Week 2 - Post-Modernism - Ai Weiwei and Banksy.

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

Post-Modernism is:

• All the ideas that emerged from Modernism were flawed, corrupt, and oppressive. “Modernism has played itself out and is now floundering and directionless” Witcombe (2000) And therefore due to the mounting evidence of failure of the modernist movement, post-modernity arose during the latter half of the 20^th century.

• “Constructive postmodernism seeks to recover truths and values from various forms of premodern thought and practice" (Witcombe 2000)

• The Modern movement desire was to delimit, bound and confine, while Postmodernism was created to replace that faulty side and erase all boundaries. 

• Deconstructive Modernism The principle and beliefs of Modernism are cast aside, “it seems to destroy or eliminate the ingredients that are believed necessary for a world-view, such as God, self, purpose, meaning, a real world and truth” (Witcombe 2000)

• Constructive Modernism attempts to remove all pre-existing borders that withhold the fundamentals of modernism. Seeking “to recover truths and values from various forms of premodern thought and practice”. Unifying “scientific, ethical, aesthetic, and religious intuitions”.Witcombe (2000)

• "...reason is the greatest enemy..." sometime it can do more evil than good, even if it looks logical on paper. Postmodernism involves undoing the faults and flaws which modernism holds and creates. 

• "Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific or objective efforts to explain reality."

• There is no general agreement, or black and white explanation on the precise definition. However In essence, postmodernism is loosely based on the idea that reality is not depicted in the human understanding of it, but is rather composed as the mind attempts to understand its own personal reality.

• "It rejects not science as such, but only that scientific approach in which only the data of the modern natural sciences are allowed to contribute to the construction of our world view" Witcombe (2000) 

2. Use a quote by Witcombe (2000) to define the Post-Modern artist.

“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 grid on pages 42 and 43 to summarize the list of the features of Post-Modernity.

Postmodernism is based around the theory that there is more than one basic substance or principle surrounding social and cultural beliefs. Postmodernism challenges the fundamentals of modernity, focusing more on the adaption to visual media and the reality, rather than perception. The post modernist artist focuses on presenting work that relates to there own ideas and life experiences, and less on what people portray or expect. Its about 'de-masking' the 'real' and becoming self-aware. 

4. Use this summary to answer the next two questions.

5. Research Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's 'Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo'(1994)
in order to say what features of the work are Post-Modern.

Ai Wei Wei is one of the most highly recognised and influential avant-garde artist. Ai Wei Wei is known for his installations and sculptures using historical pieces and found objects and sensual photographs. This piece has plenty of contemporary and postmodern relevance, especially given his recent media coverage, is Ai Weiwei’s Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola Logo (1994). It was one of the few non-western pieces in the exhibition in which it was shown in. It is one of the simplest and yet most shocking pieces of art one could possibly see, an ancient urn with the iconic red Coca-Cola lettering branded on it. It symbolises, heritage, appropriation, globalisation, the shock that the brand is more recognisable than the object and the uneasy but increasingly important collision of eastern and western traditions. Ironically the urn was an incredibly valuable artefact and yet became more valuable after it became a piece of postmodern art. A country that is based on tradition and values opposed to western ways of living circum when it comes too money, represented by the coca-cola label. Thus showing just how despotic pop culture is over high 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 at Post-Modern.(Use your list from question 3.)

Banksy is an England based artist who uses various different media from graffiti, film and paint. Like Ai Wei Wei Banksy is also a political activist. Banksy’s “Flower Riot” can be seen as postmodern in the aspect the artist is voicing his own opinion. In relation to society today we are seeing allot of widespread looting, rioting and arson in cities and towns in England due to a rise in prices of goods that lower class people can’t afford. Banksy has taken the seriousness away from the piece by placing a bunch of flowers in the hand of the man thus creating humour. There seem to be attributes of hyper-reality. This stencil image is a depiction of what we see on TV a man wearing a bandana, hat and baggy clothing therefore making the image more powerful.

In the second image we can see a Neanderthal holding a bone in his left hand and fast food in his right hand. It makes a statement about humans and the way we live. It questions whether not we have evolved and revolutionised as race for the common good. The bone in his left hand represents a sacrifice of hunting for food and the fast food a sacrifice of good health. Has much changed in the few hundred years? Using reference to Cyndee Mudilar (2011) “ he is also exploring pluralism and acceptance of apes in our society”. To expand, science has told humans that we originate from apes; religion has told us god created us. It is the idea that two different ideologies can co exist about existence. Again displaying humour and taking away from the seriousness a primitive holding a burger, chips and drink. In relation to intertextuality the image almost looks like an early prehistoric cave drawing, “art as a recycling of culture” (n.d)

References:
 Banksy (n.d). Retrieved July 31st, 2011. from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy
 Ai Wei Wei (n.d). Retrieved July 31st, 2011. from
http://www.artzinechina.com/display_vol_aid109_en.html
Amir, S. (2008, October 24). Writing is on the wall for banksy's west end mural; Art attack: a council order to remove this Banksy work near Oxford Circus has started a row over who owns the wall, The Evening Standard, (n.p)