Handout:
What
is Postmodernism?
J-F Lyotard: ‘The
Postmodern Condition’ 1979 (Trans. Manchester 1984)
‘incredulity towards metanarratives’ p.xxiii
· Fragmentation, loss of belief,
confusion regarding legitimation – especially criteria of judgement.
QUOTE 1
Robert Venturi:
‘Complexity and Contradiction in Modern Architecture’ 1962 (published 1966)
‘I like elements which are hybrid rather than ‘pure’,
compromising rather than ‘clean’, distorted rather than ‘straight-forward’,
ambiguous rather than ‘articulated’, perverse as well as impersonal…’
from
Jencks, C & Kropf, K (1997 Ed) Theories and Manifestoes of Contemporary
architecture, Chichester UK
· 1972 Learning from Las Vegas: Robert Venturi, Denise
Scott-Brown & Steven Izenour
· In 1977 book ‘The language of Post-Modern Architecture’
Charles Jencks ironically states that ‘Modern Architecture died in St. Louis,
Missouri on July 15, 1972 at 3.32pm’ when the Pruit-Igoe housing development
was blown up.
QUOTE 2
‘Generally post-modern artists like to mix the
highbrow and the populist, the alienating and the accessible, and to ‘sample’
elements from different styles and eras….
..now you can reinvent yourself endlessly, gaily pick
‘n’ mixing your way through the gaudy fragmnets of a shattered culture’.
Simon
Reynolds – The Guardian 1990
QUOTE 3 Lyotard
(1982)
1) ‘This
is a period of slackening – I refer to the colour of the times. From every direction we are being urged to
put an end to experimentation, in the arts and elsewhere.’
2) ‘…..I
have read that under the name of Postmodernism, architects are getting rid of
the Bauhaus project, throwing out the baby of experimentation with the
bathwater of functionalism.’
Lyotard, J-F (1984) What is
Postmodernism? Appendix to English translation of ‘The postmodern Condition’, Manchester. pp
71-82 Reprinted in Harrison & Wood (1992) (eds) op cit. pp 1008 – 1015
Artists / Designers
mentioned
Robert Rauschenberg / Robert Venturi / Frank Gehry
& Claus Oldenberg / Andy Warhol
Ettore Sottsass and Memphis – Masanori Umeda, / Ron
Arad / David Carson / Peter Blake / Roy Lichtenstein / Adbusters / Jenny
Holzer.
Further Reading
Heartney, E, Postmodernism, Tate; Appagnanesi,R, Introducing
Postmodernism , Icon
Conor, S, Postmodern Culture, Blackwells; Woods,T, Beginning Postmodernism, Manchester; Foster,H (ed) Postmodern Culture (for
theory)…plus many others in section 306
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