Defining the Postmodern can be problematic for a number of reasons. Firstly it starts with the need to have a concept of what was considered to be ‘modern’, in order to define what came out of this phase in art. Modernism in Western art strived to significantly part itself from classical or traditional ideas that preceded it. Beginning around 1850 and lasting from 1950 through to as late as 1970, Modernism sought to change all preconceived ideas of beauty through it’s belief that all progress, especially technological, is positive. [reference] This fundamental idea opened up new avenues to be explored through art that glorified aesthetics that were previously considered undesirable or too common to be art.[2]
Starting in the mid-to-late 50’s with Richard Hamilton and Jasper Johns, and gaining huge popularity with Andy Warhol in the early 60’s, art was seeing another dramatic change with the rise of Pop Art. The movement’s thesis was to use imagery from popular culture, that would ordinarily be considered mundane, and elevating it to new heights. This was done by using means such as mechanical reproduction to comment on society through the use of irony.[reference] This was in direct opposition to the Abstract Expressionist movement and completely against what art theorists such as Clement Greenberg were saying at the time. Many see Pop Art as one of the first moves in the direction towards the Postmodern.
In the early 1980’s art theorists and artists were looking at new ways of thinking that questioned modernism’s core ideas. Hal Foster was one of the first to see how contemporary artists of the 70s, for example artists of the ‘Pictures Generation’, were using the connotations associated with certain images, to give new meaning to their artworks by appropriating known imagery from popular western culture.
This group of artists were known for their critical analysis of mass culture and their relationship with it [3].
This undermining and ironic approach to art is crucial to understanding the core intentions of Postmodernism and contemporary art in today’s society. [reference]
Defining Postmodernism as one set definition is impossible as it is more of a collection of movements using similar ideas to comment on art, rather than having similar aesthetic characteristics that other movements such as Impressionism or Cubism did. Where Modernism wanted to take art in new directions by glorifying new ideas that were previously not considered art, it seems that postmodernist art is extending this philosophy, but by questioning even the most basic of so called truths that we have accepted as modern-day people. Broadly speaking Postmodern art is a critique of modern art, as well as a critique of modern life and the social constructs it relies on.
When we reflect on the past 150 years and how life has changed, it comes as no surprise that the art people have been making has been equally as radical. Postmodernism itself comprises multiple movements that each utilise it’s medium to communicate ideas about structuralism, gender, race, and class, as well as art itself. [Reference] These movements that fall under postmodernism are commonplace in today’s galleries and museums. Performance Art, Minimalism, Conceptual Art and Video Art are all considered to be Postmodern.
It is somewhat harder to categorise Postmodern masterpieces than it is past movements as Postmodernism is still in full swing. Despite this, there have been many works over the past 40 years that are considered to be extremely important to art. One example of great Postmodern art is Barbara Kruger’s ‘Untitled (I Shop Therefore I Am)’ [fig.1], a piece that uses a found photograph (a characteristic of the Postmodern), and a provocative slogan on a photolithograph. This was cleverly done to appropriate the language of mass media communication and critique society’s focus on image and spectacle, as well as undermining the distinctions between high art and advertising simultaneously. [4]
20 years ago, the Royal Academy put on a notorious exhibition titled ‘Sensation’, a show that brought in huge numbers, as well as causing massive upset among the British public for many reasons. In fact most of the artwork shown in the exhibition was deemed controversial and received backlash from a number of protest groups. This exhibition was extremely important for Postmodern British art as it made contemporary art a popular subject in the UK, the ‘YBAs’ used their shocking subject matter with help from the media to propel their work into public interest. [5] The works on display included Damien Hirst’s ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’ [fig.2], a piece that acts as almost a logo for contemporary art. A dead shark, suspended in Formaldehyde, in a white steel frame. It reminds us that nothing living can escape the inevitability of death, but even so the human brain cannot comprehend what its actually like to not be alive. In my opinion having the audience peering into the tank to see what they would only normally see in books or on tv serves as an almost too perfect metaphor for humanity’s morbid curiosity towards violence and death.
In the world we live in today, engulfed by videos and digital imagery it is easy to dismiss painting as a medium that is passed it’s time. However people still continue to produce captivating paintings that push the boundaries of taste and what it is to be considered art. Chris Ofili’s painting ‘The Holy Virgin Mary’ [fig.3] caused a lot of controversy in the US in 1999, being deemed by many as ‘blasphemy’. It defied the historical norm of a white Virgin Mary by using racial stereotypes, abstracted images taken from pornography, as well as elephant dung, as a means to communicate ideas about identity politics and the widely accepted whiteness of Christianity’s figures. [6]
Great Postmodern art questions the way that we live our lives as social and co-existing beings and puts the traditional under the microscope, which leads us to ask difficult questions about ourselves and our society. This type of provocative art is essential as it causes people to think about concepts and materials in new ways.