Postmodernism

firstly you must have an understanding of modernism
- initially born out of optimism, aspirational reaction to WW1
- form follows function
associated with
- experimentation
- innovation
- individualism
- progress
- purity
- originality
- seriousness

in contrast the postmodern condition is characterised by
- exhaustion
- pluralism
- pessimism
- disillusionment

Modernism = expression of modern life, technology, new materials, communication - modernity
Postmodernism = reaction to modern life, technology, new materials, communication - postmodernity

equivalent of the term "late capitalism" coined by Jameson

Postmodernism has an attitude of questioning conventions, however surely this can become a convention itself?

celebrates what otherwise may be known as kitsch

AT&T building - perfect example of postmodern architecture

Postmodern ethics
- complexity
- chaos
- mix of materials and styles
- reproduction of imagery ironically

high art/low art divide
Roy Lichenstein, Andy Warhol, David Shrigley, Piero Manzini ( Artist's Shit)

"Advertising is the greatest artform of the 20thC" - Marshall McLuhan

Crisis in confidence, but also freedom, questioning old conventions, women, sexual diversity and multiculturalism

Inconclusion
- vague debatable term
- attitude of questioning conventions
- postmodern aesthetic - multiplicity of styles and approaches
- shift in thought - crisis in confidence
- space for new voices
- rejection of technological determinism?

New Media and Visual Culture

Characteristic of new digital media
Definition of and critical look at the mass media
Relationship between art and the mass media

Late Age of Print - coined by media theorist Marshall McLuhan
Age of Print - started around 1450, Gutenberg's printing press

Electronic book, ebook, kindle etc - is it democratic?
reader takes on role of the author?

Mass Media Definition - modern systems of communication and distribution supplied by relatively small groups of cultural producers, but directed towards large numbers of consumers

negative criticisms
- superficial, uncritical, trivial
- viewing figures measure success
- audience is dispersed and disempowered
- encourages the status quo, it's conservative
- encourages apathy
- power held by the few motivated by profit or social control
- bland, escapist and standardised

positive criticisms
- not always low quality
- social problems and injustices are discussed by the media
- transmission of high art materials reaches a broader audience
- democratic potential

Can/should art be autonomous?
Jackson Pollock, Picasso, Richard Hamilton, Roy Lichenstein, Andy Warhol

Conclusions
- new media are changing the way we consume text and image
- theorists of mass media have different viewpoints seeing it either as negative and a threat or positive and democratic
- a lot of 20thC art has used the mass media - often to be critical of it
- art theory- should art be autonomous?