Post Postmodernism vs. Hyper-modernism

A continuation of what I wrote yesterday about art and postmodernism after reviewing my notes, I see that the people who write about art are different than those who DO art. The gallery is divorced from the artworld academy. Safe to say that academics don’t know anything about art and James Elkins tried to be the spokesman and set down the criteria of what the New Religious Movement (NRM) should look like. Essentially it meant that postmodern artists were supposed to exhibit second thoughts about religion and clearly were supposed to put down anyone who showed faith in Christianity. Supposedly Christians are not supposed to exist in the art world. However, what postmodernism has done has splintered the art world so much in its own self destructive path that it is not monolithic in its movement. Elkins has no power over what the artists are doing, thankfully.

On our way down to Kansas City for this conference about “Truth under Deconstruction” we stopped in Waterton, South Dakota. I love going to the Terry Redlin museum and seeing his art. Every time I see his paintings, I start tearing up. He shows a nostalgic view of America in the early 1900s with the warm glow of light from inside homes or from street lights or yard lights. It has the Rembrandt kind of darkness with the illumination glowing where the focus of attention should be. He shows deer, ducks, geese and is a real huntsman, loving nature. Some paintings he will show an American flag and perhaps because I have lived overseas so many years, I love seeing even a hint of it. Redlin loves not only nature and simple Rockwell kind of people but also he is patriotic. I’m glad that Redlin has not paid any attention to the NRM era of postmodernism. Redlin just retired last month, June 2007 and now his paintings will be worth much more. Many of the prints are already worth $500 to $1,000 right now, the originals are in the Terry Redlin museum to be viewed.

Some of the books that were mentioned in the seminars were the following: “Real Presences” by George Steiner and “After Theory” by Terry Eagleton and “Art Since 1900” by Rosalee Goldberg and others. I suppose hyper-modernism are the academicians who try to dictate what the artists are supposed to DO according to a certain dogma, however there are lone rangers like Terry Redlin who will have enduring art because he painted what he loved. Long live the free spirits!!!