A Modernist Magnolia Bud

Two weeks ago, or so, I spotted a settee sitting in the woodland bordering the quarry on the corner at the M1 roundabout. I'd been meaning to go and record it but was hopeful of some sunshine filtering through the trees. Even better when they're just putting out fresh new leaves.

Given that the theme this week for my alphabet challenge is postmodern, I resolved to wait until this morning as the photo has to be taken the week of the challenge.

Weak sunlight and shadows, I drove to the lay-by near the quarry having noted a path next to the fence. And then, there was a stile. Little bit of a tight fit getting my bulk through, but I was in. A path led away to the left.

I couldn't believe it, the settee had disappeared.There were all sorts of discarded items I could photograph instead, but I was disappointed about the settee 

The path led to a dip right by the motorway slip road. Enterprising youths, possibly  helped by their Dads, had constructed a daunting BMX track. Steep ramps had been built over mounds of soil protected by sheets of black plastic. I had spotted it in use from the van a few days earlier. I hope to goodness no one has an accident there. I couldn't see how paramedics could get in unless over the edge of the crash barrier on the slip road.

Why are photos of discarded items considered to be postmodern? I hardly know myself. I had to do some research on the definition. In that cause I have read a lot of gobbledygook. I suppose it isn't gobbledygook to those in the art world who speak the jargon.

Apparently art output of the first 70 years of the 20th century could be described as modern, exemplified by fresh, clean lines and a sense of optimism. Postmodernism took off from the 1960s as a reaction to Modernism. A sense of disillusion, the surreal. Thus, anything goes, expressed in film, performance, collage, literature etc

One web page I consulted yesterday on postmodern photography caught my attention. Postmodern photography is the photography of the banal, given that people expect works of art to be beautiful. So if Contemporary Photography is Postmodern, is Fine Art Modern?

If the subject is ordinary or boring, is the image still a work of art?  

You can see my 'postmodern' photo on Flickr. Thought you would probably much rather see a 'modern' photo of a magnolia bud here. Or is it postmodern?