A Modern Artist’s Take on Postmodern Art

Art is a reflection of the human experience. As long as there have been humans, there has also been Art. Art has followed humanity, travelling alongside us like a loyal companion on our wild journey through time and space, documenting the inner experience of humanity. Like our ancestors before us, each period of Art has been a stepping stone for the next one, taking the wisdom and knowledge of the ones who came before, to help create something new. The boom of the Renaissance Era ended to make room for the dramatic, lavish Baroque Era and the Neoclassical Era came in and restored the ideals, values and techniques of the Classical era they thought the Baroque style lacked. Every era came with its set of criticisms and praises but they have always had continuity, each period having a lasting impact on Art as we know it. As an artist I feel as though the evolution of Art has come to a screeching halt. The world of Art feels distant from the everyday person. It’s floating around in outer space and artists are these alien creatures in a competition to create the strangest, most ridiculous piece of Art they can imagine. We are in the midst of the Modern Era, or more specifically the sub category, Postmodernism. This movement seems to have overtaken the Art world. One artist, Hilton Kramer says Postmodernism is, “a creation of Modernism at the end of its tether.” While I think he was praising the movement in it’s extremism, he is also right. Postmodernism is at the end of a tether, it can’t move forward, evolve or grow. If Art must have continuity, how can it also have an end? And if Art follows humanity, have we reached our end? Every person alive is a continuation of the human race, connected to the tree of life through countless ancestors, each one of us leaving some mark on history. It’s the same with Art, every era is a necessary branch and every artist is an ancestor, in the tree of Art. Postmodernism is a branch that has cut itself off from its origin. It attempts to plant itself and replace the mother tree. It denies its place in history and was created only as a reaction to the Modernist movement, its purpose was to rebel; to make a point. I think it has thoroughly made it’s point and it’s been drowning in it’s own absurdity ever since.

Marcel Duchamp was an American-French artist whose work was associated with Cubism, Dada, and Conceptual art. The Postmodern movement seemed to take inspiration from his work, specifically, with what he called “ready-mades,” which include a urinal that he titled Fountain and an upside down bicycle wheel placed on a stool. It was controversial and unheard of and it tested the boundaries around Art. Postmodern Art is controversial by nature and it cannot sustain itself. In the beginning, I think the idea behind Postmodernism was to question what Art really was, and how far one could take the idea of Art. It opened up every realm of possibility, like a canvas completely painted black, or a shark in a tank of formaldehyde. I think they have succeeded in showing what Art really is, by showing the world what Art is not.

 I watched a video of a guy standing on the street with some paintings that he and his nephew had painted that were mocking the Postmodern style.They went outside and splashed some cheap paint on a canvas and he displayed them out on a street in L.A. He pretended to be a Postmodern artist and asked random people their thoughts about his “Art.” I loved that he was exposing how empty and ridiculous the Art world has become, how virtually no skill is required to make good Art and pretty much anyone will take you seriously. But I was surprised at the peoples’ responses. In spite of the silliness of the experiment, they were seeing something real in this “Art.” It was upsetting to see people starving for Art that has substance, they are so desperate that they are attaching meaning to Art that has been made specifically without meaning. Postmodern Art disrespects their audiences’ needs by giving them a literal pile of trash, a golden toilet and cans filled with human feces. How did we get from Michelangelo’s David to a banana, duct taped to a wall? Where’s the continuity? Art is about expansion and transformation, but in order to transform there must first be a form. Postmodernism believes it can exist without an origin, a source or a past and it does so by denying the value or even the existence of any other Art before it. When a branch is cut from a tree, it’s not the tree that dies, but the branch. In an attempt to remove itself from something it disagreed with, Postmodernism cut itself off from the one thing that could keep it alive. 

 I had my own experience with Postmodern Art while visiting a Contemporary Art museum. I went into the building with an open mind, it was cold and very quiet. I wondered if it was even open. I walked up to the front desk and the lady working disdainfully handed me a pamphlet and pointed me to the entrance of the galleries. I wandered through concrete rooms with paintings, sculptures and other random objects sparsely displayed around the gallery. Every step I took in this museum a new question arose. Where am I supposed to go? What’s that supposed to be? What does that mean? Am I allowed to go in there? If this Postmodern movement was designed to make people ask questions, it was surely doing its job. I was questioning if I was even supposed to be in the museum to begin with. I felt like the moment I walked in I had already done something wrong. Each exhibit felt like a fever dream, confusing, intrusive and a little bit scary. Although the building was almost empty and silent, other than the occasional audio installation that would start talking when I walked by, it all felt strangely chaotic. I stepped outside the building and was met with a warm breeze. I sighed, not realizing how much I had been holding my breath. Upon leaving the museum, I felt like a phony, like I wasn’t a real artist because I didn’t “get” the Art of my time. It made me feel dumb and small. I felt disrespected as a viewer. Here was this Art, put on display for me to engage with but it shut me out at every turn with its vague meaning and blatant propaganda. The pieces themselves felt so conflicting that there didn’t seem to be any room left for me. It also made me want to be more humble in my own work and to make sure that I never disrespected my viewer’s intelligence and needs. It reminded me to trust myself as an artist and a viewer, that I can create meaningful Art even if it doesn’t fit the current mold, (which paradoxically, the current mold seems to be mold-less). Maybe we aren’t supposed to understand Postmodern Art, because in being understood it can’t rebel against the norm that it vows to fight and would soon turn on itself in a blaze of self destruction. I don’t think the Postmodern movement accurately represents where we are today. Humanity has been evolving, and the Postmodern movement is refusing to evolve with them, instead it tries to stay relevant with cheap tricks and shock factors. I think people are tired of it. I’m afraid that Art will be cast aside altogether as being frivolous and pointless because what is being presented doesn’t resonate with the majority of people. We as artists should take advantage of the collected knowledge, techniques and styles that history offers us and bring meaning back to Art. We are not subject to the Art world’s whims and fashions, because Art follows humanity, not the other way around. We are the guides and we need to stop dragging around the dead wood, trying to convince ourselves that it’s all we have.

Millie Barlow April 3, 2020