Modernism came from the wide-spread and large-scale changes to Western society in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was a revolt against the conservative values of realism. Modernism set out to progress from, recreate and improve on traditional forms of culture such as art, literature, religion, architecture, daily life and political conditions of a newly developed industrial world. The traditional forms were seen as outdated and modernism saw them now as obsolete. Religion was disregarded and enlightenment thinking was rejected. Self consciousness was a vital part of modernism. With consciousness, people were able to experiment and draw attention to the process and materials used - and to the further tendency of abstraction.
Before the term modernism was appointed, the term "avant garde" was used to label the arts. Surrealism became popular art form and was considered an extremist form of modernism.
Salvador Dali is an example of surrealist modernism.
Modernist architecture followed a "form follows function" theme meaning a building would be designed in the shape to suit its function. Simplicity and clarity was followed as any ornamental detail was deemed "uncecessary". Materials were set 90 degrees to each other and the physical structure of the building was to be displayed. The 'Truth of Materials' concept was also present, which meant that the true nature of a material was to be shown and not altered in any way to become different. Buildings were to be made of industrially-produced materials, as a way of adopting the machine aesthetic. Emphasis of horizontal and vertical lines was present in International Style Modernism.
An example of modernist architecture was the Crystal Palace which existed not too far from where I live. It was a modernist building because the structure of the building itself was clearly visible.
Postmodernism is movement away from the modernism viewpoint. It includes skeptical viewpoints of culture, literature, philosophy, economics and literary criticism. It's often associated with deconstruction and post structuralism as it gained popularity at the same time as post structuralist thought.
The term has been applied to movements mainly in art, literature and music which react against the tendencies present in modernism and are typically marked by the revival of historical elements and ways of working. It reacts against the assumed certainty of scientific and objective efforts to explain reality and says that reality is personal and relative, it's more than just the human understanding of reality. For this reason, post modernism is skeptical of supposed valid explanations for all groups, traditions, races etc.
Postmodern art tends to be associated with installation art, conceptual art, intermedia and multimedia. To be considered postmodern art, there are several characteristics which must be included: bricolage, the use of words prominently as the central artistic element, collage, simplification, appropriation, performance art, the recycling of past styles and themes in a modern-day context, as well as the break-up of the barrier between fine and high arts and low art and popular culture.
Duchamp is an example of a postmodern artist, whose work was a pre curser to conceptual art.
Postmodernist architecture began as an international style which was first cited as developing in the late 1950s but not becoming a movement until the 1970s. It continues to influence modern architecture. The functional and formal styles of modernist architecture was replaced with more diverse aestetic styles: styles collide, form is adopted for it's own sake and new ways of viewing familiar styles and space were discovered in large. There was a rediscovery of elements of traditional architecture which had been abandoned in modernism.
An early example is Michael graves' Portland building in Portland Oregon.
Personally I feel as though postmodernism illustrates a more realistic view of the World, with diversity and freedom to cross boundaries, a slight dystopia. Modernism tried to believe in a World full of good, a utopia, where everything is unrealistically perfect and tidy. Modernism is black and white, postmodernism is black, white and everything in between.
https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110425112032AAD90qq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_art
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodern_art
See deconstruction
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstruction
See post structuralism
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-structuralism
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