Post Modernism is accepting of many different styles, and the boundaries between high culture and popular culture are pushed.
Modernism 1860-1960
Born out of hope and optimism. An aspirational reaction to WW1 (and possibly before). Harnessing technology to improve peoples lives.
- Simplified aesthetic
- Utopian Ideals
- Truth to Materials
- Form Follows Function
Reaction to Modernism's rules and attitudes. Only rule is that there is no rules. It deliberately questions and challenges conventions and old limitations (especially those of Modernism). There is space for marginalized discourse.
- Complexity
- Organized Chaos
- Avante Garde
- Tacky Chic
- Taboo
- Multiplicity
- Sexual diversity
- more importance of females, blurring of gender
- Multiculturalism
- Shock Aesthetics
Juxtapositions - a collection of images that ironically compliment each other.
A Postmodern City
A prime example of a Post Modern city would be Las Vegas because of its diverse variety of styles, its tacky-chic decor, and gimmicky traits. Considered 'a world of simulation'. Some even question the need for a real world if you have a more entertaining, condensed version in the middle of the desert...
Examples of Postmodern art
Alessi, 'Juice Salif', 1990 - unneccessary space age shape. Over priced and over complicated name. The idea of branding making it more glorified and the consumer will be perceived in a different way by others just because of this brand.
SEX boutique, 1975 (Vivienne Westwood) - shock tactics, punk style that challenges attitudes.
'Veiled and unveiled', Chador, 1998 - Arabian veil ranging from floor length to above belly button, model is nude underneath. Shock tactics, rebelling against religion, offensive. Does it use these tactics to attract attention or to make a point/statement?
'Murals for 4 Seasons restaurant', Mark Rothco, 1957 - glorified because they were in the 4 seasons restaurant. Became famous by association although very simple paintings.
'Campbells Soup Cans', Andy Warhol, 1962 - Again, glorification by association. Blurring lines between high and pop culture.
Roy Lichtenstein, 'Drowning Girl, - Glorification of everyday cartoon style.
Dirty, 'Jeff On Top', Jeff Koons, 1992 - Taboo, explicit and shock tactics attract attention to this tacky-chic sculpture.
'Michael Jackson and Bubbles', Jeff Koons, 1988 - deliberate poor taste and mocking of cheap styles. Perhaps commenting on subject matter?
'Fountain' 1917 - example of taking everyday objects and glorifying them through fine art. A practically unchanged urinal.
'The Oak Tree', Michael Craig, 1973, Insanity through art. A glass of water is relentlessly argued to be an oak tree, but not in visual form...
'Mother and Child Divided', 1993, Taboo and shocking, cross section of dead cows, separated down the middle. Shocking way to get an idea across.
'Everyone I've ever slept with 1963-95', Tracy Emin, 1995, Using shock tactics in it's title, its actually everyone whom she's ever shared a bed with.
'My Bed', Tracy Emin, 1998, Telling a story through a 'sculpture'; basically a collection of everyday objects.
'Au Naturel', Sarah Lucas, 1994, a crude depiction of a man and woman in bed using pieces of fruit and a mattress.
'Fuck Face', Jake & Dinos Chapman, an eery looking sculpture of a child with genitals for a face.
'No woman no cry', Chris Ofili, uses cow dung as a medium to paint the face of a tearful woman.
'Captain Shit and the legend of the black stars', also Chris Ofili, 1997, is another painting of a black man wearing a cape, painted using cow dung.
'Shithead', Chris Ofili, 1993, is in basic terms a ball of cow dung with real teeth and human hair.
'Lights going on and off', Martin Creed, 2000, is an 'installation' of an empty room with the lights going on and off every so often.
'Sleeper', Mark Wallinger, is a man in a bear costume walking around a gallery as an actual exhibition...
'Think Small', Volkswagen, 1959, a witty, charming and elegant approach to advertising that changed the way we advertised from thereon in. Minimalistic composition and good, honest wording was one of the first postmodern adverts.
'Tested for the unexpected', 1993, Dunlop, is one of the first adverts to advertise the product by using entertainment completely irrelevant to the product itself.
'The house of Osama Bin Laden', 2003, Is a video game style installation looking round Osama Bin Laden's house - he is not there. A different change in medium, attitude and voice in art.
'Ray Gun', David Carson is a grungey double page spread design which is illegible and upturns the rules and functions of design.
'House', Rachel Whiteread, 1993, a concrete mould of the inside of an actual (now demolished) terrace house.
'Nailed to the wall', The K Foundation, 1994, was a sculpture consisting of 1 million british pounds in 50 pound notes nailed to a wall.
'Watch the K foundation burn a million quid', the K foundation, is a video of the KLF burning the million pound notes in cash. The art piece was bought for less than it took to make, and the K foundation eventually went bankrupt.
'A line made by walking', Richard Long, is quite literally, a photograph of a line in the grass of a field that was created by being flattened by walking.
In Summary
In Summary, one might say that post modern art has a questioning, intelligent attitude. It provides space for new voices to be heard, and challenges traditional techniques. I would guess that there is a lot of negative attitudes around postmodern art because it is an almost exclusive art movement for those who 'get it' - the thinking people. It welcomes artists that may not be able to paint or draw and may have no physical input in putting their pieces together, which goes against what a lot of people would call an artist.
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