readings

SUMMER READING GROUP SESSIONS

 * WHAT:**

[|Harvey, David] //The Condition of Postmodernity// pp. vii-118 (preface--part 1: The passage from modernity to postmodernity in contemporary culture) Blackwell Publishing, 1990
 * Amazon:** [ [] ]


 * WHEN:**

- //Tuesday, July 14th// @ 6pm. [have read pp. vii-65] - //Tuesday, July 21th// @ 6pm. [have read pp. 66-118]

- **possible:** //Sunday, July 26th// @ 1pm [follow-up meeting if we need to read or discuss more]


 * WHERE:**

//Phoenix Coffee// 2287 Lee Rd. Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 216.932.8227 media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=2287+lee+road+cleveland&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&cid=0,0,5850101210542576850&ei=MTFFSpLJF4reMZSglbUC&ll=41.497328,-81.565171&spn=0.006295,0.006295&iwloc=A&output=embed" width="425" height="350"

--

__HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCES__ (posted October 18, 2007) //These readings are posted by Chris Mansour (others can add)//
 * For All Meetings**

__Internet References:__

1) Wikipedia on [|Modernism] and [|Modernity]. 2) Wikipedia on [|Postmodernism] and [|Postmodernity]. 3) Standford's Encyclopedia entry on [|Postmoderism.] 4) A random [|historical outline] I found online 5) Christopher L.C.E. Witcombe's historical layout of [|Modernism]. 6) T.R. Quigley's schematic layout, [|From Modernism to Postmodernism]. 7) [|The Po-Mo Page]. 8) Alan Kirby argues that Postmodernism is dead in [|Philsophy Now]

__Book References:__

1) Gombrich, E.H. __The Story of Art__, pp. 557-637. 2) Harrison, Charles & Wood, Paul. __Art in Theory 1900-2000__. 3) Foster, Hal. __The Anti-Aesthetic__.

__THE INFLUENCE OF MODERN CAPITALISM ON ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL PRACTICES__ (posted Jan. 16th, 2008) //These readings are selected by Chris Mansour//
 * For Meeting 6**: January 27, 2008

We can confidently say that cultural modernism would not exist if it weren’t for the rise of capitalism in Western society. The onset of capitalism brought a radical restructuring of social relations both culturally and in the work place. These two essays greatly analyze the ways in which the arts have reacted and re-formed in a capitalist society. Benjamin's //Work of Art...// published in 1936 argues that the rapid expansion and dissemination of (media) technology offers an abundance of new and different opportunities for modern art practices. Art now not only has many new mediums such as film and photography to experiment with, but since these mediums can be mechanically reproduced, they became available to the masses like never before. This has not only stylistically changed the arts, but it has also fundamentally shifted the ideology behind art production and reception. Film, for example, no longer requires the intimate relationship between the artist's hand or make an authentic original object. This creates a medium that is no longer tied to the belief that the art object is an original or authentic creation by the Artist. Furthermore, these art forms are now available for mass reception and simultaneous experience, unlike past art that only received a fraction of viewers when on display. Benjamin touches upon an array of topics in this essay, however in summary Benjamin claims that the introduction of mechanical reproduction has changed art's function being once made for ritualistic and spiritual purposes to functioning as a political device. The artworks' value becomes more based on its "exhibition value" rather than its "ritual value", meaning, that art's function is more about its role in our own human created culture (the market place for example) rather than functioning as a mystical object to worship (its divine powers). Bell however takes a more sociological approach in his forward from //The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism// (1979). Bell perceives the Modern period as dialectical; one hand, capitalist society demands the individual to conform to orthodox cultural standards (career oriented, devotion to enterprise, delayed gratification), yet on the other hand, modernist culture advocated for the individual to defy conventional cultural codes and go on a compulsive search to find one self. In turn, this contradiction created a society that was "straight by day and swingers at night." To view modern society as suffering a compulsive and two-faced personality is up for debate, but Bell makes a significant insight in the complex way (to put in Marx's terms) the base and superstructure interact with each other (however unevenly it may be).

[|Walter Benjamin] //The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction// from __Illuminations: Essays and Reflections__ Schocken, 1969 ISBN-10: 0805202412

[|Daniel Bell] //Modernism and Capitalism// (forward) from __The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism__ Basic Books, 1996 ISBN-10: 0465014992

__ART GENRES IN THE "EXPANDED FIELD": BRINGING TOGETHER THE DIVIDED AESTHETIC PRACTICES__ (posted Jan. 3rd, 2007) //These readings are selected by Chris Mansour//
 * For Meeting 5**: January 13, 2008

After reading a couple of Greenberg's essays, we have witnessed how the Modernist pursuit in defining art is generally conceived by its material form. In order to find a pure definition of art, the investigation must be focused towards bringing out the defining characteristics of the material used in each aesthetic discipline. For example, the painter must only work with the unique and individual qualities within the medium of painting (its flatness, quality of brushstrokes, etc.) to stay true to what is defined as a painting. By this criteria Greenberg considered "good" modern art to be works that make apparent its material qualities before anything else (contrary to the "old master's" that hailed artwork as "good" when creating an illusion of reality), and by doing this the essence of what painting is will illuminate. However, according to postmodern theory, achieving this task will put art in danger of being solely defined through its material qualities and nothing else; meaning arts' form now becomes its one and only content. As Hal Foster and other postmodernists argue, by following the Greenbergian model we are narrowing our focus and closing our minds to alternative viewpoints of what potentially defines art. In affect, the modernists create a totalizing representation of art and ignore the diverse amount of rich content that could be drawn from art's subject (think back to McEvilley 13 possibilities in finding meaning within artworks). For this coming reading group, we will see where the postmodernists' justification for their argument spawns from. Borrowing methods from the disciplines of Structuralism and Poststructualism in Literary Theory, Rosalind Krauss' //Sculpture in the Expanded Field// logically breaks down the fundamental argument in Greenberg's definition of art.

[|Rosalind Krauss] Scultpure in the Expanded Field from The __Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture__ edited by Hal Foster Bay Press, 1983 ISBN-10: 1565847423

Strutuarlism and Poststructuralism : Background Summary and Analysis

__AESTHETIC AND CONCEPTUAL PRACTICES OF MODERN AND POSTMODERN ART__ (posted Oct. 18th, 2007) //These readings are selected by Chris Mansour// //and Wes//.
 * For Meeting 4**: December 9, 2007

The decision has been to re-look into Hal Foster's //Repost:1982// and dive into Greenberg's //Modernist Painting// for the next meeting.

[|Clemet Greenberg] //Modernist Painting// from my teacher!

[|Hal Foster] //Repost: 1982// [On Postmodernism] from __Parachute 26__ Spring 1982, pp.11-15.

__A DEEPER INVESTIGATION: WHAT IS MEANT BY THE TERMS MODERN AND POSTMODERN?__ (posted Oct. 18th, 2007) //These readings are selected by Chris Mansour//.
 * For Meeting 3**: December 2, 2007

How has the onset of Modernity affected our cultural and social practices? In these two essays, this question is explored. Habermas' essay //Modernity: An Unfinished Project// is originally a transcript of a speech he gave in 1980 after accepting the Adorno Prize for his philosophical contributions. It is obvious that Habermas is discontent with the projects of Modernity; however he is not so quick to disregard the Enlightenment (which inspired many of the ideologies of Modernist culture). In his eyes, the practices in different culture spheres have become treated as //professionalized islands// that can only be handled by the qualified //experts// of their own particular field. The result is leading to a widening gap between culture and society, leaving the masses disconnected and ignorant from the majority of knowledge spawning from each of these particular cultural spheres. Believing that the Enlightenment doctrine still has emancipatory potential, Habermas blames the neoconservatives (which I believe also refers to postmodern theorists) for too quickly disregarding Enlightenment values instead of keeping this spirit alive with more of a critical approach. These demarcated cultural spheres must find a way in uniting in order to fully realize the potential of human knowledge. Yet, Lyotard questions the unity Habermas is asking for in //Answering the Question: What is Postmodernism?//. Believing the world is too complex for a true unity of culture to take place, Lyotard seems to accept and even promote cultrual fragmentation. Lyotard claims that with Modernity came the shattering of beliefs in metaphysical, political, and religious certainties. Modernity could not exist without the discovery of the //"lack of reality"// inherent in reality. We can in fact feel this great presence of unity and totality (this is what Habermas may be calling for), however we do not have the capacity in presenting or manifesting it. It then would seem an impossible project to universalize the diverse cultural spheres existing in the whole of society. This awareness of our inadequacy in achieving this desired totality of experience should be the focus of our artistic and cultural practices; our aim must present the fact that the unpresentable is always //present//. In doing this, we may not find the sublime, but we can certainly feel a (simulated?) presence of the sublime.

[|Jurgen Habermas] //Modernity: An Unfinished Project// from The __Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture__ edited by Hal Foster Bay Press, 1983 ISBN-10: 1565847423

[|Jean-Francois Lyotard] //Answering the Question: What is Postmodernism?// from __Postmodernism: A Reader__ edited by Thomas Docherty Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1993. ISBN: 0-231-08220-7

__WHAT IS MEANT BY THE TERMS MODERN AND POSTMODERN?__ (posted October 16th, 2007) //These readings are selected by Chris Mansour//.
 * For Meeting 2**: October 28, 2007

These readings are meant to act as good over-all summaries and analysis' of what these theorists mean coining the terms "Modernism" and "Postmodernism." In this I am trying to focus on these terms specifically in the arts and cultural spheres, but, as you may see in most of these readings (including the suggested readings) the topics can span from politics all the way to the natural sciences. Some of the authors I've chosen are quite recognized in their fields, others are just ordinary ol' college professors that has the knack of explaining these grand //isms//. Overall, there is a lot of information to take in. Not only are some of these essays jargon filled (although these essays attempt to define its jargon instead of taking it for granted like some of the readings we will witness in the future), but they are also citing so many different ideas and sources in order to summarize the Modern and Postmodern paradigms. Many of the issues and notions brought up are lightly written about, so I suggest that everyone write down terms and concepts that are confusing or intriguing, so in the future we can pick at these topics with greater depth. This will also help everyone find more readings and themes to contribute to later meetings. Overall, these essays will not be as theoretically taxing like the Adorno piece, but they will give you an overwhelming amount of material to think about. Enjoy!

//'When was Modernism?'// (abridged) from __Art in Theory 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas__ edited by Charles Harrison & Paul Wood Blackwell Publishing, 2003. ISBN-10: 0631227083 || [|Clement Greenberg] //Modernism and Postmodernism// essay written in 1960. from: http://www.sharecom.ca/greenberg/postmodernism.html
 * [|Raymond Williams]

[|GET READING HERE] || //Intorduction// from __Postmodernism (Movements in Modern Art)__ Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN-10: 0521004381 || [|Hal Foster] //Repost: 1982// [On Postmodernism] from __Parachute 26__ Spring 1982, pp.11-15. || //The Question of Postmodernism// from __Romanticism, Modernism, Postmodernism__ edited by Harry R. Garvin Bucknell University Press, 1980. ISBN-10: 0838750044 || [|Steven Connor] //Postmodernism in Architecture and the Visual Arts// from __Postmodern Culture__ Blackwell Publishing, 1989. ISBN-10: 0631162038
 * [|Elanor Heartney]
 * [|Ihab Hassan]
 * THIS READING HAD TO BE SPLIT INTO 2 FILES*** ||

__PREFACE READINGS__ (posted September 15th, 2007) //These readings are selected by Chris Mansour//.
 * For Meeting 1**: October 14, 2007

The reason why I selected these essays as the starting foundation for our group is to take a closer look into the way in which art and essay's are produced and consumed. The first essay, //"13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird//" by Thomas McEvilley investigates 13 different ways we can analyze artworks in the search for its meaning(s), or in McEvilley's terms, its //content//. The essay is quite enjoyable and a fairly easy read. The second essay however is very hard to wrap your head around. //The Essay as Form// by Theodor Adorno describes the general intentions of the author when he/she articulates their thoughts in the //form// of an essay. What does it mean when we express our thoughts through this medium, and how does using an essay-style mold and shape our understandings of the content it is expressing? These two essays will help us along our path in critically engaging with the readings and artworks we are exposed to in the future.

[|Thomas McEvilley] //"13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird"// from __Art and Discontent: Theory at the Millennium__ McPherson Publishing, 1993. ISBN-10: 0929701313

[|Theodor Adorno] //The Essay as Form// from __The New German Critique__, No. 32. pp. 151-171. Spring-Summer, 1984. [|JSTOR].