Postmodernism Memes

Image: "Untitled (It's a small world but not if you have to clean it)" by Barbara Kruger, 1990; Source: MOCA

When it comes to similarities within the art itself, it's hard to define the postmodernism movement.  However, the philosophy and themes behind the pieces of this movement can be linked together.  The postmodernism movement called into question the very definition of art.  Artists would mix together styles and genres, often using irony to bring life to old techniques or images.  One trend that occurred during this movement was appropriation art.  Artists would take objects or images that already existed and use them in their pieces with little change.  The image above is an example of this form of art.  Barbara Kruger created a photographic silkscreen of an cropped and enlarged version of an already existing photograph.  She then added the three red blocks of text over the silkscreen.

This form of art very closely reminds me of today's memes, where people take funny images or gifs and add text to them, often changing the context.  Today, memes are most commonly used as humor, but they can also provide commentary on real issues.  They are a quick way to spread an idea, or a laugh, over social media.  During the postmodernism movement, art was often used for the same purpose.  The intent of the author was no longer as important to the piece as the interpretation of the viewer.  Many artists used their work to provide social commentary through the civil rights and feminist movements that occurred during this period.  Kruger's piece above criticizes the traditional gender roles that restricted women, while also being kind of funny.  While it doesn't take nearly as much effort to create a meme today, the product is still very similar: a humorous social commentary.