Duncum's 7 Principles

While reading this article, I was unavoidably reminded of Gude's Postmodern Principles, not only because she is sighted frequently by the author, but because the relationships between her concepts and Duncum's are very clear.  In my view, however, Duncum's 7 Principles primarily give us a guide for viewing, interpreting, and understanding art and visual culture.  In contrast, Gude's Postmodern Principles provide a little more in the way of guiding art making, in part, because I can see how several of her suggestions might be interpreted as something more like elements rather than principles. (Hybridization, Juxtaposition, Appropriation, and Layering, for example)  There are clearly strong relationships between many of the concepts presented by both authors, such as multimodality and hybridity, or recontextualization, interaction of text and image and intertextuality.  This dazzling interrelatedness is succinctly articulated by Gude when she says...

"In true postmodern fashion, these principles are often rhizomatic. They are not a set of discrete entities. The principles overlap and crisscross. The illustrations of professional art and student work that I have given often exemplify more than one principle. That is as it should be. Art examples and projects in school art curricula should not be reductive representations of theoretical principles, but art in all its messy complexity."

Duncum affirms this as he describes the relationships between his own principles, such as ideology and representation.  The two concepts are inseparable, really, because representation "refers to how ideology is presented in visual form".  It is at that very tangent that Duncum identifies a challenging sociological conundrum in the form of stereotypes.  While referring to the myriad of stereotypes presented in Disney cartoons which most of us have grown up with and taken for granted, he states, "Each of these stereotypes draws upon ideological constructions.  While serving a need to gain immediate recognition, each marginalizes because each denies complexity".  I wonder, how can the representations we produce, both with our students and in the visual culture of society at large, better include this necessary complexity?  It is especially challenging when we are attempting to create a singular 2-D work that is intentionally charged with meaning which we hope will be accessible to the viewer.  There is an awfully fine line between relying on shared understandings and false assumptions. 

Shortly after reading this article, I came across the images that I want to share with the class on Wednesday while I was perusing the Barnes and Noble bargain bin.  Although I would not consider these postmodern images, they can certainly be interpreted through the lens of each of the 7 Principles.  Yet, what I find even more interesting is to think about how those interpretations change over time, or depending upon who the viewer is.  They certainly caught my eye and I hope they will stimulate some rich discussion.