Week 2 Post-Modernism, Ai Weiwei and Banksy
Post-Modernism
This week's ALVC tutorial covers Post-Modernism. Use the ALVC texts and definitions from the internet to define the term and answer the following questions;
1. Define Post-Modernism using 8-10 bullet points that include short quotes.
- The period in which we now live in now.
- Known as the 'New Age'.
- A philosophical movement away from the viewpoint of modernism.
- Anti-modern.
- The revision of modernist premises.
- Postmodernism is associated with Relativism, the idea that 'anything goes'.
- A tendency in contemporary culture characterized by the problem of objective truth and inherent suspicion towards global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. (postmodernism, n.d)
- It can be described as a set of critical, strategic and rhetorical practices employing concepts such as difference, repetition, the trace, the simulacrum, and hyper reality to destabilize other concepts such as presence, identity, historical progress, epistemic certainty, and the univocity of meaning. (Postmodernism, 2005)
2. Use a quote by Witcombe (2000) to define the Post-Modern artist.
The postmodern artist is "reflexive" in that he/she is self aware and consciously involved in a process of thinking about him/herself and society in a deconstructive manner, "demasking" pretensions, becoming aware of his/her cultural self in history, and accelerating the process of self-consciousness. (Witcombe, 2004)
- The period in which we now live in now.
- Known as the 'New Age'.
- A philosophical movement away from the viewpoint of modernism.
- Anti-modern.
- The revision of modernist premises.
- Postmodernism is associated with Relativism, the idea that 'anything goes'.
- A tendency in contemporary culture characterized by the problem of objective truth and inherent suspicion towards global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. (postmodernism, n.d)
- It can be described as a set of critical, strategic and rhetorical practices employing concepts such as difference, repetition, the trace, the simulacrum, and hyper reality to destabilize other concepts such as presence, identity, historical progress, epistemic certainty, and the univocity of meaning. (Postmodernism, 2005)
2. Use a quote by Witcombe (2000) to define the Post-Modern artist.
The postmodern artist is "reflexive" in that he/she is self aware and consciously involved in a process of thinking about him/herself and society in a deconstructive manner, "demasking" pretensions, becoming aware of his/her cultural self in history, and accelerating the process of self-consciousness. (Witcombe, 2004)
3. Use the grid on pages 42 and 43 to summarize the list of the features of Post-Modernity.
The Postmodern era looks past the hierarchies of social class and started to look at the idea of social and cultural pluralism. We see the difference from going from there faith in depth over surface to the attention to play with surfaces. They also started to accept and adapt to simulation and visual media becoming undifferentiated equivalent forms, simulation and real-time media substituting for the real whereas in the modernist era it was seen as a crisis in representation. The Modernist era had faith in the real beyond media, it wasn't till Post modernity where Hyper-reality, image saturation, and simulacra seemed more powerful than the real. Also the move away from art being a unique object and finished works to being a process, performance, production, intertextuality.this then gives us a broader idea of what art is and instead of a sense of clear generic boundary and wholeness (art, music, and literature) we have promiscuous genres, recombinant culture, intertextuality, pastiche.
4. Use this summary to answer the next two questions.
The Postmodern era looks past the hierarchies of social class and started to look at the idea of social and cultural pluralism. We see the difference from going from there faith in depth over surface to the attention to play with surfaces. They also started to accept and adapt to simulation and visual media becoming undifferentiated equivalent forms, simulation and real-time media substituting for the real whereas in the modernist era it was seen as a crisis in representation. The Modernist era had faith in the real beyond media, it wasn't till Post modernity where Hyper-reality, image saturation, and simulacra seemed more powerful than the real. Also the move away from art being a unique object and finished works to being a process, performance, production, intertextuality.this then gives us a broader idea of what art is and instead of a sense of clear generic boundary and wholeness (art, music, and literature) we have promiscuous genres, recombinant culture, intertextuality, pastiche.
4. Use this summary to answer the next two questions.
5. Research Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's 'Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo'(1994)
in order to say what features of the work are Post-Modern.
Ai Weiwei, (born 1957, Beijing) is a leading Chinese artist, curator, architectural designer, cultural and social commentator and activist. Ai is known for the design of the Beijing National Stadium, more commonly known as the "Bird's Nest", the main stadium of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Beginning with the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Ai has emerged as one of China's most influential bloggers and social activists; he is known for his tongue-in-cheek and sometimes vulgar social commentary, and has had frequent run-ins with Chinese authorities. He was particularly focused at exposing an alleged corruption scandal in the construction of Sichuan schools that collapsed during the earthquake.
Born in Beijing, his father was Chinese poet Ai Qing, who was denounced during the Cultural Revolution and sent off to a labor camp in Xinjiang with his wife, Gao Ying. Ai Weiwei also spent five years there. Ai Weiwei is married to artist Lu Qing. Ai Weiwei is represented by Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne. (biography of Ai Weiwei, 2010)
China was outraged when this contemporary artist smashed a 2000 year old dynasty urn which challenged his country's political concern. He then goes on to paint the coca cola logo onto one of the urns. The logo painted on the urn is seen as postmodernism because he takes something modern, in this case the logo of a multi-billion dollar company and paints it onto a 2000 year old urn which was known as the highest art form of its time. Then by him putting the two together, creates a piece of postmodern art with contradicting features-the pot being the highest art form of its time and the coca cola logo being the most popular drink brand of its time.
Ai Weiwei, (born 1957, Beijing) is a leading Chinese artist, curator, architectural designer, cultural and social commentator and activist. Ai is known for the design of the Beijing National Stadium, more commonly known as the "Bird's Nest", the main stadium of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Beginning with the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Ai has emerged as one of China's most influential bloggers and social activists; he is known for his tongue-in-cheek and sometimes vulgar social commentary, and has had frequent run-ins with Chinese authorities. He was particularly focused at exposing an alleged corruption scandal in the construction of Sichuan schools that collapsed during the earthquake.
Born in Beijing, his father was Chinese poet Ai Qing, who was denounced during the Cultural Revolution and sent off to a labor camp in Xinjiang with his wife, Gao Ying. Ai Weiwei also spent five years there. Ai Weiwei is married to artist Lu Qing. Ai Weiwei is represented by Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne. (biography of Ai Weiwei, 2010)
China was outraged when this contemporary artist smashed a 2000 year old dynasty urn which challenged his country's political concern. He then goes on to paint the coca cola logo onto one of the urns. The logo painted on the urn is seen as postmodernism because he takes something modern, in this case the logo of a multi-billion dollar company and paints it onto a 2000 year old urn which was known as the highest art form of its time. Then by him putting the two together, creates a piece of postmodern art with contradicting features-the pot being the highest art form of its time and the coca cola logo being the most popular drink brand of its time.
6. Research British artist Banksy's street art, and analyze the following two works by the artist
to discuss how each work can be defined at Post-Modern.(Use your list from point 6.)
Banksy is the driving force behind the explosion in the Urban Art movement, his style and energy has been responsible for opening the eyes of the masses and creating the platform for other artists.
His worldwide popularity is often put down to his ability to encapsulate the way people feel about today’s tainted world with poignant clarity.
Much of his work is stencil based, often hand finished, this style translates naturally to the screen-printing process. He has also gained great acclaim for his ‘crude oils’ – reworked traditional oil painting, often classics, with a special Banksy twist. (Banksy, 2011)
This work by Banksy can be seen as postmodern by the tray of takeaway food in the hands of the beings from the human evolution. This idea is similar to Weiwei's coca cola pot-taking something old and adding something new to it, in this case taking the being from thousands of years ago and making it hold a tray of takeaways giving it a more modern look.
This picture shows postmodern qualities, where he is holding a bouquet of flowers instead of a Molotov bomb which is what the picture is supposed to be. This is seen more as a political statement where he wants to spread peace instead of war. Postmodern ideas of contradicting situations in our time, e.g Peace and war.
Reference list:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/postmodernism/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism
Witcombe, C (2000) Modernism & Postmodernism. Retrieved 29 January, 2004 from
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/modernism/modpostmod.html
AUT University. (2011). Academic Literacies in Visual Communications 2: Resource Book. New Zealand, Auckland: Lyceum Press.
http://www.798district.com/798/en/artists/a/aiweiwei/01_bioexh/
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Nov06/Chinese.artist.dea.html
http://streetart.co.nz/oi-you/competition/inspiration/banksy
Banksy is the driving force behind the explosion in the Urban Art movement, his style and energy has been responsible for opening the eyes of the masses and creating the platform for other artists.
His worldwide popularity is often put down to his ability to encapsulate the way people feel about today’s tainted world with poignant clarity.
Much of his work is stencil based, often hand finished, this style translates naturally to the screen-printing process. He has also gained great acclaim for his ‘crude oils’ – reworked traditional oil painting, often classics, with a special Banksy twist. (Banksy, 2011)
Reference list:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/postmodernism/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism
Witcombe, C (2000) Modernism & Postmodernism. Retrieved 29 January, 2004 from
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/modernism/modpostmod.html
AUT University. (2011). Academic Literacies in Visual Communications 2: Resource Book. New Zealand, Auckland: Lyceum Press.
http://www.798district.com/798/en/artists/a/aiweiwei/01_bioexh/
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Nov06/Chinese.artist.dea.html
http://streetart.co.nz/oi-you/competition/inspiration/banksy
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