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.
- Pluralism-“Let me first say that I believe postmodernism represents an important virtue. This virtue is pluralism.”
- · Contingency-“Reality does not determine language, language determines reality.” This position may be called linguistic idealism, a radical and quite bizarre idea that language constructs reality.”
- · Deconstuctive-“Deconstructive postmodernism seeks to overcome the modern worldwide, and the assumptions that sustain it, through what appears to be an anti-worldwideview.”
- · Relativism-“Postmodernism is associated with relativism. Relativism is the idea that “anything goes.”
- · Rejection of modernist thinking-“Postmodernism rejects “reason, the notion of truth, the belief in the perfectibility of man, and the idea that we could create a better, if not perfect, society
- Magical realism-“Arguably magical realism is the introduction of fantastic or impossible elements into a narrative that is otherwise normal. Magical realist novels may include dreams taking place during normal life, the return of previously deceased characters, extremely complicated plots, wild shifts in time, and myths and fairy tales becoming part of the narrative.”
- Intertextuality-“The intertextuality of certain works of postmodern fiction, the dependence on literature that has been created earlier, attempts to comment on the situation in which both literature and society found themselves in the second half of the 20th century”
- · Technoculture and hyperreality-“In his essay of the same name, Frederic Jameson called postmodernism the “cultural logic of late capitalism.” According to his logic, society has moved beyond capitalism into the information age, in which we are constantly bombarded with advertisements, videos, and product placement. Many postmodern authors reflect this in their work by inventing products that mirror actual advertisements, or by placing their characters in situations in which they cannot escape technology.”
2. Use a quote by Witcombe (2000) to
define the Post-Modern artist.(page 24)
“The
post-modern 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, “damasking” pretentions, becoming aware of his/her cultural
self in history, and accelerating the process of self-consciousness.”
3. Use the table on pages 47 and 48 in your ALVC handbook to summarize the list of the features of Post-Modernity.
3. Use the table on pages 47 and 48 in your ALVC handbook to summarize the list of the features of Post-Modernity.
From studying the
table on page 47-48 on the resources, what I could understand in my own sense
about what post modernism is that first off it is considered a rival reaction
that challenges that idea of modernity. while the idea of modernism focuses on kind
of more of a utopian ideas, where it combines traditional belief and teachings
into more contemporary thoughts in one unity, post modern focus on the opposite
in terms of disunity as well as the ultimate idea in pluralism (a idea where
there is more than one kinds of things/reality that exist at the same time). so
this idea allows two or more ideas and purpose to exist without have to be
related together, allowing many belief and theories to happen. This allows art
to exist in almost anything, and depending on the individual views it can be
limitless, allowing many ideas to exist in one space without each having to
connect to one another. So as Saugstad, A said, there is “No Grand Narrative”
it is open to all.
Use this summary to answer the next two questions.
4. Research Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's 'Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo'(1994)
in order to say what features of the work could be considered Post-Modern.
For the work of Contemporary Chinese
artist Al Weiwei, I believed that his work," Hans Dynasty Um with
Coca-Cola Logo (1994)" does show features of post modern ideas, both in a
commons themes of the idea as well as a personal belief to the artist, as most
of his work challenges the values of Chinese society in their belief of China's
communism structure, as well as his government stands in democracy and human rights.
For the physical aspects the urn obviously even in current times represents the
rich historical aspects of specific to china, while the coca-cola, an America
brand is widely recognized throughout the world as a current popular symbol and
culture. their mixture in both time and culture is a obvious relation to post
modernism as it symbolize the relation between their tradition and history,
ignoring the rules and ideas places on modernism and embracing the post modern
idea of pluralism, where it doesn’t need to relate, just exist, as the placing
of a coca cola brand in an ancient Chinese relic could have been very offensive
to the Chinese, as it is implying the idea of foreign invasion due to the American,
if not international standing of the brand, therefore corrupting their cultural
and historical aspects of china, which all relates to how they fit in to the
post modern belief of values are being both challenge if not subjective.
1.
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 question 3.)
to discuss how each work can be defined at Post-Modern.(Use your list from question 3.)
For the two works of British
graffiti artist Banksy, I believe that each of the work shown can be considered
as post modern as each of the work shows the mixture of two different ideas
which would be mostly opposite to each other in both the aspects of time and
culture, yet they are still present. He disguise each works in a humorous if
not ironic style, while still open enough to show his view on society and
politics in general. This is first show in his first work, the Flower Riot
(2008) which portrays an angry rioter, but instead of throwing what should have
been a dangerous home-made range weapon of some sort, like a Molotov, he is
holding a bunch of colorful flowers which contradicts what he was supposed to
hold. This idea would have helped show the theme of peace, and the display of
antiwar, as the flower would have just scatter. this I believe is quite
successful in relation to post modern as it uses two opposite style of art and
combines them to help communication one idea, where the rioter, a common use of
war and revolution, would lead the audience, then the flower would have
symbolize the works true nature of peace. But this is only one obvious reason
for it, as a post modern work, there is no straight answer, so there is more
than one purpose for what it represents. For the second work named Los Angeles
(2008) it shows a caveman holding a fast food tray with all the common "McDonald"
meal. This work also shows an obvious relation of post modern based on the
mixture of culture and era, where he is in way advertising that kind of fast
food restaurant, so it has some relation to commercialism. This also helps in contradicting
modernism because unlike modernism which is related to the current or present
era, post modern is related to all style of era, so that anyone, even caveman
could obtain fast food, or in some sense
http://dailyserving.com/2010/07/ai-weiwei-dropping-the-urn/
http://www.artlyst.com/articles/ai-weiwei-takes-on-coca-cola-in-new-london-exhibition
http://arthistoryresources.net/modernism/modpostmod.html
http://postmodernblog.tumblr.com/post/106532710/a-list-of-postmodern-characteristics
http://www.adelinotorres.com/filosofia/Postmodernism%C2%A0%C2%A0%20What%20is%20it,%20and%20What%20is%20Wrong%20With%20It.htm
http://arthistoryresources.net/modernism/modpostmod.html
