2. Elements of Postmodernism
• Intertextuality
• Pastiche
• Kitsch
• Mixing art forms, genres
• Questions meaning
• Self-referential
• Contradictory
• Blurred boundaries
But what is it? • Constantly changing, always
outdated
Postmodernism is A late 20th-century style in
the arts, architecture, and criticism that
represents a departure from modernism.
It is a style, it is a theory.
4. Intertextuality
• Allusion – references to other texts (books,
poems, movies, tv shows, etc)
• Extensive use of quotations
• Parody – An imitation of the style of a
particular writer, artist, or genre with
deliberate exaggeration
• Texts are connected and almost seem to speak
to each other
• Computer hyperlinks are “so pomo”
6. Pastiche
• Definition: A mix-matched combinations of fragments
of materials, forms, motifs, etc., taken from different
sources. A hodgepodge.
• Usage: To borrow and combine meanings to create
new, different, and/or enhanced meanings.
• Common examples of pastiche:
– Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook wall
– Rap samplings
– Saturday Night Live
• The problem with pastiche? Claims of plagiarism. If
you’re interested, click here for more information into
how the pervasiveness of pastiche in our culture is
leading to confusion about plagiarism.
7. Kitsch
• Art, objects, or design considered to be in
poor taste because it is tacky or sentimental
• Kitsch is usually appreciated in an ironic way
• In pomo– artists question what the difference
is between “low art” and “high art”
8. Mixing art forms, genres
• Questions genre and form– by morphing well-
known tropes (AKA– typical devices or
structures)
• For example, think Science Fiction meets
Westerns. Or, hip hop/country music
collaborations. This is called “Genre Hybridity”
• Why? This forces the audience to think about
expectations, stereotypes, and the artifice of
storytelling. Postmodernism is reflective!
9.
10. Question Meaning
• “God is dead”– Nietzsche
• Nihilism
• Questions truth, honesty, validity of telling a
story, history
• Does the artist’s intentions matter? Or is the
audience’s interpretation matter?
• The audience creates meaning
• It questions if art is even art and what the
purpose of art is
11.
12. Self Referential
• The text is “self-aware”– it mentions itself, it
questions itself, it says what it is
• Boundary between audience and text is
broken
• Pomo is metatextual
• Check out this meta tumblr
13. Contradictions
• Pomo works are often contradictory– leading
to confusion and more questions.
• Postmodernism assumes “There is no such
thing as an absolute truth.” – THINK about it.
That is an absolute truth. So which is it?
• Pomo is retro but progressive (references
previous eras but always forward moving)
14. Blurred Lines
• Who is the artist, what is the art, who is the
audience?
• Some people think postmodern art is
ridiculous because it “doesn’t follow the rules”
• Lines are blurred between art and the
criticism of that art, for example: this
• The blurred lines of pomo make us feel like we
are part of the art
15. Pomo is constantly changing, yet it is
already passé
• Pomo always strives to reinvent itself
• It’s like technology: as soon as it is created, it
is already becoming outdated
• Once it’s new, it’s already old
