IHUM Chapter 40 Postmodernism
Fractal geometry was originally developed by
Benoit Mandelbrot.
Which building has been called "Ginger and Fred" for its lighthearted quality?
Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunic's Rasin Building
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
Frank Gehry, (1997)
residence, Santa Monica, California
Frank Gehry, (1997-98)
Ice (2)
Gerhard Richter, (1989)
Meadowland
Gerhard Richter, (1992)
Which is thought to be the first postmodern exploration of multiple centers of thought?
Jorge Luis Borges's essay "Borges and I"
Which of these is an example of green architecture?
Renzo Piano's Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center
Rebellious Silence, from the series Women of Allah
Shirim Neshat, (1994)
Which artist describes his work as "superflat"?
Takashi Murakami
In Paul Auster's City of Glass, the author is
a character in his own story.
Define what characterizes postmodern architecture.
adapting diverse aesthetics which gives emphasis on unique forms Whimsical celebrations of shapes Eclectic styles, incorporating many different styles into one building (anything but pure) Contradictory elements of design Opposite of "International Style" and Modernism
What do the artists Phil Collins and Isaac Julien have in common?
an exploration of the new global marketplace as subject
What do Zhang Huan's To Raise the Water Level in a Fish Pond and Judith F. Baca The Farmworkers of Guadalupe have in common?
an interest in poor working people
This painting (columns and faces. Black background. Looks amateur)most directly demonstrates the influence of
graffiti art.
In utilizing an aerospace industry computer program to develop his architectural models, Frank Gehry says that he forgets about the work as architecture because
he becomes focused on the work as a sculpting process.
David Antin's poem "If We Get It" was first delivered
in skywriting.
What does Phil Collins describe as "like a mild form of heroism"?
karaoke
Semiotic theory concerns
relations between the signifier and the signified.
In their book Learning from Las Vegas, Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Steven Izenour describe the "juxtaposition of honky-tonk elements" as a new urban form that
requires new concepts and theories to handle.
As seen in the work of Bill Viola, video art is often concerned with
the passing of time.
Thomas Pynchon's novel V. concerns
the quest for a woman mentioned in a cryptic journal entry.
Which aspect of Zhang Hongtu's Bird's Nest, in the Style of Cubismmade the Chinese government deem it inappropriate for the celebratory nature of the Olympic Games?
the references, "Tibet" and "Human Right"
Robert Venturi is known for
theorizing the influence of Las Vegas as a "new urban form."
multiplicity/pluralism
there is no one meaning to a work, rather a plurality of meanings. Postmodern theory: overtook art in this time and claimed that meaning was not found in work itself, but in its audience.
Chris Ofili supports the painting The Holy Virgin Mary Chris Ofili supports the painting with two balls of elephant dung because
these are symbols of fertility in Zimbabwe.
In this frame (water falls on person with arms outstretched), what, chiefly, seems to be metaphorically suggested?
time
In remodeling his Santa Monica residence, architect Frank Gehry used corrugated metal, chain-link fencing, and concrete blocks for all of the following reasons
-He had a limited budget. -He was trying to use materials consistent with the neighborhood. -He wanted to create a tension between old and new.
The postmodern world is characterized by all of the following except
-a plurality of meaning. -multiple centers of thought. -the difficult whole.
In her video Touch, Janine Antoni depicts the horizon as all of the following
-a tightrope on which to become comfortable with being out of balance. -something ever approachable yet perhaps never attainable. -a hopeful future.
"Green architecture" is based on all of the following principles
-compatibility with the environment. -sustainable building materials. -adaptation to climate and culture.
All of the following can be seen in this painting (Indian Country Today by David P. Bradley) except
-the city of Santa Fe. -the Four Corners Power Plant. -a pueblo.
White Earth Ojibwe and Mdewakaton Dakota, Indian Country Today
David P. Bradley, (1996-97)
Describe how pluralism and diversity are reflected in art and literature.
Explores relationship between abstraction and representation (through Richter's work), we have a more diverse and various views Pluralism in literature exhibits itself in a multiplicity of meanings, the postmodern hero seeks meaning but accepts the fact that search for meaning is neverending No common focus or center idea around which to organize elements of literature This possibility of "thinking" is the goal of postmodern lit. Postmodernism produces texts that willingly place themselves in an open field of interpretation and uncertainty (the reader can interpret a text differently at different stages of life, situations, and moods) Postmodern fiction defeats readers expectations for coherence and extends uncertainty and ambiguity. requires readers who can adjust to situations and eliminates distance between author and work. (Description of "Invisible Cities") Postmodern novels do away with typical novel structure , fragmenting the plot and patterns of conflict and resolution. Leading to many meanings, and perspectives. Postmodern world consists of multiple centers of thought, each existing simultaneously and independently of each other Up until this point in western humanities we have talked about a history of shifting geographical centers with each one with a common cultural focus of thought... POSTMODERNISM REJECTS THIS
Victorian Couple
Gerhard Richter, (1999)
The Bird's Nest, Beijing National Stadium
Herzog & de Meuron, (2004-08)
What are the Humanities and why are they Important? What is the role of art today?
In world where funding is being cut especially -STRESSES NEED FOR MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES ("Things Fall Apart," the danger of a single story) -Mosiah 1:2-3, the value of teaching posterity language, reading, records, writing of different cultures to become "men of understanding". The need to have an anchor in their past to be better prepared for the future. -Humanities: a window into our past, a view into our future. Translational feelings. -engaging ideas that are not familiar to us, but more easily understandable with an eclectic view. -Humanities seeks to make a claim, to postulate, and speculate about difficult questions. To create a thesis, not necessarily a truth, but to better explore the human condition. -The humanities make us more empathetic and charitable.
Farmworkers at Guadalupe
Judith F. Baca, (1990)
When Robert Venturi said, "More is not less," he was positing his views about an architecture of complexity and contradiction against the ideas of architect
Mies van der Rohe.
Would it be possible to fully understand this painting without being familiar with Basquiat's assortment of symbols?
No, because some of his signs and symbols mean the obverse of their conventional meaning.
The Weather Project, installation view at the Tate Modern, London
Olafur Eliason, (2003)
Which of these works was criticized in the press as mere entertainment?
Olafur Eliasson's The Weather Project
Discuss the nature and significance of postmodernism and how it reflects pluralism.
Postmodernism claims that meaning resides not within a work but in its audience, together with the understanding that the audience itself is diverse and various Gives rise to belief that meaning is PLURAL in nature. Living in this "difficult whole" is what characterizes the postmodern. Meaning becomes contingent and open-ended. Challenges the "undivided attention of audience (sensory overload)
Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center in Nouméa, New Caledonia
Renzo Piano, (1991-98)
Who wrote about the "juxtaposition of honky-tonk elements" in Las Vegas?
Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Steven Izenour
Design for Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) station, World Trade Center Site
Santiago Calatrava, (2004)
Pleasure Pillars
Shahzia Sikander, (2001)
postmodern architecture
a style or movement which emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against the austerity, formality, and lack of variety of modern architecture, particularly in the international style advocated by Le Corbusier Las Vegas Strip style [iconic example], Adobe building by point of mountain
Judith F. Baca is notable for
community-based mural projects.
"difficult whole"
describes the postmodern condition, contradictory design elements, set to establish open-ended architecture with eclectic styles, with multiple meanings, and openness to interpretation. Vitality and validity, but not homogenous unity.
In its disharmony with its surroundings, Frank Gehry's architecture
draws attention to itself as architecture.
While trying to computer-model predictions of the weather, meteorologist Edward Lorenz discovered the butterfly effect, which shows that
even the slightest differences in initial conditions can produce profoundly different results.
Invisible Cities
explores the "difficult whole" idea -disparate details of objects found by Polo to deliver to Kublai. Playing chess with them is symbolic of learning how to use the objects in context of chess, can help him rule the empires. -Process of abstraction, no individual connection, just details that construct a general idea. -"khan now eluded by the reason of the "game", reduced his "treasures" or playing pieces to what they really are...ie "a square of planed wood" -Post-modernism is not necessarily relativism, but accounts for multiplicity and diversity, many meanings within one subject/object
The so-called Koch snowflake is an example of
fractal geometry.
A primary goal of Emilio Ambasz's design for the ACROS Building in Fukuoka, Japan, was to
maintain and preserve green space.
Olafur Eliasson's highly popular work The Weather Project was criticized in the press as
mere entertainment.
green architecture
modern architecture adaptable to climate and culture in which buildings are built (environmentally sensitive). Meant to preserve environments and transmit cultures.
In Roland Barthes's terminology, signs that carry with them larger cultural meanings are
mythologies.
Pipilotti Rist made her first video in 1986 at the age of twenty-four by
parodying the type of videos on MTV.
hybrid
person or art/concept that is bilingual or multicultural in nature
When poet Aurora Levins Morales says, "I was born at the crossroads/and I am whole," she means that she
speaks a plural language for a plural self.
In his Of Grammatology, Jacques Derrida attempts to analyze the fundamental structure of thought by examining the differences between
speech and writing.
The process of interpretation known as deconstruction considers paintings, performances, advertising, film, and other forms of cultural production as
texts.
What aspect of Ten Thousand Waves I most specifically embodies the conditions of postmodernism?
the multiplicitous visual stimuli
Shirin Neshat's artwork focuses on
understanding the experience of being a woman in Islamic society.
In his design for the new train station at New York City's World Trade Center site, Santiago Calatrava says his goal is to
use light as a construction material.
