Post-Modernist Art Theory - (Mini Research Project)

Mini Research Project

Post-Modernist Art Theory

Susie Hodge (writer of the popular 50 __ Ideas You Really Need To Know, books) explains post-modernism as;

"A general term referring to literature, art, design, philosophy, architecture and culture that focuses on individual interpretations and emerged in the 1960's as a reaction against modernism. Two of its main characteristics are the merging of barriers between high and popular culture and a rejection of any single style or definition of what art should be."
(Susie Hodge, 50 Art Ideas You Really Need To Know, 2011)



Here is my explanation;

To understand post-modernism you first have to understand modernism.


Modernism arose around the 19th century in the west, and was a new way of looking at the world around us. It was linked to the idea of scientific research and facts, the belief in only accepting the things that could be proven: "I think therefore I am". This then ignored the spiritual and the fantastical (ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties) and focused on progress, making the world better (industrial revolution, discovery, and huge leaps forward in science).

Post-modernism came about in the 1960's and is the idea/theory that society has grown to reject those modernist ideas, because of disillusionment and a lack of trust. Where once we completely believed in the information we were given by sources of authority, we now question them. Society has come to reject the idea of progress through science, rationalism, government. We believed in those things to make our lives better and what did it give us?
 Two world wars, the atomic bomb?
So if we reject those (modernist) ideas what are we left with? a society/culture that has no rules, nothing is fixed, you can do anything. There is no progress only the decisions and choices we make for ourselves, art can be play. Post-modernism can blend any style, collage any materials and nothing is more or less valid. An example of this is fashion, nothing new is created we just re-invent old ideas, we go around and around in circles (everything is retro, kitsch, vintage). Rosalind Krauss described post-modernism as a "levelling of formal value, its interest in the constant play of exchange, and its practice based on the interchangeability of style and form."
(Rosalind Krauss, Postmodernisms Museum Without Walls, 2005)


Here are a few post-modernist ideas;

• Post-modernists are suspicious of dogmatic claims to knowledge.
• Progress is just a way to justify the European domination of other cultures (a distrust of systems).
• Art has become consumed, used and corrupted by capitalism.
• There is no truth to art; images are Photoshopped, photos and video are altered completely distorting our reality (take a look at current views on body image and "airbrushing").
• Hyper-reality, virtual reality, image saturation, simulacra, these have become more powerful than the "real".
• The idea of "As seen on TV" has also become unbelievably powerful, people trust that tagline more than genuine human experience. People trust what they see on television more than what is in front of them. Beaudrillard's 1981 Simulacra and Simulation talks of how people can create and believe in a simulation of reality, “We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.” (1999's The Matrix referenced some of Beaudrillard's ideas).

Post-modernism seems to connect with me because of its ideas of mistrust.

I believe that many people are disillusioned and depressed by modern society, because (among other things) politicians are an interchangeable facade, the systems that govern our lives benefit the elite and not everyone, consumerism has corrupted us, and media saturation has blinded us.

I'm also fascinated by the ways that social and cultural narratives are used to change the way meaning is designated/the way that stories are told. For example the significance that the media gives to some stories and not to others; Edward Snowdon (former CIA operative who leaked information on America's extensive, immoral and illegal surveillance programs) being presented as a hero or a villain.

That there is no truth.

Or perhaps that truth is no more important than a chocolate bar or a horse. 

Postmodernism Notes

Postmodernism

Is difficult to define and is part of a massive debate.


But if you break it into two parts, we'll try.

Modernity (Modernism) - is principally about order and creating order out of chaos.
So anything non-white, non-male, non-heterosexual, non-hygenic, non-rational etc becomes disorder and must be removed/eliminated from modern society.
It seeks to remove anything that is not part of that hedgemony.

Post (or post-modern) -  Can mean lots of things;

• After modernism
• Extending the modern
• Contra modernism (subverting, resisting, opposing, or countering the features of modernism)
• Artistic and stylistic eclecticism (hybridization of forms and genres, mixing styles of different cultures or time periods, de- and re-contextualizing styles in architecture, visual arts, literature)

Narratives
Totality, stability and order are maintained in modern society through the means of "grand" or "master" narratives, which are the stories we tell about ourselves and our culture.

Our current narrative is a scientific one, but our old narrative was a religious one; we  used to look to our religion for the answers to our problems and the acceptable way to behave.

Postmodernism then is the critique (or perhaps deconstruction) of grand narratives, the awareness that such narratives serve to hide the contradictions and instabilities that are inherent in any social organisation or practice.

Postmodern "mini-narratives" are always;

• Situational - They require a series of circumstances
• Provisional - They can change
• Contingent - They depend on certain factors
• Temporary - They don't last

Making no claim to universality, truth, reason, or stability.
Society is constructed on mini-narratives, if you take things apart, they are very useful to create order, however they might not best serve everyone.

Modernist Idea;
*Humans are material machines. We live in a purely physical world. Nothing exists beyond what our senses perceive.
*Humankind is progressing by using science and reason.
*"Photograph never lies" -- photos and video are windows/mirrors of reality.
*Art fights capitalism.
*Faith in the "real" beyond media and representations; authenticity of "originals"

Post-Modernist Equivalent;
*Post-modernists are suspicious of such dogmatic claims to knowledge.

*Progress is just a way to justify the European domination of other cultures.
*Photoshop: photos and video can be altered completely; and can be a montage (where's the reality?)
*Art is consumed, used, corrupted by capitalism.
*Hyper-reality, image saturation, simulacra seem more powerful than the "real"; images and texts with no prior "original”.  "As seen on TV” more powerful than unmediated experience (Beaudrillard's Simulacra and simulation, or The Matrix).

Post Modern style was a reaction against the rationalism of Modernist design, and even against the formal ideals of modern design. Humour and wit became a substitute for established notions of "good taste”, often being more important.

Often mixing things, not necessarily harmoniously. "Stealing" and reusing ideas mashing things together "playing" with art.

Ted Noten
Hates the fact that the industry panders to those wanting to spend on big diamonds. “Jewellery has only to do with status,” Noten declares. “Status at this time is connected with diamonds. I find this a huge pity.”





A link to an excellent article on Celebrity in the world of politics;

http://www.academia.edu/479837/Celebrity_as_a_postmodern_phenomenon_ethical_crisis_for_democracy_and_media_nightmare

further reading;
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/p/postmodernism/

Taste, Value, Judgement Notes

Taste, Value, Judgement Notes

Taste
In sociology, taste is an individual's personal and cultural patterns of choice and preference. Taste is about drawing distinctions between things such as styles, manners, consumer goods and works of art and relating to these. Social inquiry of taste is about the human ability to judge what is beautiful, good and proper.
(Taken from Mary's presentation)

Beautiful - Aesthetics
Greek philosophers came up with the idea that objects were aesthetically beautiful in and of themselves.
Important to note that they did not posess a wider idea of beauty or how different tribes make themselves beautiful.
Aristotle suggested that the universal elements of beauty were order, symmetry, and definiteness (although now largely discounted).
Modernism changed the idea of western aesthetics and emphasised beauty as the key component of art.

Many have argued over the idea of beauty as something you can understand and not just see.

Schopenhauer: aesthetic contemplation of beauty is the most free that the pure intellect can be from the dictates of will; here we contemplate perfection of form without any kind of worldly agenda, and thus any intrusion of utility or politics would ruin the point of the beauty. It is thus for Schopenhauer one way to fight the suffering.

(Think of Children in Need)

Aesthetics

• Beauty as a Platonic Ideal
• Innate
• Invokes innate appreciation
• beauty is culturally determined

I find it interesting that the idea of beauty is constantly changing. Previously larger women were considered more beautiful, then curvy women, then size zero was considered more aesthetically beautiful.

Good
For Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury beauty just is the sensory version of moral goodness.
The portrait of Dorian Grey is one of many moral fables.

This brings up another interesting idea, the idea of drawing a distinct line between beauty and moral good. Someone can be aesthetically beautiful but if they are morally bad or evil they are no longer considered beautiful.

Proper
Who makes taste?
Social groups form their own ideas of taste and aesthetics, changing contemporary artistic fashions and taste.

Punk created its own aesthetic using bad taste as a means to make social commentary. 

"Taste and consumption are closely linked together; taste as a preference of certain types of clothing, food and other commodities directly affects the consumer choices at the market."

"In showing taste through various everyday actions, people reveal information about their positions in social hierarchies. Preference for certain consumer goods, appearances, manners etc. may signal status because it is conceived as part of the lifestyle of high-status groups. But it is not just that patterns of taste are determined by class structure. Also, people may strategically employ distinctions of taste as resources in maintaining and redefining their social status."

"When taste is explained as status competition, it is assumed, firstly, that people want to show themselves as different from those with lower status and, secondly, that people will imitate those in higher positions."

(All excerpts from Mary's presentation)


Criticisms and Over Consumption
Starting in the 18th Century we see the birth of fashion and large scale production.
People began to buy and acquire things not through need but through an insatiable hedonistic consumption, creating over consumption.

"Theories of taste which build on the ideas of status competition and social emulation have been criticised from various standpoints.
Firstly, it’s not reasonable to trace all social action back to status competition. Marking and claiming status are strong incentives, but people have other motivations as well.
Secondly, it is not plausible to assume that tastes and lifestyles are always diffusing downwards from the upper classes. In some situations the diffusion of tastes may involve quite the opposite direction of emulation."
(Excerpt from Mary's presentation)

Value
Jean Baudrillard was a French philosopher, particularly interested in consumer society. He thought that after World War II our society moved from one of production to one of consumption.
He also began to believe that the objects we consume could be seen as a system of signs that you could decode. "This system is embedded in structures of consumption and leisure that he felt could be analysed sociologically".

Marx and Baudrillard were talking about consumer goods also having a sign exchange value, signs of;

• distinction
• taste
• social status

For example a BMW can have both a use and exchange value (a Marx idea), in that you can drive the BMW or sell it, but Baudrillard was also suggesting the BMW was a sign of social status and distinction. "I own a BMW, I'm better than you, different, richer, better off, etc".


"The concept of social taste is closely associated to social relations and dynamics between people. An understanding of taste as something that is expressed in actions between people helps us to understand many social phenomena that would otherwise be inconceivable.
Aesthetic preferences and attendance to various cultural events are associated with education and social origin. Different socioeconomic groups are likely to have different tastes. Social class is one of the prominent factors structuring taste."
(Excerpt from Mary's presentation)

The V&A Museum of Art & Design; My Thoughts

The Victoria & Albert Museum of Art & Design

This Friday I went to the V&A in London for the first time. Here are some facts and my thoughts about the museum and the experience.

Named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (normally abbreviated to the V&A) opened in 1852 and is located in Kensington, London.

The V&A's Mission statement

To be the world's leading museum of art and design. To enrich people's lives and inspire individuals and everyone in the creative industries, through the promotion of knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of the designed world.
V&A Website 2013

 

 The building itself is massive and covers 12.5 acres (51,000 m²) you could easily spend an entire day there. Upon entering the museum I was surprised by its vast and richly decorated interior. As well as the clash of  classical decoration and architecture with the modern pieces displayed in the entrance hall.
 This made me think of the research we've been doing on the perceptions of power. The building is incredibly imposing and you certainly feel like a small person entering the huge "world of art". The architecture inside and out do a fantastic job of reminding you how much it must have cost to construct.

The V&A contains 145 different galleries and is one of the largest collections of artwork in the world. I briefly joined a tour and was surprised to hear the guide explain that a huge portion of the art/artifacts acquired were gathered as trophies of war, when England was still a massive empire. That more often than not items were sent back to England after battles and conquests "although we now use art dealers" he said.

Made me think of this;
Do you have a flag?

The experience definitely inspired me and I felt quite in awe for most of my visit, although I was rather sad to see so many craft items that we have lost the ability to create. Traditions and skills lost to machinery, mass production or loss of resource (people to teach or willing to learn the skill). There were so many beautiful items that I would love to know and learn how to create but so many artists,craftsmen and women are a dying breed.

Wandering around I particularly enjoyed the jewellery, ironwork, silver, gold and Asian galleries. Although was annoyed to see some areas cordoned off for renovation, the "no photography" signs in abundance, items on loan to other museums or items missing (with no explanation). I was intrigued by a sign in the Japanese exhibit on the first floor that was talking about a group of ceramics on the fifth floor. So I went to the fifth floor only to find that the sign is "at least four years old, and we don't have them anymore" said the staff member. Considering that admittance is free I guess its not a big deal, and the museum was generally fantastic.

Highly recommended, though maybe wait for them to stop building as the sound of drilling is unbelievably annoying whilst walking around a museum.