Week 2 - Post-Modernism - Ai Weiwei and Banksy

1. Define Post-Modernism using 8-10 bullet points that include short quotes.

• "Postmodernism is associated with relativism. Relativism is the idea that 'anything goes. It is the position where one has left the belief in absolute truth, and instead embraced the idea that knowledge is dependent on one's perspective."

• Another way that post modernism can be explained is by a series of social constructions. Opinions are no longer changed by what a particular 'higher power' decrees but what a collective group of people have declared. eg; "A Norwegian theologian has been led to say that the distinction between the male and female sex is arbitrary, it is a social construction."

• The belief in a singular 'Grand Narrative' has been abandoned. "In the Enlightenment, one had certain ideas guiding the culture, a unified project, where knowledge and information were important... But in postmodernism, society is more fragmented. Belief in the One Truth, or universal criteria, has been substituted by a number of "small stories," and a diversity of criteria."

• When postmodernism began differs among various opinions; some say it began some time around 1950, "others would say that postmodernism is something that evolved after 1968."

• "'Postmodernism' is of course composed by two parts; "post" and "modern". "Post" is latin for "after", and "modernism" refers to the modern period."

• Nietzcshe (1844-1900) argued that "God is dead". Within postmodernism 'there are no eternal fix-points in life - that's what many postmodern followers of Nietzsche believe.'

• Postmodernism supports the idea that 'Reality is created by social reality'. "But the main idea is that there is no objective knowledge or absolute representation of reality. Many of our concepts and categories are based on the social reality."

• "Postmodernism represents an important virtue. That virtue is pluralism."

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, "demasking" pretensions, 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.

• Social and cultural pluralism, disunity, unclear bases for social/national/ethnic unity.
• Attention to play of surfaces, challenging the "Depth" of the work.
• Elevation of certain media's as a substitute for reality.
• Introduction of hyper-reality, 'better than real'.
• Mixing of popular and High cutlure.
• Art is defined by its process and media, rather than the quality of the finished work.
• Not meant to be understood or serious. Introduction of play and humor.
• Boundries are blurred and genre's mixed.

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.

This piece is part of Weiwei's collection; "Ai Weiwei: Dropping the urn" which is all about the shedding of cultural awareness in China. It is recognising that a lot of ancient history is being forgotten in the economic race for power and modernity. This can be linked to the way in which postmodernity has abandoned the 'Grand Narrative' idea, throwing off the old ways of strict tradition and belief to follow a new and social world.

"The best works in the exhibition are those in which Ai takes archaic Chinese vessels and treats them as readymades.  These include paint-dipped pots, pulverized urns in a jar, a pot with a superimposed Coca Cola logo, and a photograph of the artist casually letting a Han dynasty urn smash on the ground.  Of these works the painted Colored Vases immediately catch your eye.  Ai treats the ancient pots irreverently, dipping them into buckets of industrial paint so as to leave some evidence of the original surface decoration and, thus, their age.  The off-the-shelf colors pop brightly against the original dull brownish tones of the vessels, a gesture of cultural washing that nearly obliterates the past in favor of a brighter new plastic-colored future. Other pieces follow a similar conceptual path: Ai crushed Neolithic-age pottery to powder and stored the gritty remains in a clear glass jar. Here, the funereal act of memorializing an old urn in a modern urn coupled with the implied violence of the grinding gives the work cerebral and visceral force."

-http://www.artlyst.com/articles/ai-weiwei-takes-on-coca-cola-in-new-london-exhibition  (18/09/2011)

As a link to post-modernism, this is both a challenge to official seriousness and a recycling of culture. It can most definitely relate to other subcultures. In this case the popular culture of the Western World, using a hugely recognised brand upon something of major significance in the Chinese culture.

6. Research British artist Banksy's street art, and analyze the following two works by the artist to discuss how each work can be defined as Post-Modern.(Use your list from question 3.)

'Flower Riot'

'Los Angeles'

Both of these works can be defined as post-modern by the unclear bases for social/national or ethnic unity and their questioning of media and process. Banksy is famous for his graffiti'd stencils. This has been seen for a long time as vandalism and destruction of property. Now seen as works of art both these works have significant, post-modern ideologies behind them. The first of the two; 'Flower Riot', is the disruption of what we would normally perceive and relate to this kind of image. In society today, we are so used to the image of violence being represented by masked criminals and crowds of angry protesters that this image can convey such a powerful message. 'Make peace and not war'.

His second work 'Los Angeles' clearly depicts the same clash of culture and history that Ai Weiwei was trying to depict. This creeping in on of popular culture in everything we do and see.