Post Modern Era

 Postmodern Era 

This week's art exhibit blog post I decided to go with the Postmodern Era. Postmodernism is anything created from 1980 to present day. The main reason I chose Postmodernism is specifically because majority of this semester we have been focusing on art themes and eras from the past, and while all of the pieces we have observed and wrote an analysis on are very lovely, I wanted to focus on the present and how art is changing and advancing with the generations. Within Postmodern art there are different themes and styles of art. There are new styles of art that were introduced during the Postmodern Era, deconstruction, performance art, public sculptures, street art, environmental art, installation art are all art styles that were introduced or became more well known during the Postmodernism Era. All of these art styles and forms of art are from the Postmodern Era. My theme I chose to write about is diversity. All the art pieces I chose are unique and different, that is what ties it all together into diversity. Diversity is the unique differences in the individuals and their artwork. 


Painting 

Plastic Fish by Yongbaek Lee, 2011

The first art piece I chose for my exhibit is known as PLastic Fish. It is an acrylic painting on canvas painted by the artist Yongbaek Lee, he painted this in 2011. I chose this piece because of its use of mesmerizing colors. This painting is 141 inches wide by 90 inches in height. You don’t have to look very close to notice the insane amount of details for this painting. This painting was done in 2011, the postmodernism era began in the 1980s and is currently still ongoing. According to Google Arts & Culture this painting is located at the PIN Gallery in Beijing but it is unknown where it was created.  Looking at these plastic fish hooks they look 3D in the painting. They look so 3D that it makes me want to grab one and try and pick it up. The artist created this with a variety of colors and shading to make it look 3D to the viewers eyes. I like this painting because of the different elements in each fish. The use of vibrant colors, shading, and texture can make the fishes look exactly like a pile of plastic fish hooks on a table. It looks as if the artist grabbed a handful of plastic fish hooks and placed them on the table and left them there to paint an exact replica. I really admire the artist's talent and ability to create a painting so realistic, that is why I chose this painting to be the first in my Post Modern Era Exhibit. 

Installation Art

OK! By Choi Jeonghwa, 2009

The second piece of art that I chose from the Postmodern Era is an installation art piece. Installation art is art pieces that are designed and created for a specific space. Most of the time these art installations are for the public to view and they are only temporary not permanent. The installation art piece I chose was done by the artist Choi Jeonghwa in 2009. He named this installation OK!The artist used various sizes of green plastic baskets and zip tied them together to make towers. Looking at the exhibit we can see that Choi Jeonghwa used various sizes in order to make it go from bigger to smaller baskets, starting from the bottom and leading up to the top. After doing a bit more research I found out that this installation art piece was on display at the Towada Art Center located in Japan and spread across sixteen locations in the city (Towada Art Center). I am not entirely certain if this art piece was created in Japan or just resides in Japan. I chose this piece because of its unique look. When I look at the picture of this art installation I try to imagine myself right there walking through the exhibit. I feel like the artist could have been trying to make it feel like viewers are walking through a bright green plastic forest. I get that idea of a forest full of trees from the way he formed the towering plastic bowls tied together. Looking from the bottom to the top they start wider and rounder at the bottom and slowly become smaller working up to the top. This gives the idea that he was trying to make an illusion to our eyes that they were trees. Even if the artist wasn't exactly going for that idea of walking through a forest of trees, I still think it is a lovely installation art piece. It gives a calming energy and brings a positive relaxing atmosphere. 

In the Mood for Love By Choi Jeonghwa, 2010

The third piece of art I chose for my art exhibit was a second installation art piece done by Choi Jeonghwa. I chose a second installation art piece by the same artists as above for one reason, comparison. I wanted to show how there is always going to be a unique difference in installation art pieces, even differences when it comes to the same artist creating them. This installation is called In the Mood for Love, it was created in 2010 and located at Aando Fine Art Berlin in Berlin Germany. This art piece fits in with the postmodern era because it is an i installation piece from 2010. I personally love that the artists used recycled plastic waste, so much plastic ends up in our oceans and forests and then slowly destroys our environment, so I love when I see artists create artwork from recycled plastic. Choi Jeonghwa used more than one recycled item to create this, starting at the left we see recycled clear plastic cups and then what looks like beads comes after that. If you look closely you can see that he used recycled mustard bottles and blue lunch tupperware. There are even crocheted or knitted flowers from leftover yarn. Another thing I really like about this installation is the mix of vibrant colors. Bright vibrant colors give a happy energetic environment and creates a positive atmosphere. 

Street Art & Public Art 

Gild the Lily (Caribbean Hybrid I, II, III) by Carlos Rolon, 2019

The fourth art piece I chose is known as public art or street art. I chose Gild the Lily (Caribbean Hybrid I, II, III) by Carlos Rolon. It was on display at the Chase Bank Lobby for Sculptures Milwaukee in Wisconsin. I believe street art is artwork that is on display in the public and on surrounding buildings, a common art form of street art is known as graffiti. Many street art displays are there to send a statement and message to the public, the meaning could be about society or the artist itself. Public art is any form of art that is intended and created to be viewed by the public. Gild the Lily (Caribbean Hybrid I, II, III) is a unique art piece. It is grouped with street art, public art, and sculptures. Before I read about it and just looked at it I thought it might've been graffiti or used spray paint as the way to create it. It was actually created using adhesive vinyl to the building. The physical dimensions are 516 x 540 x 504. It is a large beautiful floral design on the side of the building. Looking at this image of it you can make out that the floral vinyl adhesive is on enormous windows. The vinyl was most likely very carefully placed and layered to create the floral look. These flowers are made using bright vibrant colors, these bright eye popping colors are allowing people walking by to become intrigued and engaged. They most likely walked past the building and saw the enormous flowers and stopped to look at how beautiful they are. I personally love this piece of art because it adds a pop of color to the city. The surroundings in this image are huge buildings and skyscrapers, most likely a city. Most cities are not beautiful with trees and flowers but beautiful with architecture. I think the flowers add a pop of color and beauty to their surroundings.

Tree of the Wind Harp by Lubo Kristek, 1992

For the fifth piece of art to showcase at my Post Modern exhibit I decided to choose this sculpture. The sculpture is called the Tree of the Wind Harp, it is a sculpture created by Lubo Kristek and was done in 1992. This sculpture is a part of the public art form in the Postmodern Era. As stated up above, Public Art is any form of art that is created and intended to be viewed by the public. The artist Lubo Kristek made this 15 foot tall sculpture in 1992 out of bronze materials. This musical sculpture is located at the Pohansko Chateau in the Czech Republic. According to Google Arts & Culture this musical piece of art represents the original inhabitants of Pohansko with its stringed fragment. This 15 foot tall musical wind sculpture is a part of the Postmodern Era because of the date it was created and the theme, it is a public art created in 1992. I chose this sculpture as my fifth piece for my Post Modern Era exhibit because it is another public art form but not a public art piece that is a part of the graffiti family. Lubo Kristek used a scrap of piano and combined it with iron shaped like tears to create a wind propelled assembly; the sculpture uses its surrounding environment to create sounds. I like this public art sculpture because of the recycled and repurposed iron and piano pieces used to create it. I also like that it is located outside for the public in what looks like a park. 

Performance Art

Visio Sequents or Concerning the Prematurely Cloned Age of One Planet By Lubo Kristek, July 4th, 2003

The sixth and final piece of art I chose for my Post Modern Art Exhibit is a performance art done by the same artist as above, Lubo Kristek. The title of this performance is Visio Sequents or Concerning the Prematurely Cloned Age of One Planet. It was performed in Czech Republic at the Znojmo Castle on July 4th 2003. This piece of art is classified into the Postmodern Era because it was done in 2003, it is also a Performance art, Performance art is a part of the Postmodern Era. This performance was actually done in the underground part of the Znojmo Castle in Czech Republic. The artist Lubo Kristek worked alongside mentally disabled people and had them disappear among the viewers. It allowed for the viewers to look around and try to decide who is who and who was the madman. The picture of the performance I chose shows a ballerina performing. I like this performance art piece because of its characteristics and key details. I like how the artist Lubo Kristek had some of the performers hidden inside the crowd and made the viewers question who was who. 

Diversity 

All of the art pieces above that I chose for my exhibit are all related to the diversity theme. Each piece is different, I chose paintings, street art, public art, performance art, and installation art. All of those styles of art are considered PostModern Art, all of them are unique, and because each piece is different in the themes, the material, and the artists, it relates back to diversity. I chose diversity as my theme and Postmodern as my era to show that art is still happening today in our society and because of everyone's differences it makes it all unique and diverse.

Hoffmann, Frank. “Simulating Passion at the Korean Pavilion.” ARTnews.com, ARTnews.com, 8 July 2011, https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/korean-pavilion-venice-biennale-58367/.

“Plastic Fish - Lee, Yongbaek - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/plastic-fish-lee-yongbaek/hgHVg17NDTZqjg. 

“OK! - Choi, Jeonghwa - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/ok/oQECEamUGUuKkQ. 

“Choi Jeonghwa: OK! " Towada Art Center.” " Towada Art Center, https://towadaartcenter.com/en/exhibitions/choi-jeong-hwa-ok/. 

“In the Mood for Love - Choi, Jeonghwa - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/in-the-mood-for-love/oQH30Y3AXkIXOQ. 

“Gild the Lily (Caribbean Hybrid I, II, Iii) - Carlos Rolon - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/gild-the-lily-caribbean-hybrid-i-ii-iii/QgF7aEh0qVoFhA.

“Lubo Kristek.” Wikiwand, https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Lubo_Kristek. 

“Tree of the Wind Harp - Lubo Kristek - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/tree-of-the-wind-harp-lubo-kristek/ewG266LUWXkNQA.