~Translation: “This is not a pipe.”
~By Rene Magritte (1898 – 1967).
~From <http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?aid=871383801&apnum=389174&LinkTypeID=1&PosterTypeID=1&DestType=7&Referrer%20=http://www.onpostmodernism.com/art/default.aspx>.
Postmodern art, which is synonymous with “contemporary” art, was born in the mid-1970s. It stole several properties from “modern” art, but quickly became distinct enough to require a new name (even two). Like modern art, contemporary art initially focused on how something was presented rather than what was presented.
Postmodernism became unique when it went on to ridicule modern art’s realism. Artists grew tired of “high” and “low” forms of art. They did not want to express themselves directly and concretely; instead, they focused on discontinuity and fragmentation. Duchamp, Kruger, Lichtenstein, Magritte, Rosenquis, and Warhol have, above all, incorporated irony, humor, and parody into their work [Art History, 2006]. They have addressed topics including “feminism, multiculturalism, globalization, bioengineering and AIDS awareness,” and they have used various industrial materials, as well as pop, to create collage-like images [Esaak, 2009]. This type of art is difficult to critique in the usual sense, which is why postmodernists have been called “rebels” against the artistic elite. They have blurred the separation between art, media, and pop. Movements associated with postmodern art include futurism (speed, technology, and violence), Dada (nihilistic “anti-art”), surrealism, and pop art [Overview, 2008].
Works Cited
1) Esaak, Shelley. “What is Contemporary Art?”. 2009. About.com.
<http://arthistory.about.com/od/current_contemporary_art/f/what_is.htm>
2) “Overview of Postmodern Art”. 2008. On Postmodernism.
<http://www.onpostmodernism.com/art/default.aspx>
3) “Art History: Postmodernism: (1975-)”. 2006. World Wide Art Resources.
<http://wwar.com/masters/movements/postmodernism.html>
