A Postmodern analysis of
H.R. Giger's: "The Birth Machine"
Contents
1. Introduction to Essay: Premodern, Modern and Post Modern Art
2. The Artist, Hans Rudi Giger and "The Birth Machine"
3. "The Birth Machine"
4. Picture: "The Birth Machine"
5. The Philosophical Narrative
a. My chosen philosophical narrative (Postmodernism)
b. Analysis of the piece through postmodernism
6. The Poem: "Der Atom Kinder"
7. Critical Evaluation
8. Conclusion
9. Picture: "Bullet Baby" and "Iron Cast Copy"
10. Bibliography
Introduction:
Premodern, Modern and Postmodern art forms
Various styles of art change and mould to fit the times, as do their artists. It then follows that a number of eras are identifiable in history with the previous style or form of art usually being a catalyst for the next. The art often reflects not only the time in which it was created, but also the influence of the great thinkers of that time.
The Premodern
The premodern philosophy in relation to art can then be divided into two separate and distinct areas, namely the Hellenistic and the Medieval. The latter saw art as a mimetic actively or a second-hand reflection of the original source of meaning; that which is above man. In the biblical sense, this would refer to Yahweh or God (Kearney, 1994:115). This was followed by the belief that the imagination (and therefore that which came from the imagination) was a mere counterfeit of the original being (Kearney, 1994:117). As art could never be perfect and was always an interpretation of the imagination, the iconography (representational paintings) of Christ and the Saints had to therefore follow strict rules in order to show no emotion. This was no ensure that the icon which was being represented was being worshiped and never the painting itself.
In the Hellenistic imagination, although man can be seem as an original creator of physical art pieces, the artists can never escape the feeling that it is an imitation of th...
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...beautiful and artistic at the same time.
Where the premodern art forms may have been too limiting on the artist and modern art a lot more reserved, postmodern art enables the artist to explore endless possibilities when it comes to expression. Perhaps too many as a lot of postmodern artists can start to claim almost any replicated image as a work of art. The imagination should be able to run freely, but should still, even in today's world on the monotonous, try to avoid too much replication.
Nonetheless, Hans Rudi Giger remains a living legend along with his tortured artworks.
Bibliography
• Kearney, R. The Wake of the Imagination Towards a postmodern Culture. London 1994
• HR Giger. Giger's Necronomicon. Morpheus International. Beverley Hills. 1980
• Stanislav Grof, Review of Necronomicon Mill Valley, California, January 2001. (www.ajlardim.com.br)
• http://webpages.charter.net/jspeyrer/necron.htm
• http://www.littlegiger.com/limited/
• www.hrgiger.com
• www.giger.com
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Onians, John. Art and Thought in the Hellenistic Age: The Greek World View 350-50 B.C. London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd., 1979.
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Honour, Hugh, and John Fleming. "Hellenistic and Roman Art." A World History of Art. London: Laurence King, 1999. 179-213. Print.
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