Post Modernism and Appropriation: Part 1; Post-Production

http://www.sternberg-press.com/index.php?pageId=1139&bookId=39&l=en

Post-Production is a contemporary media output that is becoming more and more popular within art and design. The stylistic approach is about taking already existing imagery, art, or or data and moving it around and editing it in a way that is unique. It is a form of digital media that contrasts with it's more vintage analogue and print forms. This digital artwork can then be viewed, distributed and modified further which is in turn another process of post-productive measures. 

Nicholas Bourriaud wrote a book in 2002 named "Post Production". The French writer discusses how, since the early nineties, an ever increasing number of artworks have been created on the basis of preexisting works. In his own perspective, the artist takes a piece of work into new and fresh contexts - often taking objects and ideas and representing them as their own work. This, as designers is the norm when creating new work; we ultimately love stealing ideas and editing them to fit a theme, project or brief and are often encouraged to this through contextual research all through school, college and even university. In the book Bourriaud describes this method of working as "Paths through culture," which I thought was the perfect way to describe it; it's up to us as creatives to always figure out a walkway into culture otherwise our work won't establish any form of resonance with the viewer. "Hybridised Art Forms" and "New media technologies" were two other phrases I thought were specifically interesting when describing the use of taking data and making it fresh and current. 

Examples of this are not only just the obvious; Underground clubs and alternative store fronts are modified examples that will ultimately have a different and more diverse effect on the person utilising it. 

The Medium is the Massage book, which I have talked about previously, is a perfect example of this idea of post production. The book, which is an interpretation of a manifesto about design, is curated in a unique and creative way, taking literal messages and turing them into a visual representation. Creating a book like this ultimately makes the ideas and themes within the script more accessible to a larger cultural audience. The design within the book, such as the mirrored font and the inventive imagery provided, is a different way of presenting the same information told. This abstract and very ambiguous way of designing the page layout and content obscures the actual message (massage). 

http://archiveofnothingness.tumblr.com

The Archive of Nothingness is also another great example of how taking images and meaning and placing them together can be another method within post production. Created by Dr. Anna Powell and Paul Heys, the Archive of Nothingness is a Tumblr Blog by which the images that flash up and link side to side are completely random and have nothing to do with each other. Naturally and Subconsciously, the brain tries to find links between the two images. Although very unpredictable, there is no clear end of process within this and the experimental nature offers a unique twist on the post production theme. I am very intrigued with this piece of work and am fascinated again with how it will be edited and manipulated further now it has been distributed out to the public. I am also very fascinated that the viewer can pick up from it what it wants and how each person's interpretation will definitely be different. I was ultimately fascinated with this blog; scrolling for a long time trying to make connections to the pictures that weren't really ever there to start with. I think the concept and imagery used is great! Ultimately, the Tumblr Interface works as a big Post-Production output; the internet is the world's biggest conversation and creating a blog that is dedicated to produce absolutely random and yet perfect responses in the sense that anyone and everyone can take something from it, truly is unique. I also love how the blog is limitless, the conversation is never-ending, and the reaction is unique between everyone. 


A designer is always looking for the perfect post-production response and I believe that the examples shown in this lecture are perfect in explaining how post modernism and appropriation within post-production really can be endless. 

I was very fascinated with the Post-Production Book response so after the lecture I went away and researched into Bourriaud and his opinion upon artists who deal within a post-production response. As part of post-modernism he talks a lot about "Relational Aesthetics". 

Relational Aesthetics, as found on the Tate's website (http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/r/relational-aesthetics) under 'terms within art and design', they explain how Relational Aesthetics is the use of making art based on, or inspired by, human relations and their social context. This idea of creating art based on the way in which people interact, evolve, and deal with exhibition spaces is something that I am very familiar with within my studio project. Bourriaud also notes how psychologically people can become affected by art; the way in which we observe an exhibition and experience it in a sequence of events is, in a way, another post production response - we set up these exhibition spaces mainly in response to other gallery visits we have seen before (post production) yet each viewer and participant undertakes the Relational Aesthetic. 

Overall, this really inspired me and I will definitely be renting the book from the library to read into more detail about Bourriaud's thought process.