Context of Practise - Postmodernism

Some people believe that the post modern age does not exist

Modernism is associated with

                - experimentation

                - innovation

                - individualism

                - progress

                - purity

             - seriousness

Post modern condition associated with

                - exhaustion

                - pluralism

                - pessimism

                - disillusionment with the idea of absolute knowledge

Note – Modernism and post modernism may overlap

                Modernism

                                - expression of modern life/ culture/ technology

                Post modernism

                        - reaction to modern life/culture/ technology

Origin of postmodernism

1917 – German writer, Rudolph Pannwitz spoke of ‘nihilistic, amoral, postmodern men’

1960’s – beginning of postmodernism

1970’s – postmodernism is established as a term

1980’s/1990’s – dominant theoretical discourse

today - postmodernism is worn out

Uses of the term postmodernism

- after modernism

- Historical era following modernism

- contra modernism

- equivalent to ‘late capitalism’

- artistic/ stylistic eclecticism

- 'global village', a globalisation of all cultures

Charles Jencks – ‘modernism died at 3.32pm on 5^th of July 1972

Date of the demolition of the Pruitt, Igoe development, St Louis

Demolition of the Pruitt revealed failure of modernism and modernist projects

Modernism reduces human aspect

'utopia' a 'world city', where each city is identical

Postmodernism

- Questions everything

- reaction to modernism rules

- only rule is that there are  no rules

- celebrate what is known as ‘Kitsch’

- starts as a critique of international style

- critique began with architects

Modernist buildings are perfect on paper however unrealistic in reality

e.g. run down flats Park Hill, Sheffield

                                                             

J-F Lyotard

                - ‘the postmodern condition’ 1979

                - ‘incredulity towards meta narratives’

                                - meta narratives – totalising belief systems

             - the result is a crisis in confidence

Instead of modernist ideals we have postmodern aesthetics

                -complexity, chaos

                -high art/ low art divide is beginning to crumble

Robert Venturi – ‘Las Vegas is a postmodern city’ 1972

Modern city – utopia

postmodern city - dystopia

1950’s – pinnacle of modern painting/ formalism

1984 – new depthlessness

advertising is the greatest art form

postmodernism is cynical