The Emergence of Postmodernism

1. The Emergence of Postmodernism WORLD WAR II AND ITS AFTERMATHThe destruction and extensive loss of life during World War II had long-term personal, cultural, political, and economic consequences. After the war, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as rival superpowers. Disruption and UpheavalAfter World War II, disruption and dislocation took place throughout the world. Unrest continues in many countries. Hostilities and political uncertainty still characterize the world situation. In the 1960s and 1970s there emerged in the United States a counterculture that had considerable societal impact and widespread influence. The civil rights movement and the women's liberation movement rejected racism and sexism. Feminists charged that Western society's institutions perpetuated male power and subordination of women. The Dynamics of Power Various ethnic groups and gays and lesbians mounted challenges to discriminatory policies and attitudes and battled discrimination with political action.

2. The Emergence of Postmodernism THE ART WORLD'S FOCUS SHIFTS WESTThe art world also changed as the center of Western art shifted from Paris to New York. Modernism, Formalism, and Clement GreenbergModernism shifted course in conjunction with the changing historical conditions and demands and became increasingly identified with a strict formalism. The influential art critic Clement Greenberg identified Modernism as a rejection of illusionism and an exploration of each artistic medium's properties. Meanwhile, the distance between progressive artists and the public widened. The Emergence of Postmodernism Postmodernism may be viewed as a rejection of modernist principles. Postmodernism accommodates a wide range of styles, subjects, and formats.

3. Post War Expressionism FRANCIS BACON Painting 1946 Oil and pastel on linen approx. 6' 5" x 4' 4" POSTWAR EXPRESSIONISM IN EUROPEWorld War II resulted in a pervasive sense of despair, disillusionment, and skepticism. Existentialism: The Absurdity of Human ExistenceThe philosophy of existentialism, which asserted the absurdity of human existence and the impossibility of achieving certitude, reflected the cynicism of the period. The spirit of pessimism and despair emerged frequently in the European art.

4. Post War Expressionism JEAN DUBUFFET Vie Inquiète 1953 Oil on canvas approx. 4' 3" x 6' 4" Scraped and Smeared Canvases: In Vie Inquiète, or Uneasy Life, Jean Dubuffet presents crudely scrawled or scribbled images painted or incised on a thickly encrusted surface of plaster, glue, sand, asphalt, or other common materials.

5. Abstract Expressionism Abstract ExpressionismAbstract Expressionism is the first major American avant-garde movement. Abstract Expressionist paintings are usually abstract and express the artist's state of mind. Some Abstract Expressionists adopted Surrealist improvisation methods and created works that had a look of rough spontaneity and exhibited a refreshing energy. Abstract Expressionism developed along two lines: gestural abstraction, which relied on the expressiveness of energetically applied pigment, and chromatic abstraction, which focused on the emotional resonance of color.

6. Abstract Expressionism JACKSON POLLOCK Lavender Mist: Number 1, 1950 1950 Oil, enamel, and aluminum paint on canvas 7' 3" x 9' 10". The Primacy of Process: Jackson Pollock's large-scale gestural abstract painting Lavender Mist: Number 1, 1950 is composed of rhythmic drips, splatters, and dribbles of paint. Emphasis is on the creation process.

7. Abstract Expressionism WILLEM DE KOONING Woman I 1950–1952 Oil on canvas approx. 6' 4" x 4' 10" A Ferocious and Intense Woman: Willem de Kooning's Woman I, although rooted in figuration, displays the sweeping gestural brushstrokes and energetic application of pigment typical of gestural abstraction.

8. Abstract Expressionism BARNETT NEWMAN Vir Heroicus Sublimis 1950–1951 Oil on canvas 7' 11 3/8" x 17' 9 1/4" Color's Enduring Resonance:Vir Heroicus Sublimis by the chromatic abstractionist painter Barnett Newman consists of a single slightly modulated color field split by narrow bands that serve as accents that energize the field and give it scale.

9. Abstract Expressionism MARK ROTHKO Untitled 1961 Oil on canvas 5' 9" x 4' 2" "Tragedy, Ecstasy, Doom":Mark Rothko's Untitled consists of large shimmering rectangles of intensely luminous pure color with hazy edges that seem to float on the surface of the canvas in front of a colored background. Rothko relies on color and shape to create emotion in the viewer.

10. Post-Painterly Abstraction ELLSWORTH KELLY Red Blue Green 1963 Oil on canvas approx. 7' x 11' 4" Post-Painterly AbstractionPost-Painterly Abstraction developed out of Abstract Expressionism and exhibits a cool, detached rationality with an emphasis on pictorial control. The hand of the artist is conspicuously absent in Post-Painterly Abstraction. Elemental Hard-Edge Painting: Ellsworth Kelly's completely abstract Red Blue Green has razor-sharp edges and clearly delineated color shapes in a simple composition.

11. Post-Painterly Abstraction FRANK STELLA Nunca Pasa Nada 1964 Metallic powder in polymer emulsion on canvas approx. 8' 9" x 17' 6" "What You See Is What You See": Frank Stella's Nunca Pasa Nada is a simplified image of thin, evenly spaced pinstripes on a colored ground.

12. Post-Painterly Abstraction HELEN FRANKENTHALER Bay Side 1967 Acrylic on canvas 6' 2" x 6' 9" Flat Color Field Painting: In Bay Side, Hellen Frankenthaler poured diluted paint onto unprimed canvas and allowed the pigments to soak into the fabric.

13. Post-Painterly Abstraction MORRIS LOUIS Saraband 1959 Acrylic resin on canvas 8' 5 1/8" x 12' 5" Stained Canvases: In Saraband, Morris Louis impregnated the canvas with paint by holding up the edges and pouring diluted acrylic resin to create billowy, fluid transparent shapes that run down the length of the unprimed canvas.

14. Minimalism TONY SMITH Die 1962 Steel 6' x 6' x 6'. Emphasizing Objecthood:Tony Smith's Die is a simple volumetric construction without an identifiable subject, color, surface texture, or narrative element. By reducing experience to its most fundamental level, Minimalist artists seek to inhibit any form of interpretation and to prevent the viewer finding any meaning in the art before them.

15. Minimalism DONALD JUDD Untitled 1969 Brass and red fluorescent plexiglass ten units 6 1/8" x 2' x 2' 3" each, with 6" intervals An Unambiguous Visual Vocabulary: Donald Judd sought to avoid ambiguity and falseness in his Minimalist sculpture Untitled, which is comprised of basic geometric boxes constructed of brass and red plexiglass.

16. Minimalism MAYA YING LIN Vietnam Veterans Memorial Washington, D.C. 1981–1983 Black granite each wing 246' long Healing Psychic Wounds: Maya Ying Lin's simple and austere design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a V-shaped wall constructed of polished black granite panels set into the landscape.

17. Minimalism EVA HESSE Hang-Up 1965–1966 Acrylic on cloth over wood and steel 6' x 7' x 6' 6" Compelling Nontraditional Materials: Eva Hesse's spare and simple Hang-Up uses nontraditional sculptural materials to create a disquieting and compelling sculpture that extends into the room.

18. Minimalism DAVID SMITH Cubi XVIII and Cubi XVII, 1963–1964. Polished stainless steel; Cubi XVIII, 9' 7 3/4" high; Cubi XVII, 8' 11 3/4" high x 5' 4 3/8" x 3' 2 1/8" Monumental Metal Sculptures: David Smith's large-scale Cubi XVIII and Cubi XVII consist of simple geometric forms made of stainless steel piled haphazardly on top of one another.

19. Performance Art Performance ArtPerformance Art used movements, gestures, and sounds of persons to communicate with the viewer. Generally, Performance Art survives only in documentary photographs taken at the time. It was informal and spontaneous in nature and employed the human body as its primary material. A Composer's Influence: John Cage composed music using methods such as chance to convey the unpredictable and multilayered qualities of daily existence. Happenings and Fluxus: Allan Kaprow developed a type of largely participatory event known as a Happening that was performed according to plan but without rehearsal, audience or repetition. The Fluxus group explored the nontraditional and commonplace in performances that were more theatrical than Happenings. Many Fluxus performances followed a compositional "score" and focused on single actions that were usually executed on a stage but without costumes or added decor.

20. Performance Art JOSEPH BEUYS How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare 1965 Performance as Ritual: Joseph Beuys created actions aimed at illuminating the condition of modern humanity. His How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare incorporates fat and felt to symbolize healing and regeneration.

21. Performance Art JEAN TINGUELY Homage to New York 1960, just prior to its self-destruction in the garden of the Museum of Modern Art, New York Destruction as Creation: Jean Tinguely created the kinetic artwork Homage to New York, which was designed to "perform" and then destroy itself in a large courtyard area at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

22. Conceptual Art JOSEPH KOSUTH One and Three Chairs 1965 Wooden folding chair, photographic copy of a chair, and photographic enlargement of a dictionary definition of a chair Conceptual art asserted that the "artfulness" of art lay in the artist's idea, rather than in its final expression. What Constitutes "Chairness"?: Joseph Kosuth's One and Three Chairs consists of an actual chair flanked by a full-scale photograph of the chair and a photostat of a dictionary definition of the word chair.

23. POP ART The Development of Pop ArtPop artists embraced representation and produced an art grounded in consumer culture, the mass media, and popular culture. Employing familiar imagery of the contemporary urban environment, Pop artists made art more accessible and understandable to the public.

24. POP ART RICHARD HAMILTON Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing? 1956 Collage 101/4" x 93/4" British Pop and the Independent Group: Richard Hamilton's small collage Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?, which contains references to the mass media, advertising, and popular culture, reflects the values of modern consumer culture through figures and objects cut from glossy magazines.

25. POP ART JASPER JOHNS Flag 1954–1955 Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric mounted on plywood 3' 6 1/4" x 5' 1 15/8" American Pop Art and Consumer CultureThe Pop art movement that flourished in the United States through the 1960s drew its imagery from mass media, mass production, and advertising. Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg introduced elements from popular culture into their art. Things That Are Seen but Not Looked At: In Flag, Jasper Johns selected a common object that he painted in encaustic.

26. POP ART JASPER JOHNS Painted Bronze 1960 Cast bronze, paint, approx. 51/2" high, 8" wide, 43/4" deep Beverages of Bronze: In Painted Bronze, Jasper Johns reconstituted Ballantine Ale cans in bronze, thereby reconstituting what is customarily discarded and presenting it as something worthy of the attention.

27. POP ART ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG Canyon 1959 Oil, pencil, paper, fabric, metal, cardboard box, printed paper, printed reproductions, photograph, wood, paint tube, and mirror on canvas, with oil on bald eagle, string, and pillow 6' 9 3/4" x 5' 10" x 2'. "Combining" Painting and SculptureIn his combine Canyon, Robert Rauschenberg attached a stuffed bald eagle and pieces of printed paper and photographs to the canvas. Below the eagle a pillow dangles from a string attached to a wood stick.

28. POP ART ROY LICHTENSTEIN Hopeless 1963 Oil and acrylic on canvas 3' 8" x 3' 8" A "Comic" Focus in Art: In Hopeless, Roy Lichtenstein excerpted an image from a comic book and reproduced it in monumental scale, retaining the comic strip's visual vocabulary and employing the printer's benday dot system to modulate colors.

29. POP ART ANDY WARHOL Green Coca-Cola Bottles 1962 Silk screen on canvas 6' 11" x 4' 9". The Art of Commodities: For Green Coca-Cola Bottles, Andy Warhol selected an icon of mass-produced, consumer culture and used a visual vocabulary and a printing technique that reinforced the image's connections to consumer culture. The repetition of the image of the Coke bottle reflects the omnipresence and dominance of the product in American society.

30. POP ART ANDY WARHOL Marilyn Diptych 1962 Oil, acrylic, and silk screen enamel on canvas A Mythical Celebrity: In Marilyn Diptych, Warhol reproduced a publicity photograph of a Hollywood celebrity in a way that emphasizes the commodity status of the subject.

31. POP ART CLAES OLDENBURGClothespin 1976Cor-Ten and stainless steels 45 ft. x 12 ft. 3 in. x 4 ft. 6 in. Supersizing Sculpture: Claes Oldenburg made both plaster reliefs of food and clothing items and large-scale, stuffed sculptures of sewn vinyl or canvas that comment on American consumer culture. He also made huge outdoor sculptures of familiar, commonplace objects.

32. Superrealism AUDREY FLACK Marilyn (Vanitas) 1977 Oil over acrylic on canvas 8' x 8'. Exploring "Photo-Vision": In her still-life painting Marilyn (Vanitas), Audrey Flack explored the nature of photography and the extent to which photography constructs an understanding of reality. Flack duplicates the smooth gradations of tone and color found in photographs with careful attention to detail. She also alludes to traditional vanitas paintings.

33. Superrealism CHUCK CLOSE Self-Portrait 1968 Acrylic on canvas 9' x 7' Large-Scale Portraits: Chuck Close's large-scale Self-Portrait is based on a photograph.

34. Superrealism GERHARDT RICHTER Iceberg in Fog (Eisberg im Negel) oil on canvas 27 ½” X 39 3/8”

35. Superrealism DUANE HANSON Supermarket Shopper 1970 Polyester resin and fiberglass polychromed in oil, with clothing, steel cart, and groceries life size Casts of Stereotypical Americans: Duane Hanson's Supermarket Shopper is a life-size figurative sculpture made of polyester resin cast from a plaster mold made from a live model. The sculpture is painted and decorated with a wig, clothes, and other accessories.

36. Environmental Site-Specific ROBERT SMITHSON Spiral Jetty Great Salt Lake, Utah April 1970 Black rocks, salt crystal, earth, red water, and algae 1,500' long, 15' wide Most Environmental art (also called Earth art or earthworks) is site specific and exists outdoors. Environmental artists used natural or organic materials, including the land itself, and used their art to call attention to the landscape. The Enduring Power of Nature: Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty is a huge spiral of black basalt, limestone rocks, and earth that extends out into Great Salt Lake in Utah.

37. Environmental Site-Specific MICHAEL HEIZER Double Negative, near Overton, Nevada 1969–1970 1,500' x 50' x 30' Sculpture as Void: Michael Heizer's Double Negative consists of two massive cuts in the Mormon Mesa near Overton, Nevada. The cuts face each other across a deep indentation in the cliff-like ridge

38. Environmental Site-Specific CHRISTO and JEANNE-CLAUDE Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida 1980–1983 Pink woven polypropylene fabric 61/2 million sq. ft. The Art of Wrapping: For Surrounded Islands, created in Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida, Christo and Jeanne-Claude surrounded 11 small, human-made islands in the bay with specially fabricated pink, polypropylene fabric. The piece survives only in photographs, films, and books documenting the project.

39. Environmental Site-Specific CHRISTO and JEANNE-CLAUDE

40. Environmental Site-Specific CHRISTO and JEANNE-CLAUDE

41. Environmental Site-Specific RICHARD SERRA Tilted Arc Federal Plaza, Foley Square, New York, New York 1981 removed 1989 A Massive Wall of Steel: Richard Serra's site-specific sculpture Tilted Arc is an enormous 120-foot curved wall of Cor-Ten steel that bisected the large public plaza in front of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in lower Manhattan. The sculpture significantly altered the space and traffic flow across the square.

42. Postmodernism POSTMODERNISM IN PAINTING, SCULPTURE, AND NEW MEDIAMany postmodern artists reveal a self-consciousness about their place in the art-historical continuum. They resurrect artistic traditions to comment on and reinterpret those styles or idioms. Postmodern artists challenge the avant-garde's claim to originality and creativity by addressing issues of the copy or reproduction and the appropriation of images or ideas from others. Another major characteristic of postmodernism is the erosion between high culture and popular culture. For many recent artists, postmodernism involves examining the process by which meaning is generated and the negotiation or dialogue that transpires between viewers and artworks. Many postmodern artists reject the notion that each artwork contains a single fixed meaning, and in their work they explore in part how viewers derive meaning from visual material.

43. Postmodernism Neo-Expressionism JULIAN SCHNABEL The Walk Home 1984–1985 Oil, plates, copper, bronze, fiberglass, and bondo on wood 9' 3" x 19' 4". Neo-Expressionism: Neo-Expressionism reflects postmodern artists' interest in reexamining earlier art of the German Expressionists and the Abstract Expressionists. An Extension of Paint's Physicality: In The Walk Home, Julian Schnabel explored superficially the work of the gestural abstractionists. The work is an amalgamation of painting, mosaic, and low-relief sculpture.

44. Postmodernism Neo-Expressionism SUSAN ROTHENBERG Tattoo 1979 Acrylic on canvas 5' 7" x 8' 7" Horses as Metaphors for Humanity: The loose brushwork and agitated surface in Susan Rothenberg's painting Tattoo identifies her as a Neo-Expressionist.

45. Postmodernism Neo-Expressionism ANSELM KIEFER Shulamite 1983 Oil, acrylic, emulsion, shellac, and straw on canvas, with woodcut 9' 6 3/16" x 12' 1 11/16" Confronting German History: Anselm Kiefer's compelling painting Shulamite has a thickly encrusted surface and images that function on an historically specific level, as well as on mythological or metaphorical levels. Kiefer reexamines German history. The design of the darkened room is based on a building constructed as a memorial to Nazi soldiers but is subverted in the painting and presented as a memorial to Shulamite, the Jewish woman in the Paul Celan poem titled "Death Fugue."

46. Postmodernism Neo-Expressionism SANDRO CHIA Rabbit for Dinner 1980 Oil on canvas 6' 9" x 11' 1 1/2" Transforming Art History Lessons: The color, energy, and power of Sandro Chia's painting Rabbit for Dinner are drawn from previous art and captivate the viewer.

47. Postmodernism Art as Political Weapon JUDY CHICAGO The Dinner Party 1979 Multimedia, including ceramics and stitchery 48' x 48' x 48' installed The persuasive powers of art to communicate with a wide audience is freshly embraced by artists who investigate in their own artwork the dynamics of power and privilege, especially in relation to issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and class. A Dinner Party Celebrating Women: In The Dinner Party, Judy Chicago used crafts techniques traditionally practiced by women to celebrate the achievements and contributions women made throughout history.

48. Postmodernism Art as Political Weapon MIRIAM SCHAPIRO Anatomy of a Kimono (section) 1976 Fabric and acrylic on canvas 6' 8" x 11' 11" "Femmages" and Women's Invention of Collage: Miriam Schapiro's Anatomy of a Kimono is one of a series of monumental femmages based on the patterns of Japanese kimonos, fans, and robes. The composition repeats the kimono shape in a sumptuous array of fabric fragments.

49. Postmodernism Art as Political Weapon CINDY SHERMAN Untitled Film Still #35 1979 Black-and-white photograph Female Beauty and the "Male Gaze": In Untitled: Film Still #35 (from a series of black-and-white photographs titled Untitled Film Stills), Cindy Sherman appears in a photograph that seems to be a still from a film but is sufficiently generic that viewers cannot relate it to a specific movie. Her photographs examine the way much of Western art has been constructed to present female beauty for the enjoyment of the "male gaze."

50. Postmodernism Art as Political Weapon BARBARA KRUGER Untitled (We Won't Play Nature to Your Culture) 1983 Photostat, red painted frame 6' 1" x 4' 1" Exploring Cultural Notions of Gender: In Untitled (We Won't Play Nature to Your Culture), Barbara Kruger overlaid a ready-made photograph of the head of a classically beautiful female sculpture with a vertical row of text composed of seven words. Kruger incorporated the layout techniques of the mass media to create a familiar advertising format that she then subverted in order to expose the deceptiveness of the media messages.