The fact that among these artists is a wide range of visions is characteristic of late twentieth-century art. At no previous time in art history have there been such divergent points of view and techniques of communication. Artists today have great freedom to transgress the conventional boundaries of their respective media with their use of materials and imagery. Among the pieces selected there are both representational and non-objective or abstract styles. There is a wide disparity of subjects in these works, yet their common thread is the degree to which they display inventiveness.
Art always reflects the culture and the time in which it was created.
The issues that confront the United States in the late 1990's, therefore, are reflected in these stimulating pieces. Nature and the environment, individualism, racism, power, violence, death, fear, beauty, drama, irony, and the unknown are all represented here. Art also questions the basic premises of the prevailing culture in ways that help the viewer see the world in a different way. Works of art invite us to change our mental patterns, thus making new thought possible. For me, these works of art collectively present themselves as catalysts for change.