(Research of Modernism and Postmodernism taken from My essay)
"Modernism
is more a way of thinking than a style. Modernists believed that the design of
an object should be based purely on its purpose - that 'form follows function." (1) This basically means that this
movement believes that the design should be based specifically on the intended
function and purpose. Influence of this movement began after the Word war 1
where the change was visible. The modernists were embracing concrete, glass and
steel within their design development to extinguish the difference between the
new and the old, rejecting styles of the other art movements e.g. the Victorian
and Nouveau art movements. Jonathan Glancey (Architecture Editor of the
Guardian) summarised that "Modernism was not simply a style: but more of an
attitude, a determination to break with the past and free the architect from
the stifling rules of convention and etiquette." (2)
However although Postmodernism rooted from
Modernism in the 20th century it contradicts the modernism movement, it's known
to be the most controversial movement in the design history. Postmodernism
created its own unique style "It brought a radical freedom to art and
design through gestures that were often funny, sometimes confrontational and
occasionally absurd." (3) It
broke many religious and social boundaries going against the idea of what was
seen as normal creating a form of free will into the design industry. "Postmodernism
went into high gear. What had begun as a radical fringe movement became the
dominant look of the ‘designer decade’. Vivid colour, theatricality and
exaggeration: everything was a style statement. Whether surfaces were glossy,
faked or deliberately distressed, they reflected the desire to combine
subversive statements with commercial appeal." (4)
Stating that Postmodernism was spreading vastly and escalated over time giving
society a newer more modern look than it already was, focusing on being
extremely different to what was seen as normal . Postmodernists dismiss the
idea of "natural reality, a reality whose existence and properties are logically independent
of human beings—of their minds, their societies, their social practices, or
their investigative techniques." (5) They
view this as a form of naive realism, they perceive reality as a "conceptual construct, an artifact of
scientific practice and language." (6)
Postmodernists also reject the idea of a objective natural reality which
descend from scientists and historians, they contradict their statements and
believe that there is no such thing as the truth. This art movement can be seen
as a form of destruction of the natural reality e.g. earth's natural landscape,
portraying itself as a deceptive illusion as it misleads the impression of
reality.
Modernism and postmodernism
in one perception is seen as movements that deconstruct, neglect and contradict
the idea of realism." Modernism is
associated with attempts to render human subjectivity in ways more real than
realism: to represent consciousness, tunnelling, defamiliarisation, rhythm,
irresolution". (7)
It forms its own 'new' ideas on Literature, architecture, art and society
breaking the old forms of realism.
Modernism and Postmodernism both can be seen as a form of
destruction of reality itself. Both
ideas are challenging not only within architecture but in arts, literature and
religion. They break boundaries and challenge existing beliefs and norms "Modernist novels destroy conventions by
reversing traditional norms, such as gender and racial roles, notable in F.
Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," for example. They also destroy
conventional forms of language by deliberately breaking rules of syntax and
structure." (13) Modernists are against of what was seen as reality and try to " 'make it new', to modify if not
overturn existing modes of representation" (14) they do this to basically form a new convention
breaking the original boundaries and rules set deconstructing the original
reality of literature. In addition to the deconstruction of the reality of
literature "Modernism is associated
with moves to break from the iambic pentameter as the basic unit of verse, to
introduce vers libre, symbolism and
other new forms of writing". (15)
To create a new form it is vital that the old form has to be destroyed or
deconstructed to some extent which the Modernists aimed for. They were trying
to reconstruct the main functions to literature introducing different ways to form
a innovative idea of normality, as their way of modifying and making literature
a new form than it already was. This therefore deconstructs the reality of
literature once again.
Along with literature Religion was also
challenged and deconstructed by Modernists as it is a constituted system which
"threatened to destroy not only the Catholic religion but all
religion: ‘Modernism leads to atheism and to the annihilation of all religion." (16) They attempted and also
succeeded to some point in destructing the reality of religion and God,
challenging the beliefs and creating their new form with the idea of no
religion (Atheism). They challenged the reality of religion by stating that it
doesn't even exist. In addition to this Modernism was successful in highly
influencing and in some form contaminating the mind of the people in power as
they were inspired by what modernism had to offer. The people in power "under the influences of religion, conservative forces in national
governments around the world have undermined and corrupted the ideals of
modernism, transforming notions of freedom, equality, human rights, and
democracy into self–serving excuses for invasion, subjugation, conversion, and
exploitation". (17) This can be seen as a
example of the message and it's effect Modernism sent out . As Modernism's
ideals were used immorally by the political forces to challenge the realism of
society. These effects are shown by the display of the selfish acts in
challenging the rights of a man by taking control, abusing authority unethically
gaining more power over country and its population. This therefore is a result
of the deconstruction of reality in society; as members of the society are
deprived of free will, forming new boundaries.
On the Other hand Modernism and Postmodernism movements have
made a mark in history they made and still at this very point have made a
immense impact on society, music, art, religion, Literature and architecture. This
is reality as they both have made many transformations within the western
community within the 19th and 20th Century. These transformations have formed
new theories and ideas "new ways of
looking at the world in art and design that have emerged from Modernism".
(18) This creating new
perspectives leading to the development of many industries. This is a advantage
that can be drawn from these movements. That it lead to the developing the
cityscape i.e. architecture (structure of buildings becoming more
modernised) to improve the aesthetic but
also stability and accessibility of the city around us becoming more beneficial
and more useful. It lead to the development of technology new artistic
approaches "that there needs to be a
clear understanding about the relationship between form and content,".
(19) It gave a insight into
meaning and relationships creating new methods of working and communication
i.e. form follows function of how the building architecture design is solely
based upon the function. These movements for that reason can be viewed as
reality as they enhanced that within the passage of time styles and movements
are revolutionised to become much more useful.
