Post-Modernism, Ai Weiwei and Banksy

1.

·        - Post-modernism can be seen as a “philosophical movement away from the viewpoint of modernism.”

·       - It questions and attacks the use of “sharp classifications such as male versus female, white versus black, and imperial versus colonial.”

·      -  It further developed from the “modernistic thought.”

·       - Post-modernism is “composed by two part post and modern.” Post means “after” in Latin, and “modernism” reflects on the modern period.

·       - The “coming after” of modernism in the 20^th century.

·       -  It was during Postmodernism when we started to see an “indifference to social concerns.”

·        - When society was shied away from “strict theoretical constraints.”

·       - Post-modernism is open, “unbounded, and concerned with process and becoming.”

·       - It is very closely synced to what “is also called New Age thinking.”

 -Wikipedia. (n.d). Retrieved July 26, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism

-Essortment. (n.d). Retrieved July 26, 2011 from http://www.essortment.com/definition-postmodernism-20903.html

-Your Dictionary. (n.d. Retrieved July 26, 2011 from http://www.yourdictionary.com/postmodernism

-Witcombe, C. (2000). Modernism and Postmodernism. Retrieved 29 January, 2004 from http://witcombe.sbc.edu/modernism/modpostmod.html

-Saugstad, A. (2001). Postmodernism: What is it, What is Wrong with it? Retrieved 9 October, 2007 from http://goinside.co/01/1/postmod.html

2. “The post-modern artist is reflective 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’ pretentions, becoming aware of his/her cultural self in history, and accelerating the process of self-consciousness.”

- AUT University. (2011). Academic Literacies in Visual Communications 2: Resource Book. New Zealand, Auckland: Lyceum Press

3. It was during Post-modernism when we began to see the acceptance of “social and cultural pluralism.” That is also when the need for “depth” wasn’t as significant. There was soon an “attention to play of surfaces.” The people of the post-modernist era started to adapt to “simulation, visual media becoming undifferentiated equivalent forms.” “Hyper-reality” and “image saturation” became much more dominant than “real” images. The world saw emergence of “pop culture” and also “hybrid cultural forms.” Art was no longer “authenticated by [the] artist” instead it was “authenticated by [the] audience.” Irony was a new concept which challenged “official seriousness.” During modernity there was a “sense of clear generic boundaries,” these boundaries were soon vanished during post-modernism.

- AUT University. (2011). Academic Literacies in Visual Communications 2: Resource Book. New Zealand, Auckland: Lyceum Press.

5. First at foremost he has “challenged his country's political authority and literally destroyed its cultural traditions.”  China was outraged when this contemporary artist smashed a 2000 year old Dynasty urn. To make matters worse Ai then paints “the Coca-Cola logo onto yet another priceless Han Dynasty urn.” This to me is something which can be related to the people involved in the “Dada” movement. “Instead of writing “R. Mutt” on a urinal, as [Marcel] Duchamp did,” he paints a logo which is very well known on a Dynasty urn which is cherished in his culture. Also the fact that this is a sculpture and not a mimetic painting makes it very post-modern. Ai challenges “official seriousness” with the Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo. He demands attention and forces the viewer to really think about the reason behind the piece. It isn’t blatantly obvious which is also a common feature practised by post-modern artists.

- Arthuri Miller. (n.d. Retrieved July 30, 2011 from http://www.arthurimiller.com/journalism/the-worlds-of-ai-weiwei/

- AUT University. (2011). Academic Literacies in Visual Communications 2: Resource Book. New Zealand, Auckland: Lyceum Press

- Chronicle Online. (n.d. Retrieved July 30, 2011 from http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Nov06/Chinese.artist.dea.html

6. Banksy is a world renowned artist who creates graffiti masterpieces which leave his audience in wonder as to what he is trying to portray through it just like Ai. Banksy is very political with his pieces and isn’t scared to express his ideas, which again are very post-modern like.  'Flower Riot', leaves us to wonder “does the image mean are we powerless? Flowers are so ephemeral, so fragile. How could they possibly hurt anything?  Or are the flowers a symbol of the intangible power that comes from belief and hope and the certainty of truth?” Like a lot of artists from the “Dada” movement, Banksy moves away from the traditional use of paints and canvas which I truly adore as he is one of my favourite artists. Some people may see his works as vandalism but I see it as post-modern art which is to be admired. They see him to be a “a troublemaker, but he never gets caught” just like Ai.

In Los Angeles (2008), Banksy explores “an invisible world beyond our sense perceptions.” You would obviously never see a monkey walking with food on a tray as humans do. We see a lot of these concepts in post-modern art works as artists are now expressing ideas which evolve from the subconscious mind.  Also in a strange way it is like he is also exploring the idea of pluralism and acceptance of apes in our society as we aren’t all the same but we humans do ‘originate from apes.’ The image looks as though it is a mix between an ape and a caveman. Banksy also like Ai, steps away from serious art and makes some of his pieces quite amusing to look at despite having a strong political meaning behind it.

- Arthuri Miller. (n.d. Retrieved July 30, 2011 from http://www.arthurimiller.com/journalism/the-worlds-of-ai-weiwei/

Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'

From what I can gather, ‘claymation’ is a process where clay models are “moved and filmed using stop-motion photography.” This is a narrative process which is created with the use of clay models and photography.  “Claymation films” is a useful approach to creating lifelike movements detailed with emotion.

-Dictionary Reference. (n.d). Retrieved July 23, 2011, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Claymation

 

A surrealistic artwork is a piece which was inspired by the surrealism “movement in art and literature which originated in France (1924).” These pieces express the subconscious activities that occur in our minds by exposing dreams and similar experiences through art. The Biennale catalogue stated that Experiment (2009), by Nathalie Djurberg was a “surrealistic Garden of Eden.” Djurberg’s garden “is an installation recreating a Garden of Eden from hell. It's a garden covered with creepy flowers. They are so big they dwarf visitors; their colours and shapes are nauseating. Sun never lights up the garden, set in a perpetual crepuscule, in the Basement of the Padiglione delle Esposizioni.” Her film also expresses the opposite of the Garden of Eden as a woman tries to escape an older lecher, when they soon are being attacked by the forest. The Garden of Eden was a peaceful and holy place whereas Djurberg’s forest is “horrifying and quite peculiar.”

We also observe that “all that is natural goes “awry” as the plants look frightening in the dark as though they are under an evil spell. Also just the look of them is unusual and not natural as though it has lost its natural beauty as plants.

- Art 21. (n.d). Retrieved July 23, 2011, from http://blog.art21.org/2009/06/16/nathalie-djurberg-and-paul-chan-making-weird-worlds-at-birnbaums-biennale/

-Coulson, J. (1975). The Award Illustrated Dictionary. London, England: Award Publications Limited.

-We Make Money Not Art. (n.d). Retrieved July 23, 2011, from http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2009/10/nathalie-djurberg-who-won-the.php

Djurberg confronts us with complex emotions such as fear and disgust.  She takes what most people see to be right or wrong and twists them to expose such tormenting emotions from her viewers. We see the models doing disturbing things such as fall apart and have their body parts eat them alive. This sort of behaviour is something to be expected from a “psychopathic horror film.” It is typical for a surrealistic artist such as Djurberg to create artworks which are unexpected and contradicting to society.

- We Make Money Not Art. (n.d). Retrieved July 23, 2011, from http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2009/10/nathalie-djurberg-who-won-the.php

Djurberg’s films have ideas which are present in children’s stories. They both have the “traditional roles” such as good, bad, and the Good Samaritan. But of course Djurberg’s films are the horror filled version of your usual children’s story. At first glimpse though, the clay characters look innocent with the common big “googly eyes” as seen in children’s books.  This is before a part of their body starts forcing death upon the character. The artist uses the idea of vulnerable clay characters to create a childlike setting before completely taking a surrealistic twist in the narrative.

-Art News. (n.d). Retrieved July 23, 2011, from http://artnews.org/artist.php?i=1211

I think designers are trying the approach of turning something “innocent and sweet into something disturbing” because it steps away from the cliché idea of the “happy ending.” Djurberg leaves behind in the viewer’s mind a brutally disturbing image of her clay models therefore making a lasting impact. Now she is known for these disturbing pieces and also very talked-about. She definitely knows how to keep her audience awake with sudden unexpected images such as a Catholic priest watching erotic nude women. This concept has also been evidently inspired by the surrealism movement as we constantly observe the “element of surprise, [and] unexpected juxtapositions” in works done by Djurberg and other artists such as Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte.

-Wikipedia. (n.d). Retrieved July 23, 2011, from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealism

-Surrealist. (n.d). Retrieved July 23, 2011, from http://www.surrealist.com/

I find ‘Experiment’ interesting because it is out of the ordinary and which is also why I think it was chosen for the Venice Biennale. It leaves behind a lingering impression as you end up thinking of the unspoken as surrealistic artists tend to try and achieve this exact impact. In its own sick and twisted way, this piece is exciting and thrilling to watch as you don’t know what is yet to come and while you eagerly wait, a sense of fear arises. This piece demands a reaction from the audience which is why it is perfect for the Venice Biennale.

- We Make Money Not Art. (n.d). Retrieved July 23, 2011, from http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2009/10/nathalie-djurberg-who-won-the.php

I find Djurberg’s work to be disturbing yet quite effective. This artist knows how to spark emotion from the audience which is a hard thing to do as an artist.  I truly admire her unique terrifying techniques. The effective use of Claymation is quite new to me which is why I really love the detailed models that the artist has presented.  I find her works to be successful despite the horror which is attached to it.