In the mid- to late 1970s, some in the artist world theorized that modernism was finished. It had achieved all its goals, and had now become the very thing it had fought against, namely the academy. In a way, it was true. But what type of movement could be created to fight this new academy? Some proposed the concept of “post-modernism.” In the late 1970s, this new movement ushered in all type of new artists, engaged in all types of strategies to make this new type of artwork. In effect, though, the term hardly meant anything, or was at best murky, and has, since the late 1990s, been applied to almost every conceivable type of art imaginable.
However, some very interesting artists came to the forefront during the late 1970s. One of the most talented, hard working and, at times, hard to figure out, was Jennifer Bartlett, who is the focus of History of the Universe: Works 1970-2011, a show at the Parrish Art Museum, in Long Island, through July 13.
In the mid-1970s, she produced a large work called Rhapsody, a painting on 987 gridded, enameled steel plates, which was so inventive, and influential because it, among other things, blurred the lines between abstraction and representation in startling and exciting ways. In fact, it’s one of the most intriguing examples of “art about art,” which was one of the key goals of post-modernism. Sadly, this work is not in the show, but related works are, such as Atlantic Ocean, a seascape of 224 steel plates, as well as other works that continue her investigations into the relationship between abstraction and representation as well as a whole host of other complex concepts, theories and ideas. For more on this show, check out the museum’s website, www.parrishart.org.
