Preview

Differences Between Modernism and Postmoderism Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1805 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Differences Between Modernism and Postmoderism Essay Example
What are the key differences between Modernism and Post Modernism?

The differences between Modernism and Post Modernism are vast; in fact Post Modernism was a direct reaction to the strict rules set by early modernist. In my essay I will discuss both movements and outline the main differences between both. Modernism was a cultural movement established in many areas like art, literature and architecture in the 20th century. The expression applies to a revolutionary group of designers who forged a new style, which was different from the previous Victorian Era. It is characterised in architecture with the use of minimal forms, absence of ornamentation and the use of new pure materials. Subsequently Post Modernism was a reaction to or rejection of modernism. The term was coined in 1949 with the dissatisfaction of modernism. Post modernist architecture is mostly recognised with the return of ornamentation, complexity of design and the combining of various historical styles. Modernism was a new architectural style that materialized in the decades after the First World War. Modernism was influenced by the Enlightenment and a social and political revolution; it was driven by the accessibility of new building technologies such as iron, concrete and glass, and progress in technologies and engineering. A reaction to the extravagant style of the Victorian era was also a contributing factor to modernism. Modernism is characterised by the removal of ornamental details, an emphasis on function and a simplification of form. It was established with the realistic use of modern materials, such as metal glass and concrete, and a rebellion against traditional or historical styles, while still using factory made parts. It was coined as the International Style in 1932 at the MOMA Exhibition. This International Exhibition of Modern Architecture identified the common trends in this approach to architecture and consolidating them together as one common “style”.

[pic]

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Modernism, in literature, is the basic concept of new methods through new reasoning. During the renaissance period of English history, the traditional values of Western civilization, which the Victorians had only begun to question, came to be questioned seriously by a number of new writers who saw society breaking down around them. The world was being looked at from a new perspective, mostly scientifically. Traditional literary forms were often discarded and new ones succeeded them as writers sought fresher ways of expressing what they took to be new kinds of experiences, or experience seen in new ways.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Modernism Question Paper

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “All religions are effective in attaining their own ends” would be best defined by: 
Answer…

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Architecture was the first style to push beyond modernist values and shift to post-modern values. Modern architecture followed a uniform style that appears in the de Stijl movement; which preferred order, horizontal/vertical lines, simplicity, sameness, universal form, and purism; meanwhile, the Bauhaus movement used industrial materials and simple geometric forms. The international style or what can be termed as present-day architecture followed the modernist values of architecture; simple geometric forms such as rectangular prisms or as people of today call them “Skyscrapers”. Those three phases incorporated geometric forms over and over, but nothing extreme like the post-modern architecture. Post-modern…

    • 978 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Inland Steel Building

    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Modernism is associated with an observance to structural innovation, logical use of new materials, methodical approach to the function of buildings and the rejection of ornamentation. The Inland Steel Building clearly demonstrated how American architecture had changed during those decades and attested to the influence of both the international style and the work of Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe and their basic principals of design. The Inland Steel Building was the first high-rise in the Chicago Loop after the construction hiatus created by The Great Depression and World War II. The elegant combination of steel and glass were innovative due to the mass amount of brick and stone structures currently in Chicago. This building created an idea that…

    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Modernist period was a manifestation of those who embraced the need for change and the discovery of the new. It seemed that ‘change’ became a constant in Modernism as those who took for modern advancment renounced traditional arts forms to persue a difference. However, it was not to eradicate traditional art forms but to re-establish the relationship between the traditional and the modern artist to suit the modern world. Early Modern artists realised that with the Industrial Revolution, the deemed representation and rules of accepted traditional art was too conservative and it was thought to be regressive. Countless wars in the early 19th century spurred the arts to take on a more expressive and romantic approach where realities and political turmoil of society were turned away from. It was believed that experimenting would lead to new ideals and views that would help redefine the boundaries that have constituted the many disciplines in Traditional art. More so, it was an onlook towards progress that was to transform with the modern world in all social, economic and political aspects.…

    • 1539 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Postmodernism is best understood by defining the modernist ethos it replaced - that of the avant-garde who were active from 1860s to the 1950s. The various artists in the modern period were driven by a radical and forward thinking approach, ideas of technological positivity, and grand narratives of Western domination and progress. The arrival of Neo-Dada and Pop art in post-war America marked the beginning of a reaction against this mindset that came to be known as postmodernism. The reaction took on multiple artistic forms for the next four decades, including Conceptual art, Minimalism, Video art, Performance art, and Installation art. These movements are diverse and disparate but connected by certain characteristics: ironical and playful…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Post Modernism Period

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Post Modernism period just came after the Modern period but it is not clear or impossible to be said when it came. In other words the modern Period was the time when the world was recovered from World War 2, which started globalization. The Post Modernism is a concept that arrived an era of academic study about in the mid-1980s. There is a variety of concepts, architecture, music, literature, fashion, art, film etc. In the 1980’s the political climate changed. During that time Post Modernism involves an important re – estimation of modern about culture, identify, history and the importance of classification language. It engages as black or white, straight or gay, male or female etc. The Post Modernism started with architecture. The Central…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Public opinion of architecture, among countless other industries, was that it had begun taking on a lifeless, utilitarian aesthetic. This machine-driven architecture lacked creativity. Yes, you can produce more, but is it at the expense of quality and design? The right-brain of society was feeling a lack of individuality. Sure, they could perceive the brains behind what was going on, but where was the heart of it all? Consequently the Arts and Crafts movement was born as a rebellion to the negative impact of industry.2 The red house, designed by Philip Morris Webb, is a quintessential representation of everything Arts and Craft stood for. Each aspect of the structure has various minute, unique details in order to emphasize the true craft. Every window is slightly different and a touch of gothic influence is apparent in the wall arches above the windows, as to suggest a memory of a more ornamented time. This movement was about bringing the theory and expression back into architectural design of space. Antonio Gaudi, a forerunner of the Arts and Craft era was equally inspired by the theories of Ruskin as he was by the music-dramas of…

    • 1121 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Art Deco Crossover

    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The twentieth century ushered in an eclectic, luxurious and modern style of design and decoration the world would define at the Paris 1925 exhibition as Art Deco. The material world was now an amalgamation of new technologies and processes and drew from many worldwide influences. However, the greatest influence of the movement was the new visual language, color and iconography of the avant-garde art world: Cubism, Fauvism, Futurism, De Stijl, Bauhaus and Constructivism to name a few. As Helen Appleton Red described the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes, "The Exposition marks the coming of age of a new decor...as inevitable…

    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    *Wilk, C. (2006) ʻWhat was Modernism?ʼ In Modernism: Designing a New World: 1914-1939. London: V&A.…

    • 1549 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Miss

    • 2070 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Inspired by early European avant-gardes2, the modernist movement3 affected many forms of arts and commerce. While modernism was expressed differently in each of these forms, the common thread was a rejection of traditional representations of the world. The focus was on form over content and style over subject matter. The modernist approach was enabled, in part, by advances in science and technology.…

    • 2070 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Violin Research Paper

    • 4522 Words
    • 19 Pages

    Post-modernism can be said to be a response to modernism, but it can also be viewed as a response to a deep-seated shift in societal attitude. According to this view, postmodernism began when historic (as opposed to personal) optimism turned to pessimism, at the latest by 1930 (Meyer 1994, 331).…

    • 4522 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This essay will briefly discuss the three major periods of American art and architecture design. The most popular and recognized periods are: Art Nouveau, Art Deco and 20th Century Modernism. I will point out major influences and give a timeline; this will cover a majority of the 20th century. It should be noted that these styles are not exclusive to American culture, but, are a part of Western culture as a whole.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Art Deco 2

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Art Deco, sometimes called “The International Style”, enjoyed its fame between the years of 1920 and 1939. It was said to be an elegant style of popular sophistication in architecture and applied arts which range from beautiful objects made from special material to mass produced, modernized items available to a middle class culture such as architecture, furniture, fashion, and graphics.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The ideas of modernism and post modernism are fundamentally different. Modernism is the belief that human beings can improve their environment, using scientific knowledge, technology and putting all of those things into practice. Modernism is prevalent in the field of arts. The concept of post modernism looks at the ideas behind modernism and questions whether they really exist. (wikipedia)…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays