Modernism/Postmodernism

Photographs are perhaps the most mysterious of all

the objects the make up and thicken, the environment

we recognize as modern (p4 Susan Sontag on Photography)

Modernism usually refers to an overarching aesthetic

movement that started just before the twentieth century approx.

1890. Empowered by an rejection of old victorian standard of

how art should be constructed. Applying to visual art, music,

literature and drama and fueled excuse the pun by the new

technology of the age such as internal combustion, telephones,

aluminum, and indeed cameras

Between 1910 to say 1930 the so called period of high Modernism,

intellectuals such as Marcel Proust, Virgina Woolf and James Joyce

helped to radically redefine what art, poetry and fiction could be .

james joyce

Joyce was quoted as saying "History is a nightmare from which we

are to awaken"

it is not possible to discuss Modernism without referring to the term

Modernity that refers to a group of philosophical, and ethical ideas

that provide the foundation for the aesthetic aspect of modernism.

If I am to paraphrase Marshall Berman in his book in All that is

solid melt to air.

Marshall Berman

"To be modern is to find ourself in an environment that promises us

adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves in the world"

quite paradoxically this new world this comes at the price of

destroy the same existing practices we already have and know,

in terms of beliefs and traditions, this principle cuts

across all borders from ethnicity, geography and class

to religion and ideology.

Understanding modernity is about creating order out of chaos

according to Frederic Jameson an American Literary Critic and

Marxist political theorist.

Frederic Jameson

I personally note that Post Modernism as before it with Modernism

was a code of practice, A way of doing things that challenged the

ideas that came before it. A intellectual renaissance if you will

"Modernism and post modernism are cultural formations which accompany

particular stages of capitalism"

to quote Frederic Jameson again

In understanding modernism it makes it easier to understand the

complicated set of ideas that form Post Modernism , as post

modernism as a concept covers a wide variety of disciplines

including art, music, film, fashion and technology to name a few.

This principle emerged within academia in the mid- 1980's.

Post modernism like modernism follows along the same theme

rejecting boundaries between high and low forms and art,

rejecting rigid genre distinctions, parody, irony and playfulness

Steve Conner in his book Postmodernist culture: an introduction

to theories of the contemporary states that" post modernism is a belief

that, when we experience life, we partially understand it and when

we try to understand life, we are no longer really experiencing it."

Post modernism is infinitely complex subject with many sub

constructs because of it broad application. However the most

simple definition was presented by

John Rajchman in Sylvia Harrison's book Pop art and the

origin of post-modernism.

John Rajchman

Post Mordernism is "A hybrid field of social theory,

literary criticism, cultural studies and philosophy"

With a smile I will recount a thought that occurred to me,

so if we have an intellectual renaissance every about 50 year

is the next movement coming or is it here??

Dreadiknight