Fall Samhain Moon
Can you hear that streeetcchhhing sound? It’s my 20th century, 2nd millennium mind trying to shoehorn in some new ideas. Not only the New York School poets, for whom Allison gave some appreciated homework help (locating the 5 spot and some info on O’Hara and Larry Rivers), but this afternoon I’ve finished the reading on Unbending Gender and another one on reflexivity*.
We’ve entered the realm in both these courses I most looked forward to, the section on post-modernism. I’ve never been able to get straight in my head what post-modernism is, or is supposed to be. I had the same trouble with dew point for a long time so I think there is hope.
Reflexivity is a key aspect of modern art as I now understand it and modern poetry, too. The poem and the art work both are works of art and commentaries (self-reflective) on the act of art-making. This is clear when painting turned away from realism and toward cubism and abstraction, collapsing perspective into 2-d, the act of painting itself commenting on the acts involved in producing the very painting in view.
A Pollock action painting is clearly 2-d, makes no attempt at 3-d perspective and the action of dripping the paint on is clearly evident. In commenting on this point Michael Roth, teacher of the Modern/Post Modern class, made an interesting comment, referencing someone else: The surface in these paintings, though bold, are fragile. I understood this immediately, though I don’t know whether I could explain it.
At some point along here I’m going to synthesize my understanding of post-modernism. To see if I can put it out there clearly. (that may not be very post-modern though)
*wiki Reflexivity refers to circular relationships between cause and effect. A reflexive relationship is bidirectional with both the cause and the effect affecting one another in a situation that does not render both functions causes and effects. In sociology, reflexivity therefore comes to mean an act of self-reference where examination or action “bends back on”, refers to, and affects the entity instigating the action or examination.
To this extent it commonly refers to the capacity of an agent to recognize forces of socialization and alter their place in the social structure. A low level of reflexivity would result in an individual shaped largely by their environment (or ‘society’). A high level of social reflexivity would be defined by an individual shaping their own norms, tastes, politics, desires, and so on. This is similar to the notion ofautonomy.
