Photography

Postmodern art questions the notion of authenticity and embraces 'hybridity’, blurring the lines between high art and popular culture. Postmodern photographers are particularly interested in the selective, constructed nature of the photograph.

Both Robyn Stacey and Cindy Sherman create elaborate tableaux that reveal the fictive qualities of photography, despite its apparent fidelity to the visible world. Sherman, for example, creates staged, mock film stills in which she photographs herself dressed and posed in the style of the femme fatale, the vindictive housewife or the lovelorn teenager, exposing the stereotypical representation of women in art and film and revealing how identity is actually fluid. Likewise, Yasumasa Morimura performs in his photographs as well-known historical or artistic personages. His careful restaging of famous images creates a new form of authenticity in parallel with the 'original’ work of art.

Tracey Moffatt creates complex series of pictures that are consciously artificial, borrowing from both high art and popular culture to tell epic stories. Moffatt has said that she is interested in creating reality not capturing it and her photographs explore the hybridity of personal identity. Jacky Redgate also photographs constructions, but in ways that create visual puzzles, emphasising the proliferating grids and multiple levels of art and experience in the contemporary world.

Anne Zahalka has been consistently investigating the border between real and fabrication throughout her career. She uses photography to examine the construction of gendered, racial and social types, exploiting the apparent truthfulness of the photograph to examine the simulated nature of contemporary pop culture. In photographs like Nicole Kidman 2007, where the subject is actually a wax work dummy, Zahalka emphasises the 'simulacrum’ or the difficulty of distinguishing between the real and the copy.

Construct an imaginary world to photograph, using play and make-believe to set the scene. Give the work a title that, along with the visual elements, conveys the meaning to the viewer.

How do postmodern photographers challenge the notion of the ‘original artwork’ or ‘artist as genius’? Discuss with reference to artists listed here.

What postmodern qualities resonate in the artworks listed here? How do they inform the viewer about identity?

Create your own body of work based on the theme of fictional realities. Consider the stereotypes that are part of your own contemporary culture and use these in your artwork.

Have postmodern photographers helped shape the way we interpret histories and mainstream values? Discuss.