Theme of Dramatic expression

Dramatic expression theme

Find an example of dramatic expression theme in one of the Post-modern works below. Explain how you see this theme in the example you chose.

Robert Rauschenberg's Untitled and Canyon

In his untitled 1963 painting from the "Red Painting" series, Robert Rauschenberg uses a collage technique. He applies paint and other materials such as newspaper to a canvas to create a multilayered piece. He would later create more involved collages, which he called "combines." For these pieces, he would layer different materials, sometimes trash or other found objects on the painting. In his "Canyon," 1959, you can see layers of paint along with a stuffed bird.

Jeff Koons's Tulips and Rabbit

Jeff Koons's Tulips (top right of this page) located outside of the Guggenheim Bilbao and Rabbit, 1986 were sculpted in highly polished stainless steel. The media Koons uses makes his art look like machine-made consumer items, a common feature of Postmodern art.

Chuck Close's Mark

Chuck Close's Mark uses a laborious airbrushing process to create layers upon layers until the painting as a whole is complete. This process mimics professional printing processes in which one color is applied at a time. This attention to the process of creating establishes Close as a Postmodernist artist.

Duane Hanson's Tourists II

Duane Hanson created his Tourists II , 1988 in a hyperrealist* A form of painting or sculpture that resembles high-resolution photography.  style. He uses polyester resin, fiberglass, polychromed oil paint with clothes and other accessories to make his life-sized portraits look realistic, even up close. This attention to presenting reality and parodying tourists (he lives in South Florida) marks him as a Postmodern artist.

Betye Saar's Liberation of Aunt Jemima

Betye Saar, a collage artist who makes art out of "assemblages* A work of art made of grouping together found or seemingly unrelated objects. " of found objects, attacks cultural, racial, and gender stereotypes in her work. The Liberation of Aunt Jemima uses the image of Aunt Jemima, the namesake of a pancake mix, to make a statement about the portrayal of black womanhood. Her use of this commercial image along with the assemblage of different types of media to make a statement about how black women have been perceived makes this work Postmodern.

Claes Oldenburg's Giant Three-Way Plug (Cube Tap)

Claes Oldenburg is known for his sculptures of everyday objects at large scale. He also creates "soft" versions of everyday objects such as tubs or toilets. He became known for his "happenings" in which he presents conceptual art at a specific time and place in order to create an experience for his viewers. For example, in 1961, he rented a store in New York to show several sculptures designed to represent consumer goods.

Christo and Jean-Claude's The Gates

Christo and Jean-Claude's The Gates, an artwork placed in Central Park in New York for two weeks. Photograph by Morris Pearl (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Photograph by Berto Garcia (CC BY-SA 2.0).

The Gates was environmental art* Artworks and techniques that improve or comment on the relationship between humans and their environment.  placed in New York's Central Park for two weeks in February of 2005. The artists, Christo and Jean-Claude, made the gates of saffron-colored fabric, vinyl, and steel. The sculpture was reminiscent of a Japanese shrine in Kyoto that helps those walking through it meditate on their path. The translation of this concept to a New York path was designed to help Central Park visitors be more mindful of their use of the park.

Mariko Mori's Pure Land and Dream Temple

Mariko Mori uses technology to create images and sculptures designed to promote spiritual enlightenment. Her works generally show her dressed up as a Shinto god with a futuristic twist, as in Pure Land (1996). She creates elaborate backgrounds that emanate harmony and enlightenment through digital technology and photography. She also creates objects, such as in Dream Temple (1999), a shrine created from fabric, that are both futuristic and beautiful.

Mori says about her work: "I feel that technology has represented people's hope for improvement for much of this century...The imagery I create is sometimes taken to be very utopian. But what I am really trying to do is point out where technology should go in the future, which I think is to coexist with nature."1

The work of Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman blends performance art* Art that includes some element of live performance.  with set design and photography to create new identities for herself in her art. Like Mariko Mori, she fashions herself into the star of her work. But rather than creating images of enlightenment, Sherman creates images that exude emotion and function as an exploration of the stereotypes we recognize in society.

You can see this at play in the collection of images shown in an article profiling her work: "Cindy Sherman." Note how Sherman plays with social expectations for women around beauty, aging, and motherhood.

Chris Ofili's The Holy Virgin Mary