Postmodernism can be best described as a response to the earlier modernist movement that had evolved between the 1860s to the 1950s. The various artists in the modern period were driven by a radical and forward thinking approach, revolving around a minimalist aesthetic that can be summarised by the term ‘less is more’. Neo-Dada and Pop art are often marked as the beginning of postmodernism, generally defining the movement by such themes as fragmented subject matter, the undermining of authenticity and originality, the breakdown of high and low culture, and the recontextualisation of art and culture. Manish Arora’s Autumn-Winter collection demonstrates how traditional art can be completely deconstructed and redesigned, altering the context of the original design entirely. Arora’s inspiration from traditional folk costumes, infuses culturally defined garments, with themes of psychedelic art, spirituality, pop art, and maximalism, resulting in a unique range of postmodernist designs.
Post modernism tends to completely disregard conventions of traditional art and design, in order to not only make a statement against preexisting movements, but to redefine the ways that audiences interact with art. This often leads to art that reflects values that contrast from those of traditional art styles, and questions the boundaries between high and low art. The term ‘high art’ is typically used to reference traditional fine arts, such as painting and sculpture, used to evoke the idea of class, quality, and authenticity. Art critiques typically use the term to distinguish fine art from ‘low art,' which is often associated with the term ‘kitsch,' being art that is depicted as that of poor taste and excessive ornamentation. One artist who is known to comment on the notions of authenticity and art class, is the pop art advocate, Andy Warhol. His Campbell Soup collection mocks the division between low and high art by reproducing ordinary objects over and over, essentially making art out what most people would consider mundane. ‘Representation’ by W J T Mitchell discusses the ways in which western art can represent its subject matter, and how they can be seen as an artists interpretation of an object/scene. ‘Art representation is the use of signs that stand in for and take the place of something else’. In terms of Warhol’s collection, he uses ready made objects as the source of his inspiration, not only mocking the value of the objects, but at the same time, promoting the identity of the objects. Warhol’s recreation of mundane objects, commonly associated with consumerism, stretched the boundaries of what is considered art, earning him enormous praise as an avant-garde, and critique from those who questioned his true intentions. Though today, the true purpose of his art remains unclear, his art allows audiences open to interpret the authenticity of the pop art movement as a whole, questioning the true definition of ‘high art’. Likewise, fashion designers can be influenced by cultural themes, and interpret them within the work that they produce. Manish Arora takes inspiration from traditional Thai, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Persian and most evidently, indian Folk outfits. His garment designs originate from culturally defined foundations, and completely recontextualises the initial values with influences from postmodernist settings. Much like Warhol, Arora comments on the origins of the garments through the design of the pieces, yet infuses this tradition with kitsch ornamentation, influenced by pop cultural allusions. The designs question the boundaries between high and low art, traditional and futuristic design, and authentic versus appropriated art. This practice results in idiosyncratic designs that resemble anything but modernity.
One particular theme that has become associated with Post-modernist art, is undermining the concept of originality and authenticity. It has been said before that Post-Modernism is a culture of quotations and references, where Authenticity is invaluable and originality is non-existent. Whether this is justification for intellectual and creative theft, or an explanation of how artists feed off the creativity of one another, is open to interpretation. However it is undeniable that this attitude explains the way that artists absorb the world around them. “Appropriation of art is a well recognised modern and postmodern art form that has challenged the way people think about art, and challenged the way people think about objects, images, sounds, culture”. Pieces such as Kirrah Thompson’s ‘Weeping woman after Picasso'(fig.1), from TopArts 2016, exemplify what post-modernist art represents, being a response to modernism and other preliminary art styles. Thompson's direct appropriation of Picasso’s ‘Weeping woman'(fig. 2), never attempts to claim the work as her own, in fact, she wants the viewer to recognise the work of Picasso, and recontextualise the setting of which it is perceived. Recontextualisation helps the artist comment on the image's original meaning and the viewer's association with the original image or the real thing. It must be noted that this does not refer to merely repeating the original artwork in a different context. Rather, creating new meaning to a piece via the setting of which it is presented. The attention lies not with the new setting, but the new meaning of the artwork at hand. Thompson’s art demonstrates this, showing us that changing the context of a well known piece of art can serve not only as acknowledgment to the authenticity and creativity of the original piece, but also give the original artwork new meaning. Although this example demonstrated appropriation of earlier styles of art, in this case cubism, post-modernist art often draws inspiration from pop-cultural references, such as film, television, perspectives, ideas and attitudes of mainstream society. Although the exact influences of the Arora’s style remain as unspecified, we can assume that influences may include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the candy crush saga video game. The unorthodox combination between abstract expressionism and the modest style of folk fashion, creates a unique, dreamlike setting within the designs. It would be a very bold statement to claim that Arora has used such pop cultural references as the subjects of indirect appropriation. However the surreal settings created within these various sources, undeniably serve as inspiration for the context created by his designs, whether they be direct influences or not.
Modernism is often strongly associated with the aesthetic of minimalism, so accordingly, post-modernism, being a response to modernism, introduced the aesthetic of maximalism in design. Maximalism is defined as over the top design, composing of excess and redundancy. The philosophy can be summarised as “more is more," contrasting with the minimalist motto "less is more”. The ironic nature of kitsch art is due to its emphasis on ornamentation, and its disregard for simplicity and cleanliness, more often than not resulting in a quirky and unrefined finish. Similarly, the post-modernist subgenera of deconstructionism can be exemplified through the distortion and irrationality of structure and geometric design. The style typically relies on the semiotic analysis of visually fragmented and manipulated design, in order to extract meaning from such pieces. Although both of these ideologies may be interpreted as chaotic design, the true intention of both deconstructive and maximalist design is to challenge traditional ideas of modern art, such as harmony and simplicity. ‘Deconstruction becomes a process of analytical creation’, meaning that the origins and influences of the design must be picked apart and examined in order to understand the integrity and objectives of both the artist, and the works that he/she produces. Ellen Lupton discusses this in the context of both graphic design and culture in ‘Deconstruction and Graphic Design’. She notes that some forms of graphic design tend to disregard predisposed rules of layout design such as spacing, framing, punctuation and type style, in order to appear spontaneous. She also states that fashion can often favour chopped up, layered, and fragmented forms, much like that of Manish Arora’s clothing designs. His fashion design is distinguished by the bold, kitsch style, due to the general excess of colour, pattern and ornamentation. The bold colours and maximalist patterns applied to culturally inspired outfits, can be interpreted as a representation of past cultures, transmitted into a fluorescent coated, utopian future. This idea of distorted era’s, as well as conflicting social classes, may be derived from Arora’s humble upbringing in India, projected into the futuristic world of western culture, and beyond, into a dreamlike environment fuelled by his imagination. His style reflects traditional folk costume, with strong influences of indian crafts such as embroidery, appliqué and beading, combined with the westernised style of psychedelic pop art. The maximalist image that is created by Arora’s designs is not necessarily unrefined, however there are many qualities that resemble his fixation with ornamentation through excess of colour and pattern.
The increased popularity of post-modernism during the mid 20th century, coincided with the rediscovery of psychedelic drugs. Psychedelic art is often strongly associated with the aesthetic of maximalism, both being forms of post-modernism. In ‘Revivalism and cultural shift’, Tony Heward discusses the origins of postmodernism, stating that “Camaby Street, Pop Design, the Underground, and Psychedelics challenged establishment the movement”. Ken Johnson explains that psychedelic art extends beyond the surface of the piece, exploring energy and spirituality. “No longer was art something just to appreciate for its aesthetic qualities. Traditional connoisseurship was out; consciousness-altering experience was in. Boundaries between conventional media such as painting and sculpture became fluid and porous. Hierarchical distinctions between high and low culture were rendered irrelevant. Weird news forms proliferated”. Principles evident in Manish Arora’s collection strongly coincide with the psychedelic motives described by Johnson. The psychedelic patterns take Arora’s designs into a whole new level of spirituality, resembling that of psychedelic artist Alex Grey and his ‘sacred mirrors’ exhibition. Grey’s artwork can be described as a blend of postmodern, sacred and visionary art, exploring themes of the human body, mind and spirit, beyond the limits of biological understanding. Sacred mirrors consists of 21 paintings that took Grey over 10 years to complete. The paintings all feature life sized portraits of the human body, each depicting a different level of the human anatomy, from the skeletal, cardiovascular and muscular systems, to the multiple levels of the human spirit. Grey manages equality balance scientific and spiritual depiction of the human body, creating incredibly captivating psychedelic art. Whether it be directly responsible or not, the heightened appreciation of colour, texture, and line, that is associated with psychedelic drugs, can be seen in creations of both Alex Grey, and Manish Arora. The vibrant colours and dreamlike setting produced within these pieces of work, creates dimension far beyond that of most typical art, exploring spirituality rather than merely the aesthetic of a design. This challenges the preexisting contentions of traditional art, reinforcing the hypothesis that Manish Arora is indeed a post modernist.
Themes explored within Manish Arora’s Autumn-Winter collection include cultural appropriation, distortion between high and low art, psychedelic philosophies and deconstructive design. The collection demonstrates how traditional art and cultures, represented by conventional crafts, can be completely redesigned in original contexts, far beyond that of their origins. Although the definition of postmodernism may come across as speculative, Arora's designs prove to be critical of the predisposed ideologies of modernism, reinsuring that his artwork not only reflect themes associated with postmodernism, but also that he is in fact an avant-garde of the fashion industry.