Post-Modernism, Ai weiwei and Banksy

  post-modernism building    Frank O Gahry

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

• Modernism is riddled with doubt about the continued viability of the notion of progress, post-modernism is the philosophical movement away from the viewpoint of modernism.
• Post-modernism for some it means anti-modernism, for others it means teh revision of modernist premises.
• According to Witcombe, C (2000) Modernism & postmodernism : "deconstructive postmodernism is seen perhaps as anti-modern in that it seens to destroy or eliminate the ingredients that are believed necessary for a worldview."
• According to James mORLEY (2000) Postmodern Culture: "post-modernism was a movement in architecture that rejected the modernist, avant garde, passion for the new."
• According to web (www.allaboutphilosophy.org): "post-modernism claims to be the successor to the 17th certury Enlightenment." It connected with the "new age" thinking.
• Web (www.pbs.org) said: "post-modernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, objective, efforts to explain reality."
• In essence, it stems from a recognition that reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own particular and personal reality.
• According to web (www.britannica.com):

         "in western philosophy, a late 20th century movement characterized by broad sleepticism,       subjectivism or relativism, a general suspicion of reason and an acute sensitiviy to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining political and economic power."

•   Post-modernism as a philosophical movement is largely a reaction against the philosophical assumptions, values and intellectual worldview of the modern period of western history.
• Brittney Betbeze (2010) "Banksy: A postmodern pioneer” gives an opinion: "Postmodernism is a term that gets tossed around a lot these days, usually by people who are trying to sound intellectual, hip, or otherwise superior to the average conversationalist."

post-modernism building     Noam Chomsky

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 himself/herslef and society in a deconstructive manner, "demasking" pretensions, becoming aware of his/her cultural self in history, and accelerating the process of self-consciousness.

post-modernism building    The Hearst Tower in Manhattan

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

• postmodernity more focus on the society and reality, each part changeto more pluralism and confluent.
• excavale surface value without dig in depth.
• plagiary inundant and legal.
• pursue hyper-reality authenticity of originals became unacceptable.
• diverse culture.
• art not as mysterious as before, more public opinions involved.
• break the form of seriousness.
• do not have main and rounded system.

             vase with coca-cola logo      Ai Weiwei

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 Weiwei (1957) is one of the China's earliest and most influential avantarde artist. In the later 1970s, he was a member of the "the stars", a group of largely self-taught artists who challenged official communist icons and ideology and helped spark the modern art movement in Berjing.

According to Witcombe, C (2000)  Modernism & Postmodernism: " in the later half of the 20th century there has been mounting evidence of the failureof the Modernist enterprise." In a lot of Ai Weiwei's works have modernism in them, but the Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-cola Logo i can see post-modernism, it breaks the traditional form of seriousness which is anticent product just match with outdated extras, and coca-cola's logo is one of the most recognising in the world, put it on the urn can attrack more public attention.

the process of drop and break a vase                 Ai Weiwei

Han Dynasty Urn with coca-cola logo (1994)    Ai Weiwei



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.

Banksy is the driving force behind the explosion in the Urban Art movement, his style and energy has been responsible for opening the eyes of the masses and creating the platform for other artists.

His worldwide popularity is often put down to his ability to encapsulate the way people feel about today’s tainted world with poignant clarity.

 He has also gained great acclaim for his ‘crude oils’ – reworked traditional oil painting, often classics, with a special Banksy twist.

'Flower Riot', Banksy



Los Angeles (2008), Banksy

Banksy as a pioneer of post-modernism, his works usually be referred to as low form, or even anti-form art, graffiti is Banksy’s chosen medium for many, seemingly obvious, reasons. The process, which is often championed over the product from a postmodern perspective, and in his book, “Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall,” Banksy writes:
" Graffiti has more chance of meaning something or changing stuff than anything indoors. Graffiti has been used to start revolutions, stop wars, and generally is the voice of people who aren’t listened to. Graffiti is one of those few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make somebody smile while they’re having a piss. "

He put more attention to the public thoughts and altitude，and mix projects of incompatibility, broke the form of seriousness, like these two works above, robber with a bunch of flowers, ape man with fast food.  These works are stencil based, often hand finished, this style translates naturally to the screen-printing process.

references

http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/postmodernism.htmllaboutphilosophy.org/postmodernism.htm
www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/postmodernism -body.html
http://elab.eserver.org/hfl0242.html
wikipedia.org/wiki/postmodernism
Witcombe, C (2000) Modernism & Postmodernism
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1077292/postmodernism
http://blastmagazine.com/the-magazine/culturefashion/arts/art/banksy-a-postmodern-pioneer/
Banksy "Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall"
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090303234311AAgv7UV
http://streetart.co.nz/oi-you/competition/inspiration/banksy