Philosophy of Postmodern Art

Presenter: Isabel Gee

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 20-21

Semester: Fall

Faculty Mentor: Michaela Grobbel

Department: Art

Funding Source/Sponsor: SYRCE Symposium

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1MkP80TBJQ9dBPMksH36Kn6pTyPSSfBMe

Abstract:
Postmodernism resembles the death of ‘Modernism’ which is the artistic styles of the late 19th and early to mid 20th century. The term modernism with the lowercase ‘m’ associates with intellectual and scientific advancements, the Industrial Revolution, urbanization of the Western World, the Enlightenment, and much more. The philosophical approach to postmodern art in the 1980s triggered emotion and controversy, along with a multitude of artists’ anxieties about their works. With an introduction to pop art, feminist art, neoexpressionism, and many more, how did this impact society? What kind of messages and painting strategies were delivered by the artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Julian Schnabel, and Barbara Kruger? The ideas of promoting technology and anticonsumerism seem to contradict each other. Were the intentions of postmodernist artists to better understand society and be in complete opposition? The postmodern art period truly shines the concepts of individualism and creating our own realities.