Postmodernism

Art is probably the most omnipresent postmodernist vehicle with the greatest variability. Postmodernists lashed out against Modernism with an explosion of art of numerous different mediums. The style of postmodern art is difficult to describe with one holistic summarization, so it is easiest to think of the style as a joining together of various art forms used throughout art’s history; the goal of postmodern art is to separate the works as far away as possible from the monotony and blandness of modernist art, so all forms of art come together to create visually stimulating, unique, and original pieces of appropriated art. The overall impression of postmodern art is one of pastiche and appropriation, often promoting parody or irony. It also aims to blur the boundaries between high art and low art.

Barbara Kruger is an example of a postmodern artist; her magazine cutout-like pieces speak for issues of the self and identity. Kruger worked for a fashion magazine, and her art pieces incorporate appropriated media images with strong, pithy phrases that often relate to objectification of women and other cultural issues that women face.

Installation art pieces are also prevalent in the postmodern art world. Jenny Holzer’s installation art displays textual messages she calls “truisms,” short phrases similar to Kruger’s work, with channels often used by the media such as billboards or LED signs. Holzer’s work, much like all installation pieces, is conceptual and doesn’t require much craftsmanship; installation artists typically use manufactured or found objects, which is a popular Postmodernist feature.

Andy Warhol is often considered a pop artist, but his work loudly speaks to the intentions of postmodernism as well. He is perhaps best known for his multi-colored and repetitive images. Warhol’s main objective in his art pieces was to mimic the pervasiveness of the media in culture, and demonstrate how the amount of cultural images produced is so overwhelming that there is tendency to feel affectless toward them. Because of this objective, Warhol appropriates iconic cultural images, of objects or of people, in his art which creates a very postmodern feel. Warhol’s work also speaks to the postmodern art trends in that he tried to display a sense of cool, as opposed to being hot and full of feeling, which was such a Modernist theme.

http://www.wsu.edu/~lauren_clark/pomoart.html