Postmodernism as a term has been defined in various forms and actions which have taken place within the late 1960s – 68 involving political turbulence and the liberation of previously marginalised groups (Meecham, 2005) . Although many critics and authors differ on some of its most elementary principles they agree to the idea of postmodernism representing the rejection of modernist principles of logical, historical, and scientific thought in approval of ironic, experimental, pastiche and the self-conscious (Jameson, 2003) . The idea of postmodernism based on a self-conscious, ironic and experimental framework gives foundation to many postmodern art practices and principles.
Some of the variations in thought surrounding postmodern concepts
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He trained at Maryland Institute College of Art and in 1979 was employed as a Wall Street commodities broker before beginning his career as an artist. In the 1980s he became an advocate of the emerging style of Neo-Geo which was an American art movement concerned with appropriation and parody. Koons utilizes his work to reflect the commercial systems of the modern world and may have more insightful knowledge of this because of his experiences of working within Wall Street? He also referred back to the Duchampian (modernism) tradition of appropriating an object to elevate it to an art status . This can be seen in the work he did with ‘Hoovers’ and how immaculate replicas of domestic products, advertisements, kitsch toys and models show the active advocacy of a society’s limitless and overbearing consumer consumption and was quick to see the West as a society has become flattered by self-absorption and images which represented an insatiable need for glamor and commodities . In his expressions of the banal, Koons didn’t hesitate to penetrate the borderlines of so called taste, which can be seen within the simplicity of his forms and the commercialism they …show more content…
We see here the influence of Baudrillards simulacra as “The latter looks at you, you look at yourself in it, mixed with the others, it is the mirror without silvering (taint) in the activity of consumption, a game of splitting in two and doubling that closes this world on itself” . With this in mind we can see this idea present within Rabbit (1986) in that this artwork has a system of reflection in which the reflective qualities of the sculpture transfers from artwork to viewer, so that the object reflects the image of the viewer while the viewer reflects on the work of art and the reflections, thus the viewer is gently forced to become an active consumer of his work and their consumption is reflected back onto them. The game continues as one realizes the Multi-dimensional framework in Koons art by the appropriation of innocent-looking objects, which explore ideas such as sex and the banal and his employment of a large crew to assist in production of his monumental, complex works which is reminiscence of mass production in culture , the difference is he creates one item to be visually consumed by the public yet owned by only those who can afford
Controversial artists such as Mike Parr and Stelarc place emphasis on shock-value and meaning rather than traditional skills and aesthetics, and use their own bodies as a medium, while working with new mediums and technology such as video, performance, sound, and robotics. As Postmodern art continues to push the boundaries of what is - and isn’t acceptable as art, the general public is left to wonder ‘what comes next?’.
Macey, David. “Postmodernity.” The Penguin Dictionary of Critical Theory. London: Penguin Books, 2001. 307-309. Print.
Postmodernity is said to be “a reaction against the Modern movement” (Nicol 2009) and has shown a complete disregard for many aspects of art and design that were popularized during modernity, including: legibility, the grid, and use of a clear hierarchy. Postmodernism, as an art movement, aims to create works based on an independent style. Nothing is new in postmodern art, in a sense that something always comes from something else.
Hailed as the founding father of the Pop Art movement in the late 1950's and early 1960's, Andy Warhol, through his endeavors, brought forward society's obsession with mass culture and allowed it to become the subject of his art. He produced works that defied and challenged the popular notion of what art should be by disputing the "traditional conventions pertaining to the uniqueness, authenticity, and authorship" of art (Faerna 28). However, it is an injustice to say that Warhol's goals primarily included the desire to create such a ground-breaking and salient style of American art or to entertain the public by making his own artistic contributions. Rather, Andy Warhol's interests were more entwined in his own self-interest and greed. Although a fraction of Andy Warhol's inspiration resided in his ambition to create a "unique" and exotic style of American art, his main motivation was purely materialistic and involved acquiring large sums of money and publicity to fuel his obsession with wealth and fame.
The Postmodernist movement begun after World War II in which, high and low culture are questionable in the view of society and Art. The postmodernist movement in literature creates a new set of ideals for fiction, such as the metafiction, the fable like representation in novels, the pastiche, irony, and satire. Fredric Jameson speaks about the movement and its theory in his essay “Postmodernism and Consumer Society”. He questions postmodernism in society as it creates the new societal norm of popular culture. On the other hand, Jean Baudrillard analyzes the simulacra of postmodernism in “The Precession of Simulacra”. Baudrillard speaks of the “truth” and “reality” also as a questionable representation for the reader. Yet, both critics agree that postmodernist literature is depthless. Spiegelman’s Maus series is a metafiction, which tells the story of Art Spiegelman’s journey of writing this novel through the present-day retelling of Vladek Spiegelman’s life during the Holocaust. However, as a postmodernist text, Jameson and Baudrillard calls it depthless and an “unreal” representation. Nevertheless, the representation of Maus presents the characteristics of a postmodernist text, but argues that it is not depthless because of the representation of an authoritative view, a historical continuum, and the text does not depict itself as a mode of pop culture.
In the 1950s, authors tended to follow common themes, these themes were summed up in an art called postmodernism. Postmodernism took place after the Cold War, themes changed drastically, and boundaries were broken down. Postmodern authors defined themselves by “avoiding traditional closure of themes or situations” (Postmodernism). Postmodernism tends to play with the mind, and give a new meaning to things, “Postmodern art often makes it a point of demonstrating in an obvious way the instability of meaning (Clayton)”. What makes postmodernism most unique is its unpredictable nature and “think o...
In conclusion, the use of elements of post modernism add a richness to literature and to the reading experience of the reader. Elements such as irony, magic realism and fragmentation cause people to think and make connections between the literature they are reading and how it relates to their own lives and the lives of the authors and other readers. The short stories studied in Ms. Reynolds 4U English class all contained many effective post modern elements that made students go more in depth with their reading and understanding of noted English literature. Perhaps some people were enlightened and adopted a postmodern view on the world.
Postmodernism is a vague term that can describe a variety of disciplines that include, architecture, art, music, film, fashion, literature…etc. (Klages). In the case of “Videotape”, postmodern literature would be the main focus or area of study. This type of literature emerged in the era that succeeded World War II and relies heavily on the use of techniques such as, fragmentation, the creation of paradoxes, and questionable protagonists. Furthermore, postmodern literature also exudes ambiguity and critical thinking where the focus is mainly on the reader and his/her experience of the work rather than the content and form. Building upon that, the selected passag...
If modernism and postmodernism are arguably two most distinguishing movements that dominated the 20th century Western art, they are certainly most exceptional styles that dominated the global architecture during this period. While modernism sought to capture the images and sensibilities of the age, going beyond simple representation of the present and involving the artist’s critical examination of the principles of art itself, postmodernism developed as a reaction against modernist formalism, seen as elitist. “Far more encompassing and accepting than the more rigid boundaries of modernist practice, postmodernism has offered something for everyone by accommodating wide range of styles, subjects, and formats” (Kleiner 810).
The concept of postmodernism has been much misunderstood. Resistance may come from the unfamiliarity of the wide range of work the term covers: the art of Andy Warhol; the music of John Cage and Terry Riley; ...
Lyotard was quoted trying to define postmodern. He is credited as coining this term and making it philosophical jargon, because it first became popular with the publication of The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge in 1979. This book contains Lyotard’s thoughts on many subjects, including the computer age, avant-garde art, and creative experimentation, among other things. Jean-François Lyotard is considered (philosophically) a founder of postmodernism. Other founders of postmodernism include Barthes, Foucault, and Derrida.
... The use of strong and bright light in Cubism, for example, points to Post Impressionism's role in influencing and affecting the art movement and its contribution in shaping how art is produced and critiqued based on the standards that it had set. Conclusion History repeats itself, and this is reflected in how Post Impressionism’s similarities with the earlier Impressionism act as proof of the cyclical nature of new things surfacing as a reaction to the old existing conditions. Impressionism and Post Impression gave the world a fine list of painters and an equally excellent collection of masterpieces which, when placed side by side, reveals the similarities of Post Impressionism and Impressionism and reflects the connection and relation of one art movement with the other. Works Cited Collischan, J. & Co., Ltd. (2010).
McHale, Brian. “Afterword: Reconstructing Postmodernism.” Narrative 213 (2013): 357-364. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
Postmodernism assumes an ontology of fragmented being. Where modernism asserts the primacy of the subject in revealing universal truth, postmodernism challenges the authority of the subject and, thus, universal truth based on it. Modernism and postmodernism, however, draw upon distinctly different epistemological modes: critical and dogmatic.
Jameson, Frederic (1993): Postmodernism. in: Docherty, Thomas. (ed.) Postmodernism a Reader. Cambridge: Harvester Wheatsheaf. pp.70-71