The Postmodern Scarecrow | When Fashion Meets the Farm
Well, I chanced upon this lovely scarecrow during our birding adventures deep into the pastoral countryside this week.
We’ve always known the scarecrow as an indispensable symbol of agrarian life!
I remember those days past, back during our childhood days, especially while visiting our grandma’s house – be it by train or by bus – we used to watch these scarecrows that don almost every other paddy field, with such awe!
I’ve always visualised them as a sack stuffed with straw, in a man’s clothing, with a ‘pot’ standing for its head!
However, this particular sight fascinated me lots!
I could see a perceptible shift in the way the scare-crows have evolved over the years!
From making the scare-crows as a routine for crop protection, they have now become art!
The art of crop protection!
Yes! to me personally, this is a lovely example of postmodern art, that doubles up as a fascinating reflection of globalism and consumerism.
Which means, this postmodern scarecrow is subtly making a postmodern statement! 😊
But how-o-how!?
Here goes -
The first thing that struck me was the erasure of identity. Usually, the good ol’ traditional scarecrows were designed with the figure of a human face, usually in a threatening or scaring manner, just to ‘scare’ the hell out of the crows and the birds!
However, this modern “sentinel”, is ‘faceless’ and ‘placeless’ as well!
On an aside, facelessness and placelessness are important features of postmodernism, that seek to explain how capitalism, globalisation, and rapid industrialisation and technological shifts have fundamentally altered how we experience physical space and our own individual identities. (Remember Auden’s ‘The Unknown Citizen’?) 😊
The second thing that struck me about this scarecrow, is the beautiful ‘Strauss’ian or ‘Derridean’ concept of bricolage! The rustic shirt has been entirely replaced by modern streetwear. The scarecrow also sports an athletic tee captioned with consumerist catchwords like “MOTOR SPORT” and “TURBO CHARGED HYBRID.”
A postmodern pastiche of sorts, that beautifully blends high-octane urban bike-culture with quiet rural agriculture.
A scare crow doubles up as a remarkable piece of pop art! 😊
#intothewildwithrufus
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