Independent Research

Independent research 5

I went to the National Portrait Gallery in London on Sunday and found a few portraits/pieces of art that really stood out to me as post modern, so I thought I'd share them.

Independent research 4

Art review: Andy Warhol - Pop, Power & Politics

As ever with Warhol, where the art meets the legend is where things get really interesting. Take the screenprinted 1972 portrait of Richard Nixon, for example, a typically Warholian study of the photographed figure emblazoned with overlaid colour and an exaggerated, neon-piped outline. In this instance, Warhol chose to give the then-President a ghastly blue skin pallor, matching disconcertingly infernal orange eyes with a showman-pink jacket. Most pointedly of all, the hand-scrawled legend underneath reads ”Vote McGovern”.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/reviews/art-review-andy-warhol--pop-power--politics-8864349.html I found this independent research interesting because it actually gives an example of blatant post modern art. Here, I was able to look at the picture and pick out aspects of it myself that are post modern. It made me feel like I am now starting to understand post modernity and how it can be incorporated into pieces of art. 

Independent research 3

"I have some good news—kick back, relax, enjoy the rest of the summer, stop worrying about where your life is and isn’t heading. What news? Well, on 24th September, we can officially and definitively declare that postmodernism is dead. Finished. History. A difficult period in human thought over and done with. How do I know this? Because that is the date when the Victoria and Albert Museum opens what it calls “the first comprehensive retrospective” in the world: “Postmodernism—Style and Subversion 1970-1990.”

Wait, I hear you cry. How do they know? And what was it? Postmodernism—I didn’t understand it. I never understood it. How can it be over?

You are not alone. If there’s one word that confuses, upsets, angers, beleaguers, exhausts and contaminates us all, then it is postmodernism. And yet, properly understood, postmodernism is playful, intelligent, funny and fascinating. From Grace Jones to Lady Gaga, from Andy Warhol to Gilbert and George, from Paul Auster to David Foster Wallace, its influence has been everywhere and continues. It has been the dominant idea of our age.

So what was it? Well, the best way to begin to understand postmodernism is with reference to what went before: modernism. Unlike, say, the Enlightenment or Romanticism, postmodernism (even as a word) summons up the movement it intends to overturn. In this way, postmodernism might be seen as the delayed germination of an older seed, planted by artists like Marcel Duchamp, during modernism’s high noon of the 1920s and 1930s. (Seen in this light, the start-date that the V&A offers for postmodernism—1970—is quite late.)"

Source: http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/postmodernism-is-dead-va-exhibition-age-of-authenticism/#.UeVsn_lwquI I chose this as my independant research because it was quite shocking for me and it confused me at the same time as it made me wonder why is postmodernism dead? It intrigued me as to what the reasons were for this.

Independent research 2

"Characteristics of Postmodernism: 1) there is no absolute truth
One of the most prevalent characteristics of postmodernism is the idea that there is no and can never be any kind of absolute truth. Truth cannot be known in the context of postmodernist thinking, and those who claim to know truth are either lying or foolish.

Characteristics of Postmodernism: 2) facts and falsehoods are interchangeable
Because one of the characteristics of postmodernism is that there is no absolute truth, a natural outgrowth of this thinking is that facts and falsehoods are interchangeable. What is accepted as truth today could easily be proven wrong tomorrow, and vice versa.

Characteristics of Postmodernism: 3) frustrated with modern thinking
Postmoderns are typically very frustrated with the modern generation's inability to deliver on their promises of peace, advancement, and knowledge. The modern generation's failure to accomplish their goals has caused postmoderns to harbor a great deal of distrust in the ideals of moderns.

Characteristics of Postmodernism: 4) rationalization is the norm
Because of the scientific method's shortcomings in resolving the problems of the world, postmoderns' distrust of what is presented as fact has led them to embrace opinion as the driving force of thought. One of the primary characteristics of postmodernism is therefore that if a person can rationalize their understanding or opinion, it is worthwhile and as true as is possible for the postmodern thinker.

Characteristics of Postmodernism: 5) global community more important than nationalism
Rationalization, frustration, and the thinking that there is no truth beyond personal and corporate opinion has resulted in the postmodern tendency toward the belief that the global good is more important than national interests.

Characteristics of Postmodernism: 6) all religions deserve equal recognition
One of the most controversial characteristics of postmodernism is the idea that all religions are equally valid. If, as postmodern thinking dictates, there is no absolute truth, then no one religion offers a "right" way. If no religion is true, then all religions are equally false, or equally valid, depending on the person's point of view.

Characteristics of Postmodernism: 7) morality is individualistic
If there is no true religion, and if there is no absolute truth, then each person's ideas about morality are also equally false or valid. This characteristic is most clearly seen in the common statement, "it's right for me." Every person's morality belongs to them alone, and morality that is imposed by another, whether by religion, government, or another person, and anything that claims to be absolute truth is to be distrusted."

Source: http://voices.yahoo.com/7-steps-understanding-characteristics-postmodernism-3730670.html I chose this as my independant research because it really taught me how shallow and superficial postmodernism and the generation we live in.

Independent research 1

"Except, like so much golden-age theorising, it's bunkum. You want evidence? I need only mention James Franco, who combines the looks of James Dean, polymathic ambition of Stephen Fry and slacker demeanour of The Big Lebowski's The Dude. And yet, he's a proper pin-up.

They don't make 'em like they used to – that's the received wisdom when it comes to film stars, right? Where screen idols of yore thrived on ego and excess, today's pretenders suffer on egg-white omelettes and media training.

Last week, Franco flashed his Colgate smile at the premiere of his latest blockbuster, Oz: The Great and Powerful. Next week, he will ascend into the Tinseltown firmament with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

But, on the other hand, the A-lister shtick is but one role in his Postmodern, gloriously pretentious career repertoire. Recently, he has co-directed a metafilm about the gay S&M thriller Cruising; held an exhibition of his artwork about his public/private personas; and written a poem marking Obama's inauguration in which he imagines essaying the role of POTUS.

All of which makes him easy to mock. But, crucially, no one does that better than Franco himself. Take his cameo role as the artist "Franco" in General Hospital. Or the video series Acting with James Franco, in which he gave mock-tutorials to sibling Dave. And if his willingness to send himself up is admirable, his enthusiasm for messing with the Hollywood system is delicious. His reaction to gossip over his penchant for gay roles? "You know what, maybe I'm just gay," he told one interviewer. His reflection on his breakthrough film? A drawing saying "Fuck Spider-Man". And his response to that poisoned chalice, hosting the Oscars? Paired with Anne Hathaway, he slurred his way through proceedings like Cheech and Chong's third partner. Suffice to say, we await his shaky-cam, animated recreation of the farrago with anticipation …."

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/james-franco-hero-or-villain-8517921.html I found this independant research very interesting because it is basically stating how actors nowadays survive on little food as possible in order to keep their image "correct". This shocked me because it just reinforces the idea of postmodernism and how important image actually is in our generation nowadays.