Cultural Difference and Postmodern Parody - Essay Example for You

There have been tremendous changes in how works of art are perceived in the few past decades. The advent of postmodern parody has given more freedom of expression and interpretation to both the artists and even the viewers of the pieces of art. Postmodern parody is essentially the politicization of art, especially in its interpretation. The theory of postmodern parody is distinguishable in that it has authority to question master narratives that formed the core of the modern period perspectives on art. One of the constant reference point embraced by postmodern parody is the advance in technology which is highly regarded as a positive addition to art. Postmodern parody is more concerned with the revision of history from a native perspective, and the rejection of totalizing theories formally professed during the modern period. The postmodernists choose to embrace the local, indigenous and the contingent themes. There are significant themes that continuously form the backbone of the postmodern parody. These theories include but are not limited to the reformation of self-identity, the very conspicuous contesting of symbols of authority and control, the reassessment of global issues regarding art and the definition of the globally held perspectives of art regarding the native and local (Ryan &Allan,62). One of the most outstanding theories but relatively complex of the postmodern parody theories is that which embraces self-identity and self-representation of art. These overturned the long-held modern assertion that there was only one inherent meaning to which a particular work of art would take. The artist had the sole discretion of giving sense to the art the time of its creation. The postmodern politicization of art gives all the freedom to the viewer in the interpretation and determination of the meaning of art based on their local perception (Petersen & Anne,198). The viewers embracing postmodern parody, have even at some point been involved in the improvement of art in conjunction with the artists. Some postmodern artists even rely heavily on viewer intervention to create any piece of artwork or place in the finishing touches.

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One of the hallmarks of defining both contemporaries of art and the postmodern perspectives on art is culture. The issue of cultural identity has played a seminal role in the discourses of the contemporary art more so since the 1990s. The theory of parody follows a significant political agenda in the interpretation of contemporary native art.When it comes to culture the most dynamic phenomenon to which both the post-colonialists forming the modern period of art and the postmodern political artists have been trying to grapple with is the culture of inclusion. Both the postmodernists and the modern era artist served the cultural theories regarding art held art their respective periods. Through a systematic shift in culture, the postmodernist emerged and had ever since been reshaping the definition of art through parody. An analysis of two modern and postmodern artworks can reveal the contrast between the two periods. The analysis of the two periods can be done by paying special attention to their cultural dissimilarities. By analyzing the difference in culture between the modernists and the parody loving postmodernists will give the challenges and opportunities faced by artists whose works demonstrate the distinct theories held during the times of their creation.The analysis describes the works of the modern era artist, Kent Monkman and his 2003 acrylic on canvas 50x61 cm mode in comparison with Rosalie Favell Ottawa Artist, the artist in her museum 2007.The latter represents the postmodernists and borrows heavily from postmodern parody.

Postmodern parody embraces the theme of self identity.No other culture has come to portray self-identity in so much positive light as is that shaping the postmodern art creations.In fact, previously, the most revered artists were mostly masculine. Modern culture transcends this barrier that alienated women from enjoying the joy or art, thanks to modern parody (King & Catherine,61).

Fig 1.Rosalie Favell Ottawa Artist, the artist in her museum 2007

The artistry above depicts Rosalie Favell in her museum and is a product of postmodern parody.Rosalie gave her own local but globally acceptable definition of art by overcoming barriers to coming up with an original piece of art.In the background is a painting from the modern era.The postmodern theorists value self-expression and the local definition of art.The postmodern parody idolizes creativity and originality but subverts the later too (Hutcheon & Linda,186).In the above creation, Rosalie imposed her picture on the portrait of another artist who with no doubt formed the modern era.This new form art, despite being original, has some form of infringement on the copyright of the original artists.The culture driving the postmodern parody has no respect for copyrights or the original owners of any creations.The challenges faced by the postmodernity is, therefore, the lack of originality with little editing or sometimes no editing at all done on the original art.The postmodernists have an advantage in that they can manipulate the current technology to produce a visual effect in art that can be enjoyed by all.Viewers do not need artistic skills to interpret the postmodern art such as the one shown in fig 1.

The modern art was shaped and is being developed by a distinct culture that differs from that professed by the postmodern parody loving artists. There are more originality and a very conservative artistic approach in the piece of art. The creation below is the work of Kent Monkman, a modern artist.

Fig 2, Artist: Kent Monkman and model 2003 acrylic on canvas 50x61 cm

The painting above takes a very conservative approach and tries as much as possible to keep all the originality of the painting in check. The drawing is canvas-based. Interpreting the artwork above would prove to be hard for postmodernists. The definition of the drawing would only be derived from the artist's impression and not from reasoning and parody. The main challenge faced by the modern artist is trying to make people without any artistic training to appreciate their artistry. The message of the painting is more coded than direct hence making its interpretation too narrow and conservative in approach.

Works Cited

Petersen, Anne Ring. "Identity politics, institutional multiculturalism, and the global artworld." Third Text 26.2 (2012): 195-204.

Ryan, Allan J. "Postmodern parody: A political strategy in contemporary Canadian Native art." Art Journal 51.3 (1992): 59-65.

King, Catherine, and Gill Perry. "Gender and Art." (1999): 61.

Hutcheon, Linda. "The politics of postmodernism: parody and history." Cultural Critique 5 (1986): 179-207.