Artists, designers and craftspeople have frequently collaborated in pursuit of a common goal or philosophy. These collaborations have formed some of the landmark art movements throughout history and demonstrate how powerful united human endeavour can be. Often their ideas are quite revolutionary for their times and challenge established conventions and trends. 

One of the most contentious in the 20th century was Cubism fuelled by the collaboration of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Robert Delaunay, Juan Gris and Fernand Léger were also

influenced by these ideas. Political upheaval often forges artistic alliances, such as the impact of colonialism in India which inspired the ‘Bengal School’ art movement. The powerful union of Nandalal Bose, Gaganendranath Tagore and Mukul Dey had a major impact on the art of its day. These art movements of the past were usually generated by localised groups of artists sharing ideas in small communities. The world today through social media is a global community where ideas can be shared with the click of a button. This is contributing to a fantastically diverse range of contemporary art.

Artists have often attempted to capture the emotion and tension between lovers or close partnerships. Adding another person to a portrait creates an intriguing narrative. There are some excellent examples of this, such as David Hockney’s Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy, Lisa and Emily, London by Sunil Gupta and A Married Couple by George Grosz. Contemporary collaborations, such as Yayoi Kusama’s relationship with the fashion brand Louis Vuitton, have resulted in spectacular artworks that surprise and shock the viewer. Many current artists’ works rely on the direct collaboration between viewer and work. Marina Abramović and Jeremy Deller force this interaction with works, such as Imponderabilia and We’re here because we’re here. In these works, for brief moments of time, the viewer becomes an integral part of the art.

The juxtaposition of ugliness and beauty has a profound effect in much the same way as the pairing of complementary colours. One element exaggerates and enhances the characteristics of the other. These effects have long been exploited by artists and can be seen in many paintings from early Flemish examples, such as Adriaen van Utrecht’s Still Life with Game, Vegetables, Fruit and Cockatoo to the more contemporary examples, such as Audrey Flack’s Wheel of Fortune and Ndidi Emefiele’s Cushion In.

The way some machines, such as computers, cars, aircraft and bicycles almost become extensions of the body, has captured the imagination of many artists. Neil Harbisson has actually, consciously become a cyborg by having an antenna implanted into his skull. He uses this antenna to sense audible vibrations which his brain can then translate into senses.