The problem with postmodernism . . .

The problem with post-modernism is that we no longer concern ourselves with the essence of things.  Study and reflection have become mind-numbing necropsy: we dissect the artifice exposing not the bones of the work, but rather the skeleton of the artist.  It is a kind of disappearing act in which the work—the thing itself—no longer exists in and of itself but exists only in relation to its creator. And, of course, the post-modern artist/creator intends it this way—in fact not only participates in the disappearing act but conjures the trick. To use a hackneyed phrase, the work no longer "stands on its own."

It is a strange irony that in the absence of god, we speak at length of "the creator" in our art, music and literature. While we have become experts at storytelling on film and the small screen, in art and literature we shun the story and long only to find/know the creator.


Morgan Meis at The Smart Set