Essay on The British Avant-Garde: A Philosophical Analysis

Although artistic practices have arguably always been products and producers of both high and popular culture, the age of postmodernism and the genesis of cultural studies allow a more integrated focus on this relationship. In the introduction to Jospeh Natoli and Linda Hutcheon's compilation, A Postmodern Reader , postmodernity is defined as a “post-1960s period label attached to cultural forms that display certain characteristics,” it is “often a mixing of the conventions of popular and high art,” and as a whole, it has “opened the way for such new counter disciplinary domains as cultural studies” (Hutcheon vii-viii). This counter- or more appropriately, inter-disciplinary scholarship emphasizes the oft incestual connection between socio-cultural politics and art. To be sure, “postmodernity's assertion of the value of inclusive “both/and” thinking deliberately contests the exclusive “either/or” binary oppositions of modernity. Postmodern parody, ambiguity, irony, indeterminacy and contingency are seen to replace modern closure, unity, order, the absolute, and the rational” (Hutcheon ix). Boundaries are increasingly blurred—nationally and globally, everything is becoming hybridized. This theoretical shift in how we view culture and its artifacts directly reflects the technological

Art might not be viewed the same way as another individual could. Some people could “see” or “look” at a painting, distinguishing their perspective or interpretation of an artwork. When I “look” at Alma Thomas’ Gray Night Phenomenon, it’s with a goal to identify what the art depicts. I would probably glance at the painting, not taking my time to analyze its different features. At first glance, I register the painting as simply a piece of artwork with a blue background and yellow specks in a pattern, however I don’t take much thoughtful processes to take place and bring emotions into viewing the piece. When one “looks” at something, it is more routine-like and to figure its function, without much appreciation of the artwork. In contrast to “looking”

In the contemplation of art, or rather the conceptually intangible definition it currently possess, it is imperative to be mindful that “art” has been utilized as a promotional device, ceremonial item, aesthetically purposed article or perhaps none of these or all. It is because of this vague term that Carolyn Dean, in her text, “The Trouble with (The Term) Art”, makes a case for the consequences of applying the term “art” in societies that lacked such a notion which also accounts for the Western-centric lens the field intrinsically utilizes when viewing non-Western art. The claim is deftly supported by the utilization of expert accounts in the subject, alternative perspectives for what is considered the current norm, and self-examining questions,

In John Berger’s essay “Ways of Seeing,” he shares his view on how he feels art is seen. Mr. Berger explores how the views of people are original and how art is seen very differently. By comparing certain photographs, he goes on to let his Audience, which is represented as the academic, witness for themselves how art may come across as something specific and it can mean something completely different depending on who is studying the art. The author goes into details of why images were first used, how we used to analyze art vs how we do today, and the rarity of arts. He is able to effectively pass on his message by using the strategies of Rhetoric, which include Logos, Pathos, and Ethos.

question John Berger, critic of art and author of the Ways of Seeing, raised in his essay, and it is

The works ‘Blaze’ and ‘Fragment 1/7’ by Bridget Riley and the work Six Geometric Figures (+ Two) by Sol LeWitt all share many aspects of art in common however they are very distinct in terms of the different materials, techniques and the emotions they provoke. Though the artworks can be looked at in different ways, these are all pieces that at first are perceived to mean nothing, but it is evident what the aim of the artists is after an indepth view.

Philosopher Arthur Danto, author of “The Artworld,” an artistic criticism, states that “to see something as art requires something that the eye cannot descry—an atmosphere of artistic theory, a knowledge of the history of art: an artworld” (201). Artistic theory, according to Danto, requires the presence of a subject, style, rhetorical ellipses, and that of historical context. Danto is capable of developing this view on art with the aid of an imaginary character, Testadura. Testadura, however, makes mistakes, as well as corrections, about the objects before him.

This artwork is a contemporary work which enmeshes various fields into itself. Hart takes elements of the world of fashion, technology, literature and music to create something which could be negotiated as avant-garde work of performance including sculpture and virtual reality. It talks about a world where all

The Banksy, triumphed multi-award, and 2010 Sundance Film Festival winning documentary, “Exit through the Gift Shop” gives an interesting insight of the underground and unknown world of street art and viewing societies understanding of modern art. The documentary trails the life of a curious French immigrant Terry Guetta, who has a passion for filming everything in sight from his family to local street artists. Following these street artists such as Shepherd Fairey and eventually Banksy himself around for most his time, he developed an interest in the art scene. As a full time accomplice, Terry Guetta later develops into this premature artist by using and being inspired by the famous art of others. The documentary early on sparks the questions of what is art and who poses the authority to define good art?

While our dear world around us progressed, enhancing the industrial revelations of our time, our dear artists transgressed away from their masterful, life-like skill toward a more abstract, rudimentary version of their imagined reality. Blasphemy! Haussmann had developed a Parisian Paradise: order and stability concreted the cobbled paths in which we comfortably strolled along midst an afternoon in the epicenter of the beloved city. The new became newer, the old— forgotten, destroyed. Yet, the refinement of our current artists has diminished dramatically. Looking at Degas— a fine example of the deteriorating craftsmanship of our age— the crude brushstrokes and improper subjects juxtapose all advancements the current world has achieved! For

Art in general is undergoing several changes with artists beginning to think about spatial illusions and human form. Despite this, the changes seem subtle and understated. This discussion seeks to highlight the changes that are happening in art and how artists are creating space in the work they do.

When one thinks of Art the most popular image is of great works, famous for their visually pleasing and intellectually rousing qualities. These works, aside from being visually and intellectually stimulating, have been used to challenge and encourage an audience to think about what it’s representing in flexible and open-minded ways, this is usually done by shocking the audience out of their “complacency” when viewing artworks. The great artists of the Conceptual Art movement especially emphasised this by focusing more on the concept behind a piece than the art itself. Three particular artists that are famous for challenging audiences with their work include Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), Jenny Holzer (1950-present) and Ai WeiWei (1957-present). Even though these three artists are part of different times, countries, political and cultural movements, they all use their works to confront and challenge every part of their audience including critics, the media and the general public.

Postmodernism, the current art movement, seems to allude comprehensive understanding. Most intellectuals understand what dictates and decides a postmodern piece, but are incapable of constructing a precise criteria for determining a postmodern piece due to the broad perception of the idea. The book Interviews with Hideous Men written by David Foster Wallace and the Japanese Animation Space Dandy are both examples of what might be considered an example of a postmodern piece in their respective fields. Although, the way in which both embody these ideals in appropriation, the focus on mundane subject matter, and the presence of artist intention in postmodern works are on opposite sides of the movement.

Many of those involved in Contemporary art today, may criticise the conceptualist style in which the latest batch of artists work as ‘lazy’. The general feeling that the philosophy behind the piece has overcome the form of ‘craft’ or design has brought many new artist into the firing line for criticism. Through evaluating the works of artists such as Marcel Duchamp who made conceptualism a main focus in modern art today, it’s understandable how very few links can be made from the ‘Duchampian’ style to the works of current artists such as Damien Hirst or Tracy Emin. However, by looking at Hirst and Emin’s approach to their works, persona and conceptualism as a whole, This essay

In a ‘tradition breaking spirit’ [D’Alleva, 2012], that characterised modernist artists, early in the twentieth century, Duchamp abandoned traditional ideas and techniques, to create a new kind of ‘art’, one that the idea behind a work of art is more important that its visual realization, the ‘retinal’. The ready-mades was the product of Duchamp’s questioning what art is.