Contemporary Art In Jane Alexander's 'The Butcher Boys'

As defined by Steinhardt NYU “Contemporary art is the art of today, produced by artists who are living in the twenty-first century. Contemporary art provides an opportunity to reflect on contemporary society and the issues relevant to ourselves, and the world around us.”
Although Jane Alexander’s surreal artwork, The Butcher Boys, is dated 1984, but is still relevant to all of us living in the twenty first century. Although the apartheid era has been called to an end, many - if not most of us - are still living with the aftermath of Apartheid. Many South Africans are still carrying some kind of emotional burden, whether it being anger, hurt, resentment or empathy as a result of the circumstances they had to endure during that period. Although the Apartheid era has been declared as ‘over’ – In the twenty first century, we are currently still struggling to correct the inequalities that were inflicted during Apartheid regime. A large proportion of South Africans are still living in the shadows of apartheid, whether being white or black due to poverty, prejudice and injustice caused by the despotic dictatorship.
The “aboutness’’ of Alexander’s artwork is very real and truthful and confronting in a sense that it demands interpretation because of the artwork’s surrealistic and bold appearance and the way in which it is very unusual and probably makes most people feel uncomfortable at first glance. This refers back to the uncomfortable and somewhat ‘awkward’ topic of Apartheid, and