Postmodernism
The word postmodern first appeared in print during 1870. Artist John Watkins Chapman used the phrase to describe a Postmodern style of painting that departed from French Impressionism. The Oxford English Dictionary cites its earliest usage as 1916, describing Gus Mager as one of the few post modern painters whose style is convincing. Episcopal priest J. M. Thompson wrote an article in 1914 about changes in attitudes and beliefs regarding religion. He stated that the raison d'être of Post-Modernism was to escape from the double-mindedness of modernism by being thorough in its criticism. Bernard Iddings Bell published Postmodernism and Other Essays in 1926 while serving as president of St. Stephen's College. This work marked the first use of the term to describe a historical period following modernity. Cultural historian Arnold J. Toynbee introduced postmodernity in an academic context during 1939. He claimed that our own Post-Modern Age had been inaugurated by the general war of 1914, 1918. Literary critic H. R. Hays described postmodernism as a new literary form in 1942. The arts saw the term first used in 1949 to describe dissatisfaction with the International Style architectural movement.
Jean-François Lyotard introduced the term postmodern into philosophical lexicon during 1979. His book The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge defined postmodern as incredulity towards metanarratives. Lyotard meant overarching narrative frameworks like those provided by Christianity, Hegel, or Marx. He argued that society is left with heterogeneous group-specific narratives without a universal perspective. Jacques Derrida developed deconstruction as a practice based on textual analysis showing inherent points of undecidability. Michel Foucault analyzed power relations across their historical permutations using a genealogical method. Jean Baudrillard argued that social production shifted from creating real objects to producing signs and symbols. This system constitutes hyperreality where signs become entirely self-referential. Fredric Jameson developed his conception of postmodern as the cultural logic of late capitalism. Richard Rorty advocated for neopragmatism focusing on imaginative alternatives rather than independently grounded truths. Jürgen Habermas criticized these thinkers for rejecting the subject and embracing experimental strategies. He asserted that their critiques ultimately lead to a longing for the very subject they seek to dismantle.
Charles Jencks connected the artistic avant-garde to social change in lectures beginning in the early 1970s. His essay The Rise of Post-Modern Architecture appeared in 1975. Jencks published The Language of Post-Modern Architecture in 1977 running to seven editions. He famously wrote that modern architecture died in St. Louis, Missouri on the 15th of July 1972 at 3:32 p.m. when slab blocks were given final coup de grâce by dynamite. Jencks termed double coding the combination of Modern techniques with traditional building to communicate with the public. Robert Venturi rejoined Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's slogan less is more by stating less is a bore. Michael Graves designed the Portland Building in 1982 considered the first built example of postmodern architecture in a tall building. Terry Farrell created the SIS Building in 1994 as a hulking postmodern fortress influenced by Mayan and Aztec temples. The building blended British intelligence service headquarters design with industrial modernist elements from the 1930s. Critics argued this approach brought joyous and sensual experience to culture compared to modernist austerity.
Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans series during the 1960s brought postmodern sensibility to mainstream attention. His work blurred lines between fine art and commercial design across multiple mediums. Pop art, conceptual art, feminist art, video art, minimalism, and neo-expressionism are recognized approaches within visual arts. John Cage, Madonna, and Talking Heads meet postmodern definitions in music. Jonathan Kramer wrote that avant-garde compositions defy rather than seduce listeners. Henryk Górecki and Philip Glass produced music with simple textures reacting against atonal academic modernism in the 1960s. David Byrne commented in 2011 that anything could be mixed and matched for inspiration. Media theorist Dick Hebdige examined Road to Nowhere music video in 1989 calling the group properly postmodernist. Claes Oldenburg opened The Store in New York's Lower East Side in 1961 selling brightly painted plaster replicas of hamburgers and soda cans. Judson Dance Theater operated in Greenwich Village during the 1960s and 1970s stripping dance of theatrical conventions. Anna Halprin established San Francisco Dancers' Workshop in the 1950s exploring beyond technical constraints.
The Science Wars began after Thomas Kuhn published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962. Physicist Alan Sokal submitted a deliberately nonsensical paper accepted by a postmodernist journal in 1996. French political philosophers Luc Ferry and Jean Baudrillard responded to interpretations of postmodernism inspiring this hoax. Critics alleged premises lead to nihilistic form of relativism making it term of abuse in popular culture. Postmodern feminism mixes theory with French feminism rejecting universal female subject. Clifford Geertz held that anthropological writings are themselves second and third order interpretations. Kenneth Gergen identified emphasis on individual mind as cornerstone of traditional modernist psychology in 2001. Psychology professor Edwin Gantt wrote in 2024 that psychology remains in state of continual struggle between humanities and STEM disciplines. Habermas argued critiques rely on concepts products of modern reason creating performative contradiction. Richard Rorty challenged notion of mind-independent reality arguing language is tool used to adapt to environment. The debate expanded into discussion about Western culture in general involving moral principles protecting society from authoritarian tendencies.
Steven Connor wrote in 2022 that postmodernism has undergone disappearance into our culture by way of assimilation. He noted clashing or commingling of styles became entirely routine at all levels of culture. The energizing antagonism between high and low culture pestled into tepid porridge according to his analysis. A 2020 study investigated transition from postmodernism to post-postmodernism comparing song lyrics from Madonna, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga. Five characteristics found in marketing literature were compared to their post-postmodern counterparts including anti-foundationalism to rewriting. Postmodernism remains vibrant re-inventive calling for its demise somewhat overblown according to the study. Raoul Eshelman coined performatism while Gilles Lipovetsky proposed hypermodernity as new theories describing culture aftermath. Nicolas Bourriaud developed altermodern and Alan Kirby introduced digimodernism formerly called pseudo-modernism in 2003. None gained very widespread acceptance despite range of theories put forth by small group of critics. The general postmodern condition now universal irreversible and metastable embodied above all in massive increase in digitally mediated information technologies. Fashion designer Rei Kawakubo created Spring/Summer 1997 collection featuring dresses asymmetrically padded with goose down creating bumps in unexpected areas.
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Common questions
When did the word postmodern first appear in print?
The word postmodern first appeared in print during 1870. Artist John Watkins Chapman used the phrase to describe a Postmodern style of painting that departed from French Impressionism.
Who introduced the term postmodern into philosophical lexicon during 1979?
Jean-François Lyotard introduced the term postmodern into philosophical lexicon during 1979. His book The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge defined postmodern as incredulity towards metanarratives.
Where and when did modern architecture die according to Charles Jencks?
Charles Jencks famously wrote that modern architecture died in St. Louis, Missouri on the 15th of July 1972 at 3:32 p.m. when slab blocks were given final coup de grâce by dynamite.
What is the definition of postmodernism provided by Jean-François Lyotard?
Jean-François Lyotard defined postmodern as incredulity towards metanarratives. He meant overarching narrative frameworks like those provided by Christianity, Hegel, or Marx.
When was the first built example of postmodern architecture in a tall building completed?
Michael Graves designed the Portland Building in 1982 considered the first built example of postmodern architecture in a tall building.