Humanities and Postmodernism Essay Example for Free

Humanities and Postmodernism Essay In discerning a relationship between the Postmodern Portal and the Green Man, one finds a bridge that connects the past, present, and future. The lackluster color and repetitive patterns of the Green Man symbolizes antiquity or the times of yore. On the other hand, the vibrant and compound nature of the Postmodern Portal symbolizes how one, at present time, looks at the possibilities inherent in the future and prepares to face the challenges brought about by changes and transformations signaled by the shifting of time from present time to the future. The spotlight directed to the man in the Postmodern Portal seems to place the viewer within the context of the present. The walls and the arch symbolizes man’s entry to the future, while the archaic designs on the walls and the scattered stones on the ground represents how the present will soon be a past as man moves on to the future. The gesture of the man, holding a sword courageously illustrates how people in this generation are prepared to face the challenges and difficulties that come with change through the passage of time and the coming of the future. Moreover, this particular gesture seems to express how man has continually been able to conquer the present, which is significant in allowing him to face the future. Framing the relationship between the Postmodern Portal and the Green Man and developing a perceptive interpretation on the inherent symbols and illustrations embedded within these pieces of art are highly significant in understanding postmodernism, particularly reconstructive postmodernism. Reconstructive postmodernism has been described in the lecture as something that is fundamental to achieving a higher humanity. This is because this particular concept perceives that understanding human conditions, through significant interpretation of the past and the present, are highly significant in determining how the future would be like for man. Moreover, in knowing these things, man will be able to understand himself because of his knowledge of where he came from, where he is at present time, and where he is heading, leading him to achieve a sense of self that allows him to conquer the course of life and the past, present, and future of the human race. Indeed, achieving higher humanity does adhere to the principle upheld by the Northern Arizona University, that â€Å"to be educated is to become more human. † The plot perceived within the links connecting the Postmodern Portal and the Green Man places the past, the present, and the future side by side. This particular concept is inherent in the works of Robinson Jeffers. In one of Jeffers’ poem, â€Å"To the Stone-Cutters,† he sought to concede to the inescapable passage of time which would inevitably fragment the life of man into the past, the present, and the future. Moreover, in â€Å"Continent’s End,† Jeffers was able to convey the importance of remembering the past, especially how man came to be in this planet, in order for us to re-evaluate how we changed and are changing in order for us to reconstruct a much better future that is free from pride that abounds from self-righteousness and bitterness. The symbolisms of humanity in Remedios Varo’s works are more explicit, owing to how she was able to capture significant and discernible meanings through her artistry. Varo’s paintings, particularly in the â€Å"Discovery of a Mutant Geologist† and the â€Å"Creation of Birds† illustrate a fusion of the past, the present and the future. The pictorial landscape signifies the unpretentious nature of the past, the involved disposition of the present, and the avant-garde quality of the future. It may be observed how the setting chosen by Varo in the â€Å"Discovery of a Mutant Geologist† was a testing site for nuclear weapons before. The painting shows how the site looked like in the past but how we differently view at present time due to man’s perceptions of war, and how continuing human activities that are labeled as destructive reaching the level of how war is unconstructive will affect how man will change or metamorphose in the future. Varo’s paintings also link how the past, the present, and the future are interrelated, and that in seeking to understand these links or relationships, man will be able to view how he has acted to shape the course of events leading to the present and determine how he will be able to act with purpose and significance to lead a better future for the human race.