Two Paintings of Shoes

If being post modern means a disjunctive ironic and or reflexive artistic work produced after 1945 then Norman Rockwell’s Diamond Dust Shoes, certainly fits the bill, but Van Gogh’s painting of peasant shoes I feel could also be argued as post modern even though it wasn’t made after 1945. Through out the chapter the question was raised was reactionary or progressive. The answer I think is a little of both. When people react to a specific artistic work in a certain way then it progresses the artist to try something that will get a stronger response. That’s why I think that the book said that it may be that only a few people get the joke. It’s because in order to get a strong response, the artist had to tap into stronger ideals and those who did not “get the joke” would learn about it from those who did. That’s why the artist would tap into ironic ideas about disjunctive subjects. They seek to expand the minds of those who view it and when people are discussing these ideas, they are no doubt talking about their work and the progression of art continues. Going back to the Van Gogh painting, these are the shoes of a hardworking person, who despite their hard work can’t afford new shoes? Perhaps Van Gogh is calling for reform? Nonetheless, a discourse could arise from it, just as it could from Rockwell’s and seemingly disjunctive ideas could fit into the same conversation.