Theorist Fredric Jameson would surely have some very interesting and thoughts about this image by Matt Groening. This image, imitates what is possibly the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa. The main difference between this image and that of the Mona Lisa, is that this image is a cartoon version, and resembles the characters from the television show, The Simpsons.Jameson would most likely see this image as a postmodern image. It is not a modernist piece because it is not simply a rejection of realism. It is a rejection of realism, but also a critique of it, and the way it is "simpson-ified" makes it based on popular culture, which makes it more postmodern. This image is an example of pastiche, where it mixes historical periods and ideas. The artist uses a very old famous piece of artwork, and cartoonifies it and brings it into the modern world. With postmodern works, many of the ideas and images are old, but they are just being reused in different ways. And that is exactly what is happening in this image. It plays on a very famous painting, and makes it unique. It removes the feeling that most people get when they look at the original mona lisa, and gives an entirely new meaning and feeling to the work.
In his essay, "Posmodernism or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism", Jameson states that it is essential to "grasp postmodernism not as a style but rather as a cultural dominant". He relies on the cultural power that a piece has, and that is exactly what is present in this image. Everything about this image is related to culture. And not a culture that is only available to certain groups of people. The Simpsons is a middle class American show. It's seen in households all over the country and the world.
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