Mike of Modernity(or post?) _08_03- Jencks

I have been wading through the thick, mind-spiraling syntax of Barthes, Macherey and De Saussure, searching for a small textual morsel to inspire some grand epiphany in my understanding of the elastic nature of semiotics. Ferdinand De Saussure's concepts of the values of signifier/signified attempt to formalize a volatile and ever changing entity: language. I find myself nodding off in spite of his obvious genius. Macherey piques my interest with his concept of the need for a "true absence" or silence in art; yet still I am left uninspired. Barthes titillates with his “Text of Pleasure", yet still the keys are silent. It is not until Charles Jencks points out a key difference between the art and creation of the post-modern era, and that of the classical era. Classical creations seem to imply a "presumed cosmic harmony" of oneness and order; conversely the post-modern school seems to reflect the scientific theory that the Universe is "dynamic and evolving". It is his idea of a "presumed cosmic harmony" that I find fascinating. Much of the art produced in the post-modern era reflects a sense of chaos and disorder, whether it be Dali or Andy Warhol; Pink Floyd or The Beatles; Mapplethorpe or Pollack - its central theme seems to be of revolution and disruption of this "cosmic harmony". Paradoxically, the denizens of this post-modern society are constantly searching for some way to artificially balance this "disharmonious harmony". Some swallow a pill, others prefer surgery. Some escape into the potentially mind-numbing world of entertainment on TV and the Internet, barreling head first into the chaos and disorder, perhaps in an attempt to make sense of it. The search for meaning in the Universe, once the bailiwick of the Church, has become the territory of cyberspace, pharmaceuticals, and entertainment.