WEEK 2- Post-Modernism, Ai Weiwei and Banksy

'Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo'(1994), Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei dropping a Han Dynast Urn.

Flower Riot', Banksy

Los Angeles (2008), Banksy

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

* Post Modernism is a genre that applies to literature, art, philosophy, architecture, fiction, and cultural and literary criticism, among others.

*It has a "post" in front of the word modernism is because that it "denies the existence of any ultimate principles, and it lacks the optimism of there being a scientific, philosophical, or religious truth" 

*A philosopher named , Richard Tarnas, said that, postmodernism "cannot on its own principles ultimately justify itself any more than can the various metaphysical overviews against which the postmodern mind has defined itself."

*Postmodernism actually just means "after modernity". It refers to the actual dissolution of those social forms associated with modernity.

*Postmodernism was a movement in architecture that rejected the modernist passion for the new. Modernism is here understood in art and architecture as the project of rejecting tradition in favor of going "where no man has gone before".

*Postmodernism is not easy to define where different thinkers have different opinions and different people from different fields can have different defination, therefore, it is hard to get a definite term for postmodernism. 

*It is a very broad term used to describe the movements in a wide range of disciplines.

*Postmodernism kind of leans heavily on using forms not traditionally perceived as artistic. Heavy use of kitsch or overly simplistic styles are two examples of this mode. Many postmodern artists appropriate earlier modernist and classical works and combine them to create a new, ironic piece of art work. 

*In critical theory and philosophy, postmodernism serves as a striking counterpoint to classical foundations of philosophy. 

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 culture self in history, and acceleration the process of self-consciousness”

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

The social and cultural pluralism have unclear bases for social,national and ethnic unity. The works of post modernity concerns no "depth". The culture is adapting to simulation and visual media is changing and simulation and real time media substituting for the real. Hyper-reality is more powerful than the "real". As seen on TV, they are more powerful than unmediated experience. Hybrid cultural forms cancelled "high"/"low" categories. Art is presented and formed in different ways and mostly the identity of the artist that created the work. It also challenges seriousness things but presented in a irony way.

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.

Its very obvious that "Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo" is a post modernism art work. Firstly, with the irony of printing a everyday see able logo onto something that is very precious because of its age and culture. Also,"Ai paints the Coca-Cola logo onto yet another priceless Han Dynasty urn. Ai’s prodigious output runs the gamut from shock art, sculpture, film, editing, writing, photography, furniture making to architecture on the grandest of scales, as in the Bird’s Nest stadium at the Beijing Olympics. He is a renaissance man." (The Worlds of Ai Weiwei
,2009) It showed a play around with the priceless urn together with a logo that you can see basically everywhere, showed irony of the price and worth of this ancient urn and challenge to official seriousness and subversion of earnestness,

 
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 point 6.)

Banksy's work is surly interesting and unique to look at. His work, "Los Angeles", definitely  showed post modernism because of the icon. A early century man holding a tray of fast food. It is simply twisting a fact and combining two things that does not go together because of the time and date. But it also somehow just looked right. Also the "Flower Riot". To me, he looks like a baseball player ready to throw out a ball but instead he's holding a bunch of flowers, again, with combining two things that doesn't go together and also baseball players don't wear a scarf to cover their mouths. 

Postmodernism.Retrieved from:

http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/postm-body.html

Postmodernism and its critics.Department of Anthropology.  Retrieved from:

http://anthropology.ua.edu/cultures/cultures.php?culture=Postmodernism%20and%20Its%20Critics

Defining postmodernism. The electronic Labyrinth. Retrieved from:

http://elab.eserver.org/hfl0242.html

what is postmodernism. WiseGeek. Retrieved from:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-postmodernism.htm

The world of Ai WeiWei. phillipsartexpert. Retrieved ,25 February 2009 from : 

http://phillipsartexpert.com/forums/7/580/