Postmodernism ...

12th Oct 2011

It was a long time ago, but on that lecture/seminar we discussed about Postmodernism.

As a contrast of what modernism represents, the exhaustion, feeling of pluralism, the pessimism in society and the disillusionment with the idea of absolute knowledge were the main subjects in a postmodern mind.

Having its origin in the early 1917 with the german writer Rudolph Pannwitz when he made a reference of the "an-normal, post modern man".

From there, the term of 'postmodern' was used to represent the after modernity, contra modernism, 'late capitalism', artistic and stylistic eclecticism or the 'global village' idea of Globalisation.

After the end of Modernism (15 of July at 3:32pm, to be more precise, when the Demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe project took place - according to Charles Jencks), people started to develop an attitude as a reaction to modernism rules, and basically ended up having the no rules as the only rule (paradoxical...)

At some point it was celebrating what might otherwise be termed as Kitch and it also became against totalising the belief systems (metanarratives) such as religion as people developed a condition of incredulity.

Image of the fifth element showing the 'speed' of society and the unadaptable character to the environment.

As for art, the aesthetics became chaotic, and the complexity increased along with the mixing of materials and styles. Pin-up style and the re-using images as part of a parody became a common way of artistic expression.

This relationship between the city landscape and the artist was reflected in a crisis in confidence but that at the same time started to evoke ideas of freedom, of new possibilities and more important, to question old limitations.

Even though it's is a very vague term, it's clear that it caused a multiplicity of styles and approaches that still have effect in the aesthetics from now a days. Examples of it can be found in some animations like Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo (1988) or the film 'the 5th element' by Luc Besson (1997) where even when they express futuristic ideas, they keep having that idea of a Dystopian society where the image of police states or cities where technology has progressed far more rapidly than humanity's spiritual evolution and the government (or control source) has unlimited power over the citizens.

Notes!: