Art Lectures - Postmodernism

Postmodern art refers to a broad category of contemporary art that was created in the years after 1970. Everything about postmodern art is rejected concepts of modern art, which was a movement that lasted from 1870 to 1970. One of the values of modern art that postmodernism rejected was the concept that art was to be valued as something special to be elevated as a result of popular taste.

Postmodernism was focused on experimenting with different mediums, which led to the creation of new art forms including performance art, deconstructivism, installation art, projection and conceptual art. The artists in the movement were inspired by a deep-seated and forward thinking approach, recent technological advancements and imposing narratives of advancement and western domination. The establishment of Neo Dada and pop art in America helped to mark the beginning of postmodernism.

Because of the postmodern movement, artists were less impressed by central styles of art, which mainly focused on academic aspects and ancient ideas of what art should be. It concentrated on the creation of anything artistic that had the potential of getting noticed.

Differences between contemporary art and postmodern art
Technically speaking, postmodern art refers to a movement which started in the 70s and lasted about 50 years. Contemporary art refers to the popular art movement that existed after postmodernism. In a sense, the two movements are extremely similar, and the two terms are often used interchangeably.
Characteristics of postmodern art
Postmodern artists primarily concentrated on the disillusionment of life as well as the power of technology and existing value systems. Postmodern art rejected everything that encouraged the domination of art by male artists and in fact championed feminist, minority and third world artists. As such, the movement emphasized heavily that art could be created out of anything and that all types of art created were valid.

The postmodern movement changed the academic priorities of many art schools and colleges. Postmodernists were of the opinion that artists did not need four years of art school to become successful. Proponents of the movement believed that art should be open to the public and that creativity was more important than a four-year education.

Examples of postmodern art movements

Pop art- the movement was mainly championed by Andy Warhol and mainly produced artworks inspired by popular contemporary imagery.
Word art- this comprised of text based paintings and imagery. Japanese artist On Kawara was popular for incorporating word art into his works.
Installation art- installation art focused on assemblage. A leading contributor to installation art was Joseph Beuys.

Some postmodernists:
Martin Heidegger
Jacques Derrida
Michel Foucault
Jean-François Lyotard
Richard Rorty
Jean Baudrillard
Fredric Jameson
Douglas Kellner