The postmodern simulacrum - a critique of the work of Allen Weiss and Barbara Kruger

Abstract

To effect the change from an active 60s/70s style political dialogue to a user-friendly dialogue of-and-for the people, postmodern language use enters the sublime arena of virtual reality, wherein 'fictions' are created by those who 'know better': and fictions/truths become synonymous in a psychoanalytic world of uncertainty and doubt. This is highlighted in the critical essay "Lucid intervals: postmodernism and photography" (1990) by Allen Weiss, in which he also discusses the work of the artist Barbara Kruger. In his essay Weiss shows the transference, from theory to practice, of this new basis of knowledge in the epistemological shift. The new epistemology allows a subject to be seemingly 'destroyed' in favour of an object (but this only means an attempt is made to change the subject into an object, it does not mean the subject disappears). The object itself is then changed to a copy of the real, and in this false 'mirror image' no subject (so it would seem) can be found to refer [to] or to relate to - a psychological shift in perception that isolates anyone viewing these images from normal interrelational contact re:social communication and cultural values as guidelines. 'Visual words' in art are not in themselves indicative of reality; they can, however, change our perception of reality. Because virtual reality may be persuasive in this irrational way - because there still remains a very strong link between object and subject as far as information-in-the-world is concerned - the simulated object (in its operation as a hidden subject) can relate back to the 'normal' primacy of the subject over object relation, and psychologically this is accepted as the domination of the one over the other. Because we do not consciously think of this relation of primacy as domination, in the political and ideological sense, we may mistake[nly interpret] the transformation process that takes place in the visual persuasiveness of Kruger's work. This transformation or shift in the epistemology of postmodernism re-interprets language as a communication system that facilitates a reading of the 'new social reality': the control of information and knowledge disguised as the postmodern call to freedom.

Om die aktiewe sestiger/sewentiger politieke dialoogstyl na 'n gebruikersvriendelike van-en-vir die mense dialoog te verander, betree postmoderne taalgebruik die verhewe arena van skyn-realiteit waarin 'fiksies' geskep word deur die wat 'beter weet': en fiksies/waarhede word sinonieme in 'n psigo-analitiese wereld van onsekerheid en twyfel. Dit word beklemtoon in die kritiese essay "Lucid intervals: postmodernism and photography" (1990), deur Allen S. Weiss, waarin hy die werk van die kunstenaar Barbara Kruger bespreek. In sy essay weerspieel Weiss die verplasing, van die teorie na die praktyk, van hierdie nuwe kennisbasis in die epistemologiese verskuiwing. Die onderwerp word oeskynlik ten gunste van die voorwerp 'vernietig' (maar dit beteken slegs dat die onderwerp verander word na 'n voorwerp), en die voorwerp self word verander na 'n kopie van die werklikheid. ln hierdie vals spieelbeeld is daar geen onderwerp waarna verwys kan word of wat verstaan kan word nie - 'n sielkundige verskuiwing in waarneming, wat enigeen wat hierdie beelde sien van normale interrelasionele kontak isoleer met betrekking tot sosiale kommunikasie en kulturele waardes as riglyne. 'Visuele woorde' in kuns is nie op sigself bewyse van realiteit nie, maar hulle kan ons waarneming van realiteit verander. Omdat skyn-realiteit op hierdie irrasionele wyse oortuigend kan wees - daar is nog steeds 'n sterk skakel tussen onderwerp en voorwerp insoverre dit inligting-in-die-wereld betref - kan die gesimuleerde voorwerp (as versteekte voorwerp) terugverwys na die 'normale' voorrang-verwantskap wat die onderwerp oor die voorwerp het en sielkundig word dit aanvaar as die dominasie van die een oor die ander. Omdat ons nie bewustelik aan hierdie voorrangverwantskap as dominasie, in die politieke en ideologiese sin, dink nie, kan ons die transformasieproses, wat in die visuele oortuigingskrag van Kruger se werk plaasvind, verkeerd interpreteer. Hierdie transformasie, of epistemologiese verskuiwing van postmodernisme, herinterpreteer taal as 'n kommunikasiesisteem wat die bewuswording van die 'nuwe sosiale realiteit' vergemaklik: die beheer van inligting en kennis verbloem as die postmoderne uitroep na vryheid.