For this week’s blog, let’s think about Postmodernism for a bit. Your task will be to find a piece of postmodern media/art on the internet, share it on your post, and then offer your explanation of why it is Postmodern. You may analyze an advertisement, a film, a TV show, a music video, a painting, a building, a sculpture, a book, a short story, a poem, etc. It’s important that you share in some way your POMO media on your post so we can see it, and comment on it. To help guide you, look for art/media that is self-referential, that knows it is an illusion, or challenges the viewer’s suspension of disbelief. Look for work that questions some of our “fundamental” truths. Look for the incomprehensible or absurd. Have fun. Be POMO!
P.S. Here’s a famous example of Postmodern art by Rene Magritte. (The text says, “This is not a pipe.”) Think about it...
P.S. Here’s a famous example of Postmodern art by Rene Magritte. (The text says, “This is not a pipe.”) Think about it...
The postmodern art that I have chosen to talk about for this blog post is “The Flower Bomber” an art piece by artist Banksy. Banksy is a postmodern artist so all of his work is postmodern however, this piece caught my eye. The art represents a protestor in black and white, throwing a boutique of flowers. The flowers are in color. This art work “blurs” the line between classic art and vandalism. The art work is postmodern because it represents the 1960’s street riots. Instead of drawing the painting with a bomb, Banksy painted the man with flowers. The artist recreated the scene with flowers instead of bombs to represent peaceful protest and to show hope for a peaceful resolution to conflict. The art work is simple, yet meaningful and recreates a scene from the past, therefore I think that it qualifies as a postmodern work of art.
ReplyDeletehttp://cdn.mattblatt.com.au/productimages/Flower-Bomber-Framed-Poster-66-x-96?w=440&h=460&id=24903&fullSize=True
I love Banksy I also did my post on one of his pieces! I like how you described it as blurring the line between classic art and street vandalism because I think thats essentially what he means to do as an artist.
DeleteI also chose a piece from Banksy, he is extremely talented. The image you chose is very meaningful, and i think it is one of his best.
DeleteI like this example becuase it shows how postmodernism can blur the lines of pop culture and art in an activist manner. This piece has a interesting alternative motive of address a social issue. NEAT!
DeleteThis week’s blog on postmodernism was initially kind of a struggle for me. I had no idea what artwork I wanted to use or how I would be able to interpret it in my writing. It wasn’t until I stepped into my favorite little coffee shop that I realized what I wanted to do. Ebrik, a small coffee shop located near Aderhold, is a place that I go to literally every single day whether it is to study, to relax between classes, or to meet up with friends. In Ebrik, they have a huge collection of art splattered all over their walls it’s almost overwhelming. Although it is easy to unintentionally ignore the art surrounding you, there are a few key pieces that never fail to catch people’s eyes. One of the pieces (that I have linked below) is painted by a postmodern artist named Banksy. “There is Always Hope” was painted in South Bank, London in 2002 along a dirty staircase in the suburbs. This is arguably one of Banksy’s most iconic and well known pieces due to the simple yet meaningful message it has. The image is of a little girl (painted in black and white) reaching for a bright red heart shaped balloon that is flying away from her with the words “there is always hope” painted alongside. There are many different ways to interpret this image but the majority of people agreed that it is a representation of love, innocence and obviously, hope. Although it is ironic that the symbol of these things, the balloon, is flying out of the girl’s reach, it represents the idea that there will always be hope and love as long as you are believing and reaching for it. Banksy is known for his art as being simple and very on the surface because since he is a street artist, he knows that his art will probably be seen for a brief second, so it must be easy to soak in and truly capture the image with just a glance. I really love this piece of art and it always reminds me to have hope every time I step into Ebrik and see it hanging on their wall.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjy-62B1eDPAhXJ0iYKHcXMBT0QjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcamdentownpostercompany.com%2FBanksy-Balloon-Girl-There-Is-Always-Hope-Canvas-Art-Print&psig=AFQjCNF8aItHLzlMQ9R-kzzvXRZvOrI16g&ust=1476753334203307
The postmodern image I focused on was the cover of the graphic novel, Maus by an American cartoonist Art Spiegelman. Illustrated so eerily is the symbol of the Nazi swat sticker and a cat’s face in the middle. To give a historical depiction of this image, we must revisit the World War II. During this war, people everywhere experienced the most tear-jerking and painful event known as the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler’s execution of six million Jews and countless other lives is something that will forever be embroidered in American history. Spiegleman’s Maus is not only a comic book, but also a postmodern tale of how Spiegleman’s own father endured the Holocaust. In the book, the Jews are represented as mice, while the Germans and Poles are represented as cats and pigs in the novel. The image on the cover would be considered postmodernism due to the fact that it is clearly self-referential. Anyone who looks at the book, will understand that this book has something to do with the Nazi’s because Spiegleman created a cover that anyone could identify with. When looked at carefully, it looks absurd due to the fact that is an inaccurate account of what we know about the Nazi swat sticker. We know that the real image doesn’t have a cat in the middle of the swat sticker. Spiegelman understands that his graphic is an illusion for the real Nazi swat sticker. He challenges viewer’s suspension of disbelief by taking readers on an emotional journey of the Holocaust in a unique and intriguing way.
ReplyDeleteImage:
http://images.popmatters.com/news_art/m/maus-cover-6501.jpg
The picture is really creepy but the holocaust in its entirety was much much worse. The image really does use great symbolism to make it easily recognizable.
DeleteI definitely agree that the picture is creepy, but that in itself is a good indication of the meaning of the novel. Thanks for the background information about the image and the novel.
DeleteAwesome, Maus is absolutely Postmodern! One note: the Nazi symbol is spelled "swastika," not "swat sticker."
DeleteThe piece of postmodern “art” that I am writing about isn’t actually art but a pair of glasses some wise guy decided to put on the floor of an art museum to make fun of postmodernism. In San Francisco almost 4 months ago, a teenager by the name of Khayatan decided to troll a modern art museum by putting his glasses on the floor and make the spectators think it was an actual art piece, which in irony it really could have been by postmodernisms standard. In a way postmodern is just a glorified “F*** You!” to society, making anything non art into art, as if it is some type of poetic justice. In a way, no one has the authority to dictate what is and is not art, however, if everything is allowed to a piece of art doesn’t that mean that art is really nonexistent? What I mean by this is, if a pair of glasses of can be given the status of high art, doesn’t that diminish the greatness of artworks like the Mona Lisa and the Guernica and essentially make it irrelevant? Even though it would be completely unfair to limit someone’s creativity in the form or art, at some point it has to be done before it goes to far. If we let EVERYTHING be art then nothing is, there would be no wrong answers when obviously there are some. This computer I am using to type this response is not art, this water I am drinking is not art, 2+2=3 I not art. But if we let postmodernism take control then it would be. Not to make this post overdramatic or anything, but hey! It art.
ReplyDeleteLink to the photo of the glasses: http://www.samaa.tv/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/glasses-640x335.jpg
Haha, yes! The Postmodern FU to the art critics!
DeleteI've had a book for a little over 4 years now that I have always loved. It's a mysterious book entitled "Codex Serapheneus" and essentially it is an encyclopedia to the imaginary world of the artist that created it. It reflects our own world, manipulates reality, and distorts the viewers perspective on things. it is a truly genius work of art by the Italian artist Luigi Serafini. Not only are His illustrations creative and wild, he created his on language to tell the book with. It's a very interesting and creative concept. His work reminds me a lot of Dali and has a very out of the box nature to it.
ReplyDeleteHere is a short clip I found outlining some of the book's features.
http://youtu.be/stZMhWfXG8g
Wow! The illustrations are very interesting.
DeleteWayne’s World is a 1992 comedy film that is postmodern down to the core. It follows the lives two friends, Garth and Wayne, as they host a public access TV show from Wayne’s parent’s basement. It is clearly evident that this film is postmodern and realizes it is a movie in many ways. First, the characters break the fourth wall many times to speak to the audience. This removes the illusion of the movie being real and highlights its fictionality. Other movies such as Ferris Buller’s Day Off and Deadpool have used this as well and create a brief pause in the illusion of reality for the plot of the movie. Secondly, the film is very ironic and irony is a concept that has been implemented in many postmodern works of art and films. It is seen in a scene where Wayne and Garth are talking about not selling out to sponsors as they continuously promote multiple sponsors. Lastly, the movie really acknowledges that it is simply a movie with its parody of three multiple endings. One that is a parody of a Scooby-Doo ending where they unmask the villain, another where Wayne is driving in his car and ends up crashing from negligence in which they use a scene from the movie Vanilla Sky, and a third alternate ending where everything bad ends up happening and it cuts to the credits as Wayne’s house burns down. These alternate endings highlight the fact that the movie is not trying to appear real and is simply a source of entertainment and comedy. Overall, Wayne’s World is a very postmodern movie.
ReplyDeleteIronic Sponsorship Scene: https://youtu.be/351nnBDxx00
Multiple Endings: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo7_NzPphe7k8JfSxqabhPqnKwrrEohlN
I love Wayne's World! Such a great example of 90's film standing out and showing that even comedies can hold deeper messages in a smart way (even though the movie is about two idiot stoners, but whatever).
DeleteOn of the great things about POMO, is that one of the easiest forms of conveying it, is being tongue in cheek about everything. Obviously Wayne's World took that, and didn't just do it once, but did it over and over and over again, with even reactions from the other character being seemingly confused by his actions, not realizing the irony of what was happening.
DeleteGreat post, had forgotten how incredibly Postmodern this movie is.
DeleteI chose Banksy's art piece, "Consumer Jesus". This is actually a very powerful piece. Banksy is a street artist known for his simplicity, yet strong meanings. A good amount of his work is about consumerism. The piece that I linked below shows the famous crucifixion of Jesus with shopping bags, rather than nails. It implies that consumerism killed him. This image was created in the early 2000's when the economic climate was declining. The image shows outrage over consumerism at Christmas time from shoppers in the United Kingdom; a time that should be about Christianity and giving. I chose this piece because this is still a big issue today. I agree with Banksy, that consumerism has taken over the world. We celebrate Thanksgiving one day, and starting that night and all throughout the next day people fight over things, and even injure one another to get certain object. We spend the day being "thankful" then we show how what we have is not enough. We are never satisfied. Christmas is no longer about Jesus, giving or family; it is now all about gifts. Who gets what and who gets the best gifts. Consumerism can satisfy for a while, but it does not last. I think that is the biggest meaning in this image.
ReplyDeletehttp://i1.wp.com/www.blogs.buprojects.uk/2015-2016/rachelrichardson/wp-content/uploads/sites/83/2015/11/Screen-Shot-2015-11-08-at-22.23.17.png
I chose to analyze this old fashion vase with the Coca-Cola label stretched across the front. The actual vase is suppose to look practically prehistoric, which is an obvious contrast to the iconic modern logo of the Coke company. The word to best describe this use is juxtaposition. This word simply means, “placing or combining contrasting imagery in such a way as to create new meaning”. This is also the perfect show of the postmodernism attempt to remove the division between art and pop culture. This handmade looking vase and well-known logo show that contrast exactly. The huge gap in the popular time period of the styles of the vase and the logo show the principle of ignore the boundaries of genre.The fact that these difference are even accepted is a show of another postmodern principle diversity acceptance. Another word or term that seems to suit this piece is recontextualization. The original context that we normally see the coca-cola logo in is not apart.
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to the photo of the piece:
http://www.hevelsclassroom.com/uploads/2/1/5/7/21576562/3808931.jpg
Very cool piece of POMO art.
DeleteThe Postmodern artwork that I chose is Roy Lichtenstein's "Drowning Girl" (1963). The image is taken from a DC comics panel that emphasizes on the style of pop art that was highly relevant at the time. Lichtenstein's painting is seen as postmodernism as it is a copy from an issue of "Run From Love!" that is altered in a few ways to allow for Lichtenstein to create his own art and through doing so conveys his own postmodern message on art. Lichtenstein's painting style in itself was postmodern as it sought to use a more minimalistic color scheme which is more commonly referred to as a half-tone painting scheme. Also considering the time period, cartoons and comic strips had never really been the subject of artwork (outside of comics, etc. of course) and Lichtenstein's paintings were essentially the first to play with this subject matter and make commentary on art such as this in a more critical setting.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.moma.org/collection/works/80249
I used a Roy Lichtenstein piece as well his Postmodern art is extremely unique. He is inspired by comic books is what i have noticed.
DeleteI agree that this is a good postmodern piece. it is also and interesting pick. the color scheme is very interesting with the water being gray-ish and the face blue.
DeleteThe postmodern piece I chose to write about is called "Fountain" by Marcel Duchamp. I feel that this is a perfect example of postmodernism in the simplest sense. This piece of art depicts a simple urinal that is turned on its side and put on a pedestal. It is very obvious that the urinal is not actually a fountain. However, by labeling this urinal as a fountain, it is challenging the belief of the audience. The creator of this piece felt that this work of art revealed many different deeper meanings about our society. However, this may not be evident to the people viewing it and many others may find different interpretations of the piece. According to The Art Story, a website dedicated to insight of modern art, "Postmodernism overturned the idea that there was one inherent meaning to a work of art or that this meaning was determined by the artist at the time of creation. Instead, the viewer became an important determiner of meaning, even allowed by some artists to participate in the work as in the case of some performance pieces. Other artists went further by creating works that required viewer intervention to create and/or complete the work." The purpose of post modern art is to take what typically isn't thought of as a piece of art and turn it into something with a deeper meaning. Below is the link to "Fountain" and a few more examples of postmodern art.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-shocking/12-examples-of-bizarre-postmodern-art/
I also seen this one particular piece it was very postmodern and symbolized exactly what you portrayed.
DeleteSo I'm sitting here wishing I had read this before I added mine, because maybe then I would've known what to write, but I completely get what you mean
DeletePostmodernism can primarily be found in artist such as Andy Warhol. Yet i wanted to take a different approach and seen a popular image called “Crying Girl" it was created by American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. He was a popular artist in the 1960’s similar to Andy Warhol they were both inspired by advertisements and comic book pieces they went on to implement these styles in their work which were usually parodies. Yet Roy Lichtenstein preferred that his art be viewed as industrial.This particular portrait "Crying Girl" was painted on steel using enamel. It is currently on display in the Milwaukee Art Museum. It is also still very popular today in the Hip Hop world. Renowned Hip Hop artist Fabulous reinvented the Crying Girl on his "Summertime Shootouts 2" mixtape when he displayed the infamous "Crying Girl" except with one minor adjustment. Instead of wiping her tear with her finger she is wiping her tear with three one hundred dollar bills.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/search?q=crying+girl+pop+art&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&imgil=rdNDpi4HR2aGFM%253A%253Bwz7dJuXXyugwJM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Flonestar3.deviantart.com%25252Fart%25252FCrying-Girl-36454939&source=iu&pf=m&fir=rdNDpi4HR2aGFM%253A%252Cwz7dJuXXyugwJM%252C_&usg=__iklB2FWrs8MI94AlIc9hW7O3XBo%3D&ved=0ahUKEwi__d6Er-LPAhUGWSYKHV5OBzEQyjcIOw&ei=1QoFWP--PIaymQHenJ2IAw#imgrc=rdNDpi4HR2aGFM%3A
https://www.google.com/search?q=crying+girl+pop+art&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&imgil=rdNDpi4HR2aGFM%253A%253Bwz7dJuXXyugwJM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Flonestar3.deviantart.com%25252Fart%25252FCrying-Girl-36454939&source=iu&pf=m&fir=rdNDpi4HR2aGFM%253A%252Cwz7dJuXXyugwJM%252C_&usg=__iklB2FWrs8MI94AlIc9hW7O3XBo%3D&ved=0ahUKEwi__d6Er-LPAhUGWSYKHV5OBzEQyjcIOw&ei=1QoFWP--PIaymQHenJ2IAw#tbm=isch&q=summertime+shootout+2&imgrc=Gu6QFi-WapXO-M%3A
That remix with the hundred dollar bills sums up Postmodernism so well!
DeleteThere's an anime called Puella Magi Madoka Magica, or Modoka Magica. It's not only POMO in its plot, but definately in its visual art styles. In anime, there is a trope called mahou shojo, or magical girl, who's demographics and art style are generally directed towards younger girls and have a very fluffy and light color pallatte. This anime however, was very different and not only had an anime studio, Shaft, that was well known for its stunning backgrounds and general quality of its animation, but also broke so many tropes and molds while still staying inside of them. This anime starts out very fluffy and follows the typical direction of the mahou shojo genre, but then goes topsy turvy on itself real quick. The Plot utilizes the genre and its elements but still has its own unique twist upon in. Most of the animation that is scene, especially the backgrounds of certain scenes, is very post modern as it has a vast array of stunning images, and sometimes even real life footage. Now, the backgrounds of the scenes aren't even the icing of the cake of POMO, but inside this world, a vast majority of POMO style character designs and references are shown to clearly contrast that world and the normal world.
ReplyDeleteThis anime is very well known and very well recieved amongst most of who watch anime, and pretty much inspired many knock-off/similiar animes afterwards. Just like how andy worhol did his color altercation thing, this one took the mahou shojo genre and twisted it to a new heights and became a "staple" anime that will be bookmarked in history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O36OsLLomqs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDYnj5V6sOU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87mQGWv-ybk
ReplyDeleteBEFORE YOU CLICK***
This link takes you to post modern song called Polka, and it's by a Russian guy named Shostavich. If any of you know anything about the styles and eras of music, then you shall know that each period comes with a complete set of rules and requirements in order for it to be considered a classical song vs. a baroque song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqwMT5tCu7E
Here is Mozart's K545 Sonata in C Major, which honestly you all might have heard this song at some point in your life.
You can tell that this song is very symmetric with the notes. Notice how there's a balance between even the amount of notes played in the left hand compared to the right hand. Also too, the fact that each note fits perfectly within the song that you're playing.
Now listen to Polka by Shostavich.
Just compare the first 10 seconds of each song.
Polka is completely different. It's almost like each note is played irrelevantly throughout the piece. Both of these pieces are played just about the same speed but the dynamics with the songs are drastically different. You can tell that the classical piece has ornaments throughout the Sonata and it's structured perfectly and sounds like pure gold.
While the post modern piece is struck by creativity and variance that even though the song looks incorrect, it can still sound like a piece that we can somehow relate to. Only because it's so different that it's almost funny to listen to, yet it still draws your attention to it because your mind becomes curious as to what is to happen next. Interesting how postmodern art works.
In the anonymous graphite painting I found, you can see a lot of ideas that are put into play. It shows that a woman is sweeping or about to sweep something under a curtain. You can see that see is hiding something instead of being fully out in the open. There is also the view of the woman being the maid, but she is not cleaning as she could. Instead she is looking to take the dirt and shoving it away under something. The cleaning lady is also taking a look back as she does it, so that she can carefully make sure that no one notices her and what she is doing. She is refusing to clean as a normal cleaning lady would. This could represent a picture of how society is nowadays. They have bad things happen in our government and day to day lives and instead of showing it and combating it; we hide in under the rug, so people never saw it. We use other people and pay our “cleaning ladies” to hide it for us and if anyone was to ever find out, the blame would be solely upon the person who hid it instead. You could say that the picture represents the lack of responsibility and integrity that people need. It shows that people just hide their flaws and problems away somewhere, but it eventually will fill up and come back to bite you. Overall, I think this accurately shows a representation of the rejection of our idea to want to just deny anything even happened instead of taking responsibility for the action.
ReplyDeletehttp://jcgn1319.tumblr.com/post/104004014997/this-is-an-anonymous-graphite-painting-that-calls
This is very interesting it is exactly as you said i would have to agree that it could show lack of responsibility and integrity that people need. There are many people that really care about there reputation, how or what people think of them. With this being said, I also agree that people do try and hide their flaws and problems and forget about it then reminded of it later when it is brought back into light.
DeleteI chose to do a postmodern art piece by Lori Stevens Artist: Art Lessons for the 21st Century: A Postmodern Curriculum. This art is obviously postmodern because it simply contradicts some aspects of modernism or some aspects that emerged or developed in its aftermath such as clearly being able to see herself as she is looking through the mirror versus what the picture says. In this picture you see a female that seems to be upset about something. I would assume it is about herself due to the fact that the mirror is cracked as she is looking into it. The color of the picture is contrast between black and white which helps stress the purpose and/or meaning of the picture. It takes away anything that is bias towards the picture if any at all. The art also mentions “You are not Yourself” I am thinking maybe she has some low self-esteem about herself and has been having a hard time trying to put herself back together hinting off the phrase and/or mirror. You never know what is really truly goes on in a person life until it is shown or told to you. She appears to may be in her teen years or probably reaching her early twenties so I would reference this to be very common probably in high school. With this being said the female reflection is broken off into many pieces in the mirror which could symbolize that she has possibly been going through an emotional roller coaster or hanging around the wrong crowd which has brought her into changing into someone that she isn’t.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.pinterest.com/pin/359091770258721227/
Postmodernism is not a topic that I really understand, so I chose something that looked like it fits the part. The painting/picture is by Barbara Kruger and is titled“Your body is a battle ground”. It was made to support reproductive freedom in 1989. I guess because of the contrast of light and dark and the words written across the woman's face it kind of say, hey I'm art pay attention to me. I wish I knew who the lady depicted is because that would probably help me explanation to be so much better, but if anyone knows who it it I'm sure you can understand why I chose this piece.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger/untitled-your-body-battleground
I'm commenting solely on your first line. I totally agree. Postmodernism is a complex idea that has so many different aspects and can encourage pass so many different types of entertainment/art it's hard to pick out what shows, works of art, or movies are actually postmodern. In addition to trying to pick out what is postmodern the we hope that we interpret postmodern correctly, so in turn we can correctly interpret how this movie/show/ art is in fact postmodern
DeleteJeuella, this is a great example of Postmodern art!
DeletePostmodernism is a tricky thing. I’m not sure if anyone completely understands its meaning. Essentially it is used to describe entertainment that isn’t traditional that makes viewers uncomfortable or root for characters that they would normally dislike. Frank Underwood in House of Cards is a perfect example of one of those characters. Postmodernism is made up of many different categories in Frank’s case the anti-hero. The anti-hero, defined by google, is “a central character in a story, movie, or drama that lacks conventional heroic attributes.” Frank is exactly that. Throughout is role he breaks many laws to fulfill is ultimate goal. This ultimate goal is not made clear to the audience, but moving up the career ladder can be assumed. Crimes committed range from blackmail to murder. As a viewer you root for Frank, but he’s not the common hero you cheer for. The traditional hero, one who is graceful, kind, and does good, is who we cheer for. House of Cards flips this tradition on its head. Frank’s snarky, know-it-all personality makes him likeable and almost comical. His lack of traditional morals and do bad to do “good” philosophy speaks to our rebellious side. Unlike Robin Hood Frank isn’t stealing for the poor, but for himself. His immoral acts cause colleagues around him to fall, so that he can rise. Throughout the season you begin to like Frank in lieu of his sadistic, disloyal ways even after he pushes someone in front of a moving train. That someone, we thought was somewhat important to him. House of Cards flips traditional storylines and characters upside down creating a postmodern show.
ReplyDelete