Simmons And Vaisman Essay, Research Paper

Novelty is defined and something that is new or unusual. Under this definition I think that both Laurie Simmons and Meyer Vaisman displayed much novelty in their work. They dipped into regions of art that no one had previously explored. From creating an entirely artificial universe to satirizing every type of person using stuffed turkeys as a means of doing this they both have created an original form of expression.

While Simmons does not deal with reality, Vaisman chooses to openly recognize reality and to poke fun at it. Though the idea of making a joke out of the genres we, as humans, fit ourselves into may not be a first, certainly Vaisman s choice of representation makes his art both original and unusual. His comedic approach to art is perhaps the most unique aspect of his work. Though he is not the first artist to incorporate a humorous air to art, his biting sense of humor was an unexpected move. In this way he made humor his own, original device. In fact, these attired turkeys resemble nothing so much as us: plump, graceless, and often narcissistic. They are stars in a riotous spoof on human personalities, (pg. 208, Weintraub). Surely dressing up turkeys to make us see our frivolous vanity can be counted as an innovative approach to inculcating the public through artistic expression.

Simmons brings us a new definition of artificiality as her contribution to novelty in her art. Artificial no longer implies phony, mock, abnormal. At the same time naturalism has lost its monopoly on such affirmative attributes as proper, genuine, and beneficial, (pg. 35, Weintraub). The very fact that Simmons uses only produced goods to create her art exemplifies the newness of her ideas. As we progress we lend ourselves more and more to technologically enhanced or created goods. Every plant she incorporates into her work came into being in factories . Even more, she goes a step further and displays her dioramas through photography; heightening the use of the ever-progressing world.

I would definitely say that, in regard to Simmons and Vaisman s work, the idea of novelty is alive and kicking. Also, simply because modernism was defined by the search for new ideas should not automatically lead to the assumption that postmodernism is void of the same quest. On the contrary, actually. There is potential for so many new ideas that there is no way art can already be at the point where there is no choice but to regress; repeat history. In light of that, I think that every successive idea from here will have some level of novelty for quite some time.