Tuesday, October 14, 2014

The Confusing Theses of Postmodern Art

We have recently began our trip through postmodernism and where it is in our world. I am a person who cherishes every minuscule dot of "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte", and a person who scoffs at the idea that something as elementary as a pen could be placed in the same category as the likes masterpieces of Edvard Munch.

In other words, I loath the idea of postmodern art. It is not art. Postmodernism is a rancid hodgepodge of subjectively stupid views all smushed into a single category. Why should I be forced to ponder the hideous porcelain loo and attempt to grasp the psychotic meaning of it, when I could relaxingly enjoy a view of "The Starry Night"?

People throughout this world will always have different perspectives on things. This is an irrefutable fact. However, there is typically a consensus on certain things. Perhaps one doesn't enjoy Pablo Picasso, and finds his drawings freakish, but one respects and accepts that his work took dedication and concentration, that is almost unimaginable. I simply cannot believe nor am I willing to accept that a crumpled up piece of paper is art. It slanders the very meaning of art, "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination". A crumpled up piece of paper is not bloody skill nor imagination, it is falsification and blasphemy.
I must admit, however, that at some point, each famous pieces of work that I cherish, was most likely ridiculed for being contemporary and for that reason I am a hypocrite; postmodern art is the definition of contemporary. The idea that everything can be art and is representative of something in some way is absolutely astounding and rather brilliant, so kudos for that.

Living in a postmodern world is living in horrid.  Everything that we perceive is artificial and swayed by something around us.  We no longer have uniqueness we are all the same.  I don't like this postmodern world, and never will, yet I know that this can never change and the world will probably get more postmodern then it is now, which is hard to believe.  Of course admitting this goes against my belief of postmodern art, however it makes because of the amount our world has changed in the past decades.

The problem I have is how blurred the lines get. I have no remote idea how one would determine whether the postmodern ideas are worth anything. There are millions of things in the world that could be argued as postmodern, actually I think the argument is this whole world is postmodern. But if the whole world is postmodern, then nothing is postmodern, and thus a vicious cycle ensues. Postmodernism is far too accepting to be art and therefore cannot and never will be art in my heart.

5 comments:

  1. I agree with the fact that postmodernism is ridiculous in its claim that everything is art. However, I am one of the people who would take a crumpled piece of paper and call it art, just to prove someone that I am an artist.

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  2. I also agree with you that if everything is accepted as postmodern then nothing is postmodern. I also agree with your point that you just can't compare the work of Picasso and the crumpled piece of paper in the same category. I feel like it takes so much more creativity and skill to paint like Picasso than to crumple up paper and call it art.

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  3. I agree that postmodernism is too inclusive to be considered a specific type of art. It can be abstract, yet also realistic, so then, what is it? I really like your blunt tone throughout your argument, it is very convincing and entertaining to read. I also like your comparison of the "porcelain loo" to "Starry Night." This comparison expresses my opinion of postmodern art perfectly.

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  4. I agree that postmodern art does not take the technical skill that traditional art demands, but postmodernism argues that the significance of the art does not need to depend only on that technical skill. While I still appreciate traditional art more than postmodern art, postmodern art is equivalent to traditional art in a postmodern view of society.

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  5. Arjun, there cannot be postmodern art because everything is postmodern art.

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