Art in Transformation: Native Art in the Postmodern Frame
(written for "Crossing Over" 2006)
Art is commonly considered as an expression of human creativity which gains its shape from the transformative realm of human imagination. Various artists, philosophers and scholars have offered definitions of what is art. The quest of the nature of art moves further to shed light on the question of which forms of creativity can be considered as art. Beside the definition of art as an expression of creativity and the perception of art in the context of its forms, a third category emerges which focuses on art as a medium of personal expression on the individual and on the social level. Consequently, the individual and social perceptions of art have nourished various artistic epochs throughout the generations. Cultural periods such as the Renaissance, Classicism, Romanticism, Impressionism, Expressionism, Cubism, Modernism and Post-modernism become witnesses of artistic creativity. In order to understand art, however it is necessary to situate art within its social, historical and cultural time frame. Thus, art is not only the emotional, intellectual and spiritual expression of the individual artist whose artistic creation gains its physical shape in his work but art is also the realm of the expression of the social and cultural issues. It becomes an absorbing and reflecting reality of the individual and cultural perceptions. While the origin of art as a tradition is assumed to lie in the ancient Greek, various existing cultures become witnesses of art that lies far beyond the time of our imagination carrying the roots of its cultural heritage. Beyond being a cultural tradition, art is also connected to a certain story within its time. The works of art are able to display a story within its contextual frame, moreover, the way an artist externalises the forms of his or her individual creativity, becomes a story itself. The process of shaping artistic creativity displays a story. Focusing on the dynamic between the role of the artist within the cultural and social context that is, the relationship between the artist and the viewer, it is interesting to consider the transformation of this relationship in the contemporary time of postmodernism contrasting its values with the notion of "art for art's sake" which emphasizes the artist's focus on the beauty of art rather than its meaning. The culture of postmodernism has shaped not only the definition of the nature of art but also has changed our perceptions and expectations of art. Thus, works of art have experienced a transformation within the frame of postmodernism in terms of their significance as medium of storytelling. Drawing on the role of art in the context of postmodernism, this essay focuses on the nature of art and its function as a storyteller not only on the socio-cultural level but also on the stage of individual storytelling of an artist.
In his essay "Postmodernism: anomaly in Art-Critical Theory" Holt K. David offers an insight into the role of art within the frame of postmodernism arguing that its rejection of the aestheticism in art carries the risk of "ignoring much of art, even great art" ( Holt 92). Postmodernism is a general word for a trend in the arts that succeeded Modernism in early 1960s with the emergence of the Pop Art movement. While Modernism focused on "art for art's sake", Postmodernism is thought to be anti-aesthetic neglecting "life's spiritual and transcendent aspects" (Holt 85). The rejection of aestheticism in art as well as its transcendental value creates art that is primarily about the meaning in the frame of transmitting political, literal and materialistic meaning. This aspects created counter-connection to the exhibition "Raven Traveling" in Vancouver Art Gallery, presenting two centuries of Haida art. The Native art works, being mostly objects intended for practical use, became transmitters of spirituality and transcendental spirit in the frame of generational creativity. It was interesting to learn, that Haida language does not have a specific word for art since the objects were part of their daily life within the process of a ritual or a ceremony. The elaborate works of weavery and sculpture displayed a tradition within the Haida culture that carried a cultural heritage. Consequently, they not only represent the aesthetic mastery of the artist but also are full of meaning within the frame of their own stories. The following works present the story within the art. The masterly woven hat carries depictions of mythical figures such as the Raven further elaborated with various figures shaping the form-line of the structures. This technique is also seen in the next work resenting the raven mask by Charles Edenshaw. Although it was made for trade its form remains a model for further generations of Native artists.
Charles Edenshaw
The use of a specific material, the motive as a cultural pre-existing model and the significance of it within the Native society capture many aspects of Postmodernism, however contrasting it with the embracing of spirituality and transcendence. The mythical figures that the Native artist use within their creations become witnesses of their spiritual meaning. Further, contra to the postmodernism, the art works themselves do not display a political message but gain social and political meaning when considered within the Western cultural tradition, thus, its massage gains voice within the social frame. But how does the artist position himself or herself towards the society? As Hole argues, postmodern art creates a dialogue between itself and the society. However, the artist becomes an objective observer rather than an artist within the social mainstream, transforming into a social critic or a "rebel". Hole continues on the path of the nature of the artists arguing that the notion of the artist as a rebel is originated in the period of Romanticism when the artist has isolated himself or herself from the society in their quest to find the perfect beauty. Hence, this notion has been carried further in the contemporary time of Postmodernism, "to remain true to their aesthetic vision, artists must consciously separate themselves from the society to become impassive, stoical, detached observers" ( Holt 87). This is a strong contrast to the native artist who is the carrier of the generational creativity creating art as a cultural heritage. During the exhibition it was interesting to learnt that the Haida language does not have a specific word for art since it is integrated within the rituals and ceremonies becoming part of their daily life. Consequently, the artist is not the "objective observer" but transforms the interconnectedness with his culture and his people into the work of art which in a way becomes the artistic mirror of the reflection and perception of his Native culture. The nature of the artist as carrier of the cultural heritage has been displayed during the exhibition. The contemporary works of art has been situated beside the previous art works from the nineteenth century emphasizing the continuation of generational spirit within the culture of First Nations, here the Haida culture. The story, that those objects tell are unmistakably connected within the chain of the generation becoming the motivation for developing Native art. The aspect of generational interconnectedness has its counterparts in the trend of Postmodernism. Hole provides the reader with further characteristics of postmodernism such as the fact that the artist is not the creator of an original work but arranges his work within the preexisting images. The work gains its own dynamic in term of reaching beyond the aesthetic representation of the environment. Instead the artist uses the previous models to modify the work of art adding or removing fragments in accordance of the message he or she is apt to transmit. The seemingly parallel notions of the artist as a re-creator of the pre-existing art, the inter-generational re-creation of the Native artist varies from the postmodern artist in terms of its cultural background. Native art gains a new voice within our society and within the postmodern frame of contemporary art, it becomes the reflecting and absorbing lens of the artist and the viewer. The way, Native Artists shape their culture turns into a socio-cultural dialogue within our society.
The use of a specific material, the motive as a cultural pre-existing model and the significance of it within the Native society capture many aspects of Postmodernism, however contrasting it with the embracing of spirituality and transcendence. The mythical figures that the Native artist use within their creations become witnesses of their spiritual meaning. Further, contra to the postmodernism, the art works themselves do not display a political message but gain social and political meaning when considered within the Western cultural tradition, thus, its massage gains voice within the social frame. But how does the artist position himself or herself towards the society? As Hole argues, postmodern art creates a dialogue between itself and the society. However, the artist becomes an objective observer rather than an artist within the social mainstream, transforming into a social critic or a "rebel". Hole continues on the path of the nature of the artists arguing that the notion of the artist as a rebel is originated in the period of Romanticism when the artist has isolated himself or herself from the society in their quest to find the perfect beauty. Hence, this notion has been carried further in the contemporary time of Postmodernism, "to remain true to their aesthetic vision, artists must consciously separate themselves from the society to become impassive, stoical, detached observers" ( Holt 87). This is a strong contrast to the native artist who is the carrier of the generational creativity creating art as a cultural heritage. During the exhibition it was interesting to learnt that the Haida language does not have a specific word for art since it is integrated within the rituals and ceremonies becoming part of their daily life. Consequently, the artist is not the "objective observer" but transforms the interconnectedness with his culture and his people into the work of art which in a way becomes the artistic mirror of the reflection and perception of his Native culture. The nature of the artist as carrier of the cultural heritage has been displayed during the exhibition. The contemporary works of art has been situated beside the previous art works from the nineteenth century emphasizing the continuation of generational spirit within the culture of First Nations, here the Haida culture. The story, that those objects tell are unmistakably connected within the chain of the generation becoming the motivation for developing Native art. The aspect of generational interconnectedness has its counterparts in the trend of Postmodernism. Hole provides the reader with further characteristics of postmodernism such as the fact that the artist is not the creator of an original work but arranges his work within the preexisting images. The work gains its own dynamic in term of reaching beyond the aesthetic representation of the environment. Instead the artist uses the previous models to modify the work of art adding or removing fragments in accordance of the message he or she is apt to transmit. The seemingly parallel notions of the artist as a re-creator of the pre-existing art, the inter-generational re-creation of the Native artist varies from the postmodern artist in terms of its cultural background. Native art gains a new voice within our society and within the postmodern frame of contemporary art, it becomes the reflecting and absorbing lens of the artist and the viewer. The way, Native Artists shape their culture turns into a socio-cultural dialogue within our society.
But, what stories do they tell and what is the basis for this dialogue? Hole argues, that art as "primarily a form of political rhetoric is unique to Postmodernism" (Hole 88). Looking at the art within the Postmodernism, it is obvious that art reflects the social, political and cultural transformations of a given society. However, not only the message is important that the artist tries to convey but also the way we interpret his or her works. Consequently, the nature of art's meaning changes within different social and political periods as well as within the various cultures. Art can become a symbol for a given culture. So is the artistic interpretation of the Native art focused on the development of the formline within the work itself. The way the artist creates the formline illuminates his or her own cultural background and connection to a specific Native culture. The political message gains here a new perspective echoing the heritage of a nation. In contrast, the viewer, being an outsider to the given culture shapes his or her own interpretations according to the knowledge of this culture and to the individual background. Thus, whether art is considered as an instructive medium or it just focuses on the aesthetic of its form as "art for art's sake" depends not only on the artist but also on the perceiver of the art, the audience. The stories that the artist creates within his work gains a new shape in the mind of the observer. For instance, most of the Native art works display its connection with the nature. The forms reflect the nature in its beauty and complexity. As in the Renaissance, artists believed that art should be the perfect mirror of nature, the Native artists not only use nature as the source for their work but also try to convey a meaning in the art forms by creating new structures and artistic rules which shape the nature from their own perspective. Native art, thus tells a story of a nature from its on cultural perspective shaping the socio-cultural dialogue. The postmodernist notion of an artist modifies in a way the definition of the artist as a storyteller. In contrast to the Modernist descroption of art as "art for art's sake" that apoliticises art reducing it to the interpretation of the formalism and the pure aestheticism, Postmodernist art tells its own story, the story of its culture in an creative way involving itself in the social, political and cultural developments and transformations of the society. Considering Native art within this background, it the modern perception of Aboriginal art re-opens the doors towards a culture that became silent during the centuries of colonialization. Indigenous art not only tells individual stories but also displays art claiming its own cultural heritage back reshaping at the same time the artistic face of the culture. The political rhetoric emerges here from the juxtaposition of the Native art to the Western postmodern art as a rebirth of a socio-cultural heritage. Further, the dialogue becomes a storytelling. While Postmodernism rejects the values of art as seen during the Modernism period, in the Native art reflects the modernist focus on the aestheticism in art as well as the quest for the perfect form as an expression of nature and fuses with the postmodernist definition of art as a medium for moral and instructive domain. While the beauty of the Native works, such as it is displayed in the artistic mastery in weavery, carpentry and sculpturing, creating figures like the Totem poles, masks or other objects, becomes eminent to every viewer, the objects need to be considered within the frame of its cultural stories and social context of the Native culture.
The contrasts and similarities between the Native art and the postmodernist notion of the nature of art display a dynamic interaction between the various perceptions within a given culture.The Native art enters the artistic stage as a witness of a culture, telling a story of an individual and social interconnection between the artist and his or her work. Being a subjective observer of his/her culture, the Aboriginal artist displays art under the light of a "political rhetoric" becoming a story of the cultural history and its heritage. As for the audience, to perceive the transmitted message, it is important to develop our understanding of the given culture reaching beyond the borders of artistic exhibition and objective interpretations of art. Only the ability of re-capturing the story in its true form justifies the artist as a storyteller giving him space for the creative expression of his imagination.
Works cited
Holt, David K.. "Postmodernism: Anomaly in Art-Critical Theory." Journal of Aesthetic Education. (Spring 1995) 29. pp. 85-93.
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