Post-Modern "Art" and the Definition of Art

Some opinions on post-modern and abstract art (mostly negative) along with some talk about the definition of the word art.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• art
• expression
• self-expression
• painting
• music
• writing
• post-modern
• abstract

[randomrandomdave]

Maybe you seek obvious, concrete answers or narrative within art and are frustrated that you don't see it immediately so you react with this art is meaningless and shite? Your opinions and reactions to an artwork are your own however but I'm sure if you dug a bit deeper and put the art into context based on past & present art & society and dropped your guard a little, you would find more understanding and perhaps gift it more 'value'.



[XOmniverse]

@randomrandomdave "Maybe you seek obvious, concrete answers or narrative within art and are frustrated that you don't see it immediately so you react with this art is meaningless and shite? "

This was not the argument I presented in the video.

[randomrandomdave]

Some of the language you use such as 'useful' 'signify achievement' and 'holding utility' sounds less like language used in discussion about art but more closely mirror words used in the world of economics, so I'm not surprised your short comings when trying to understand art as perhaps you only seek its monetary value based on a level of skill?

[XOmniverse]

@randomrandomdave I think you're letting your own prejudices regarding my language prevent you from hearing what I am saying.

[trinitaterion]

@randomrandomdave

The kings new clothes comes to my mind when i read comments like this, problem is that it is too obvious, no fun in pointing that out anymore.

[emilye1990]

im not going to argue about anything you've said, because you're right about everything you've just said!

[jmlpaulin]

the difference between art and other vocations, or "callings," is that our labors are done chiefly in regards to the aesthetic. that is we operate under the parameters of beauty in whatever manifestation it takes. moreover we are inherently image makers because we express the aesthetic visually. all of this is to say that the postmodern artist is merely operating under an aesthetic where the notion of "aesthetic" is under question, because of this art is starting to question itself.

[jmlpaulin]

i believe it to be simply a different experience that people are seeking to express. success or failure, likewise good or bad, should be guaged on how successfully the experience is expressed, or how empathetic is the artist to the art he/she created. therefore, skill is merely the means by which the artist carries it out. in short, the relationship between art and the artist is that the artist looks at the world with the a mindset to express what they perceive, and whatever comes out is art.

[jmlpaulin]

that being said, what post modern art is doing, or at least what i perceive it to be doing, is questioning the nature of art itself whereas expressionism questioned whether or not art had to be about imagery and the figure, and impressionism questioned whether or not art had to be classically rendered. i think inherent in the arts of the past has been the artists' nature towards expressing an experience of truth through visual means. as such, i don't believe postmodernity is good or bad (cont'd)

[jmlpaulin]

well all art movements react against the previous canon and the previous canon of our time, that is modern art, is the canon of expressionism, found art, dadaism surrealism etc because the context changes. context in the sense of how we view art, how we create art, what art means and what art expresses. i agree that art has to maintain some sort of speciality in order to remain an entity, but by the same token, not everyone would express or view society the way that artist do. (cont'd)

[chibiariel]

@chibiariel - (cont'd...)

Though I don't like modern art that you're talking about, you have to understand it's about the process of making the piece and not about the final piece. This took me a while to understand. I don't like it any more than I did before, but at least I get it now.

[chibiariel]

Art doesn't need a meaning. Art is actually just about beauty. You can have a pretty picture that is just supposed to be pretty and it's still art. But, yes, beauty can incorporate a message or be ugly-looking but have a beautiful meaning, etc.

(cont'd...)

[unfamiliarstain]

To appreciate art, be an active audience member, use your imagination, engage emotionally, not just intellectually. Spend more that 10 seconds to trying to analyse what’s going on in it, discuss it with a friend. If after you've put in the effort and it still feels like shit art, if you feel it lacks meaning to you, then write it off as a shitpiece and move on. There's a lot of bad art out there, but there's a lot of bad music, film etc. Takes real time and effort to find art that moves you.

[unfamiliarstain]

My grandmother is not homophobic but she recently told me she was sick of people using the word "gay" referring to homosexuality. She wants to reclaim “gay” as a synonym for “happy” like goodolddays. Some, from respect or political correctness, now reject the term gay as a synonym for stupid but grandma goes back further in the evolution of the word. I love imagining her being greeted at church and asked "how are you?" where she may say, “I'm gay” instead of “I'm happy.” …Gold.