces throughout the history. Until the birth of contemporary art, art has been shaped by under the influence of grand narratives and dominant art movements. However, contemporary art reestablished bonds with the everyday life and embraced everyman in the production of art. Unlike the previous art approaches, this gave chance to everyone to become an artist and also paved the way for everything to be a work of art. Despite the pessimistic arguments that contemporary art shaped by opposition to tradition and it is the end of art and painting, contemporary art's permissive and pluralistic nature helped to refute these pessimistic ideas. Today, from traditional methods to the new opportunities provided by the digital technology, all kinds of presentation methods are applicable. Otherwise, the avant-garde critique of modern art's elitist approach will raise again. However, it's an undeniable reality that the freedom provided to artists by avant-garde outputs are under the control of capitalism and the culture industry. While the permissive and pluralistic nature of contemporary art has a great value, today the problem of commodification of art and artist are big concerns. These tensions of contemporary art shape today's art environment. Keywords: mimesis, aesthetic, contemporary, modernism, postmodernism, pluralism