What is Postmodernism?

Postmodernism Definition:

The prefix “post” means after. Postmodernism, simply means trying to overcome the problems that continue after modernism or that arise from modernism. Postmodernism, which started to be effective in the second half of the 20th century; it is a movement in which modernity is questioned in fields such as architecture, painting, philosophy and literature.

Although there are many different definitions for this concept in the literature (social, artistic, critical, etc.), there is no definite opinion that the circles have reached a consensus. This situation has given complex meanings to postmodernism and the concept has become ambiguous. According to our research, the simplest and most concise postmodernism definition; As expressed by Dilek Doltaş in her work “Postmodernism and Its Criticism, Discussions/Applications” in 2003:

Postmodernism: It is the most important method of criticism that questions the norms of Western modernism and its related enlightenment and humanism projects that serve the purpose of political power and interest, solves its mentality, sheds light on its contradictions, distorted and self-oriented norms and approaches, starting from the 1970s until today. (p.190)”

Dilek Doltaş, 2003

Note: You can read our article on Postmodern Architecture to learn about the reflections of postmodernism in architecture.

Before answering the question ‘What is postmodernism and what are its characteristics’, it is necessary to examine modernism, which is an idea and art movement that prevailed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Modernism is a movement developed on the concept of “modern”, which comes from the Latin word “modernus”, meaning new and current.

Note: We recommend you to read our article titled ‘What is Modernism‘ to learn more about Modernism.

When, Where and How did Postmodernism Movement Arise?

We first come across the word postmodernism in the 1940s, when the influence of modernism began to weaken. The postmodernism term, which started to be used in literary criticism in the 1950s with the Second World War, has become even more popular with its effect on the architectural works of the 1960s. However, its transition to literature was when British historian Arnold Joseph Toynbee used the word postmodernism in his work in 1974. Arnold Joseph Toynbee describes the post-World War II era of the West as “postmodern”.

Postmodernism has generally been shaped against the problems that have emerged with the evolution of modernism over time and that disturb the masses. The postmodernism movement, which is based on a critical approach to the problems created by modernism, continued its influence for a period. These problems that emerged in the last days of modernism are briefly as follows;

• The economic and political models shaped around humanism, which is the basis of modernism, have begun to be questioned.
• A rapid change has begun in the direction of globalization and being a consumer society,
• His perspective on the concept of human rights and democracy has suffered greatly,
• Technological development and growing industry began to oppress people in the wheels of the capitalist system,
• Developing economies have brought power wars with them. Economies focused on the production of weapons and a process resulted in nuclear armament.
• As a result of uncontrolled industrialization, people started to harm nature with their own hands and this negatively affected natural life,
• Capitalist capital pushed people into the monotonous system, leading to a kind of modern slavery system,
• Individual freedoms are damaged and people are isolated in crowds,
• In the light of all these facts, people have started to experience insecurity and identity problems.

With the effect of the above basic problems and the Second World War, which caused great destruction, people are now in search of new ones. The current system has begun to be questioned and the opposition to the highly rational approach of modernism, which is expressed as human-oriented(!), has spread rapidly. The Algerian War of Independence and the 1968 Paris events are among the other historical events that accelerated postmodernism.

The Algerian occupation process, which started in 1827 by France, was moved to another dimension with the people’s uprising declaration on November 1, 1954. Despite all the pressures of France, Algeria declared its independence on 1 July 1962. The protests against the Vietnam War at Berkeley University in September 1964 and the French student riots of 1968 were a continuation of the process. We can state that all these cyclical political effects are the building blocks in the emergence of the postmodernist movement.

What are the Postmodernism Characteristics?

The main postmodernism characteristics can be listed as follows;

• Postmodernism; it is against all concepts such as rationalism, capitalism, positivism, liberalism,
• It is inquisitive about modernism and the values ​​it creates,
• Eclecticism prevails. Synthesis gives way to fragmentation, and these parts cannot be integrated; but can be attached to each other,
• All kinds of pluralism are preferred instead of universal universal unity,
• The understanding of national and universal culture is rejected,
• There is a view against all authorities and normativeism. Instead of the concept that there is only one truth and meaning, multiple truths and meanings are emphasized,
• In general, a destructive and rejecting attitude prevails against the rules and orders in all areas of society,
• By questioning traditional concepts and perspectives, an ironic attitude and sarcasm are displayed,
• Opposites are used together; past – present, traditional – modern, right – left, etc.
• A more positive attitude towards the concept of religion is displayed,
• Extreme relativism prevails,
• Images are preferred over reality,
• Against the opposition of right and wrong, there is the point of view that everything is right or everything is wrong,
• It is desired that the past be kept alive with its own realities,
• It is essential not to break the ties between the past and the present,
• Postmodernism influence was felt in many different fields such as history, law, literature, biology, geography, fine arts, medicine, politics, philosophy and architecture.

Postmodernism Examples and Representatives

In the postmodern period,, it is seen that artists generally try to get rid of the restrictive and normative point of view brought by modernism. With this period, works with more intuition, emotion, creativity, fantasy and imagination emerged. Although a large share in the development of postmodernism is usually given to the French, it is thought that German philosophers inspired postmodernism. Specifically, “Progress is only a modern idea, but a false one.” Philosophers such as Nietzsche, Heidegger and Soren Kierkegaard have contributed greatly to the emergence of the philosophy of postmodernism.

As we mentioned above, there are many important representatives of postmodernism, which appears in many different fields. Some of the important postmodernism examples and representatives we have chosen for you are:

Painter: Robert Rauschenberg (1925 – 2008)

Painter: Gerhard Richter (1932 – )

Painter: Chris Ofili (1968 – )

Writer: Umberto Eco (1932 – 2016)

Writer: Italo Calvino (1923 – 1985)

Writer: Paul Auster (1947 – )

Writer: Salman Rushdie (1947 – )

Poet: Allen Ginsberg (1926 – 1997)

Poet: Paul Hoover (1946 – )

Poet: Susan Howe (1937 – )

Architect: Michael Graves (1934 – 2015)

Architect: James Stirling (1926 – 1992)

Architect: Robert Venturi (1925 – 2018)

In this article, we tried to briefly answer the questions of ‘What is postmodernism definition‘ and ‘What are postmodernism characteristics‘. For more information on two successive currents of the 19th and 20th centuries, you can review our article “Modernism vs Postmodernism” and our article “What is Modernism“. Also, don’t forget to read our article on “Postmodern Architecture” to better understand the impact of postmodernism on architecture.

You can visit our homepage for inspiration on different subjects related to interior design & architecture. 🙂

This Article What is Postmodernism? (Definition & Characteristics) Was Originally Published on This Website: DeCombo. The Source of the Article is This Website.

Modernism definition is too broad to be expressed simply. In short, modernism started to emerge with the Renaissance and Reform movements in parallel with the welfare of people; it is an innovative movement that has been effective in fields such as painting, literature and architecture. In this period, religion-based thinking left its place to the concepts of rationalism, universality of knowledge, peace and freedom on the basis of humanism.

Modernism is an intellectual and artistic movement that continued its influence until the Second World War. In the post-World War II era, it has been replaced by postmodernism. Postmodernism was born as a reaction to the important and fundamental problems that emerged during the period of modernism.

In this article, we examined the answers to the questions of ‘What is modernism definition‘, ‘What are the modernism characteristics‘, one of the most important intellectual and artistic movements of the recent period:

What is Modernism Definition?

Modernism comes from the word “modernus”, which derives from the Latin word “modo” which means “now, new”. The first use of the word “Modernus” is very old. This concept was used to express that Christianity had different characteristics compared to the past, during the transition from Paganism to Christianity in the 5th century. In other words, it can be defined as Christianity being equivalent to being modern. The “modern” concept, which is used in the sense of “new and current”, has undergone a great change compared to its first usage until today.

You can read our article on Modern Architecture to learn about the reflection of modernism in architecture.

When, Where and How did Modernism Movement Arise?

When the time passed from recent history to the present is examined; we can say that the history of free thought, knowledge and human-based approaches is unfortunately not very old. Religion-based oppressive approaches, wars, famine, struggle to survive, etc. concepts have always appeared as major obstacles to the liberation of humanity. Until the age of enlightenment that started with the Renaissance in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In this period when the foundations of modernism movement were laid, the geographical discoveries in the world and the increase in sea trade led to wealth and prosperity in Italy of the period. With the decrease of the pressure of the church, the interest of famous and wealthy aristocrats of the period, such as the house of Medici, in art and artists increased. This has brought aristocratic families’ investment in art and artists.

Again in this period, humanism influenced all of Europe, especially Italy. As a result of all these developments, the period of enlightenment began, in which concepts such as freedom, reason, democracy, secularism and equality, the basis of which were the Reform and Renaissance movement, began to be spoken.

The answer to the question of what is modernism definition is, in parallel with the maturation of all these concepts mentioned above, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a dominant world view, idea and art movement in the western world.

Modernism actually expresses both the modern lifestyle and cultural development. Jean Jack Rousseau, Descartes, Montesquie and Kant were the most important thinkers who contributed to the present day of this concept. Especially Kant has conducted studies that pioneered the emergence of modernism with more solid foundations.

What are The Modernism Characteristics?

The modernism characteristics are briefly as follows;

• Modernism is rational and positivist,
• It is among the basic principles to make experiments scientifically, to try to prove, to approach all kinds of information sources and authorities critically
• In essence, it is based on trust in the human mind and respect for human rights.
• Religion, history, morality, law, philosophy, etc. there is a harsh criticism of the concepts in the axis of cause and effect relationship,
• Clashes with traditional thinking; scientific point of view and rational thought prevail,
• Expresses that humanity can develop on the basis of reason and science, it is believed that past knowledge can be useful for today,
• It acts in line with the principle of objective reality, is universal and defends progressive concepts,
• It is thought that the concepts of ethics and morality should be the same for the whole world,
• It is expressed that life goals should be determined objectively and lived in this way,
• Concepts such as urbanity, rationalization of social life, individualization, democracy, secularism, specialization and technology are dominant,
• Its influence was felt in different fields such as philosophy, painting, music, literature and architecture.

Modernism, which is dominated by the items listed above, has produced very fruitful results in its early periods thanks to its human-oriented approach. But over time, technological developments, globalization and the dominant aspects of capitalism have put this human-based approach on a dead end that ends with wars. The system, which was prioritized humans during the period, left its place to a period of modern slavery. As a result, postmodernism movement emerged, dominated by criticisms of modernism.

Representatives of The Modernism Movement

Before starting the list, we need to separately mention the famous German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804), one of the founders of modernism and critical philosophy. Kant, who initially wrote in the fields of physics and astronomy, started his studies on critical philosophy after the 1770s, under the influence of David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of the famous philosophers of the 18th century.

Much more detailed analysis is required for modernism history, which has a separate influence for every branch of art, from painting to literature, from architecture to poetry. In this summary article, we list the main representatives of modernism movement in different fields and some of their important works as follows:

Painter, George Pierre Seurat (1859 – 1891)

Painter, Édouard Manet (1832 – 1883)

Painter, Edvard Munch (1863 – 1944)

Writer, Gustave Flaubert (1821 – 1880)

Writer, James Joyce (1882 – 1941)

Writer, Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941)

Poet, Charles Pierre Baudelaire (1821 – 1867)

Poet, Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888 – 1965)

Poet, Ezra Pound (1885 – 1972)

Mathematician, Richard Dedekind (1831 – 1916)

Physicist and Philosopher, Ludwig Boltzmann (1844 – 1906)

Architect, Joseph Paxton (1803 – 1865)

Architect, François Coignet (1814 – 1888)

Architect, William Le Baron Jenney (1832 – 1907)

In this article, we tried to briefly answer the questions of ‘What is modernism definition‘ and ‘What are modernism characteristics‘. For more information on two successive currents of the 19th and 20th centuries, you can review our article “Modernism vs Postmodernism” and our article “What is Postmodernism“. Also, don’t forget to read our article on “Modern Architecture History“, also known as the international style, to understand modernism in all its aspects.

You can visit our homepage for inspiration on different subjects related to interior design & architecture. 🙂

This Article What is Modernism Definition? Modernism Movement & Characteristics Was Originally Published on This Website: DeCombo. The Source of the Article is This Website.

The concepts of modernism and postmodernism, which are often used together, actually express two different views that advocate diametrically opposite thoughts. Before giving information about the differences between modernism and postmodernism, which are the movements that left their mark on the 19th and 20th centuries, we briefly answered the question ‘what is modernism and postmodernism‘. Good reading…

Modernism vs Postmodernism

What is Modernism?

The origin of the word modernism, which emerged in the mid-19th century, is based on the Latin word “modernus”. The concept of modern, which is used as a word meaning “new and current”, is a continuation of the Renaissance enlightenment period, which was formed on the basis of humanism. In essence, it expresses the modern lifestyle and cultural development. He harshly criticizes concepts such as morality, law, philosophy, religion and history on the axis of cause and effect relationship.

In more detail, the foundation of the idea of modernism dates back to the 18th century. We can say that Immanuel Kant, who started his studies on philosophy under the influence of David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is the father of the ideas that led to the emergence of modernism.

By clicking on the link below, you can find answers to the questions; ‘What is modernism’, ‘Why and how did modernism arise’, ‘What are the characteristics of modernism’ and ‘Who are the representatives of modernism’:

What is Postmodernism?

“Post” is a prefix that gives the meaning “after” to the word to which it is added. In this context, simply; postmodernism means the period in which the problems that come after modernism, continue from modernism or more comprehensively originate from modernism are tried to be overcome. In the middle of the 20th century, the postmodernism movement that started to emerge after the Second World War; He harshly criticized modernism, being influential in architecture, painting, philosophy, literature and many more.

In parallel with technological innovations and the development of industry, the modernism movement has begun to degenerate and has turned into a phenomenon that exploits more people instead of a human-oriented philosophy. It is precisely on this basis that the opposition to modernism has created a much stronger ground for itself with the liberation process of Algeria following the Second World War and the Paris student uprisings.

By clicking on the link below, you can find answers to the questions; ‘What is postmodernism’, ‘Why and how did postmodernism arise’, ‘What are the characteristics of postmodernism’ and ‘Who are the representatives of postmodernism’:

Differences Between Modernism and Postmodernism

The differences between modernism and postmodernism that marked the 19th and 20th centuries are as follows. Here, modernism vs postmodernism!

• When the periods in which they emerged are examined, the modernism movement began to be seen in the middle of the 19th century. Postmodernism, on the other hand, started to sprout after the Second World War and generally managed to reach large masses in the second half of the 20th century.

• In the philosophy of modernism, which emerged with the thesis of “being human-oriented”; Concepts such as rationalism, capitalism and positivism are defended. Postmodernist thought, which thinks that all these concepts have begun to harm people over time, is positioned exactly opposite the aforementioned concepts.

• Modernism has followed a synthesis-oriented approach based on reason and science. Postmodernism, on the other hand, cannot be integrated, but has an approach that focuses on attachable pieces and eclecticism.

• Modernism, which started to be shaped by the thought of enlightenment after the Renaissance, is extremely questioning against the concept of religion. Postmodernism, on the other hand, preferred to establish a closer relationship with the past and approached the concept of religion more positively.

• Modernism defends general acceptances in parallel with the philosophy of universal integrity it has adopted. In postmodernism, generalization is rejected and pluralism is supported.

• In the early days of modernism, everyone adopted; Concepts such as democracy, secularism, technology and human rights came to the fore and became the most important facts of the movement. Postmodernism, on the other hand, claims that all these concepts are misoperated over time, bring more harm than good and enslave people.

• Modernism basically focuses on a single attainable truth and a single meaning. Postmodernism, on the other hand, follows the philosophy of multiple truths and multiple meanings instead of a single concept.

• Due to the conditions and perspectives of the period, the modernists showed an approach away from politics. Postmodernists, on the other hand, could not remain indifferent to the politics that spread to the masses in parallel with the period and the developing world. Postmodernists have been more involved in politics than modernists.

• In general, modernism has felt its influence in various fields such as philosophy, painting, music, literature and architecture. Postmodernism, on the other hand, showed a much wider range of effects. To give an example, postmodernism has dealt with many different disciplines, from architecture to zoology. Similarly; It has also shown its influence in the fields of history, law, literature, biology, geography, all branches of art, medicine, politics and philosophy.

To learn the equivalent of modernism and postmodernism in architecture, you can read our articles on Modern Architecture and Postmodern Architecture.

• It is thought that the concepts of ethics and morality in modernism should be the same for the whole world. Postmodernism, on the other hand, follows an opposing attitude to common concepts. Pluralism is preferred in every sense.

• Modernism advocates a national and universal understanding of culture. Postmodernism, on the other hand, has the opposite point of view.

• Modernism’s view of the past is shallower. In postmodernism, the past is important and the idea of keeping the past alive in line with its own realities is advocated.

These two thought structures, the foundations of which were laid by great philosophers, have evolved over time and have survived to the present day as currents that still maintain their influence. On the one hand, the famous German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who inspired the idea of modernism; On the other hand, the famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, one of the thinkers who ignited the idea of postmodernism.

Today, many thinkers such as Habermas and Anthony Giddens argue that modernism has not ended. These thinkers, who accept many ideas of postmodernism, define these new realities as phenomena within modernism.

In this article, we gave general information about ‘Differences Between Modernism and Postmodernism‘ and ‘Modernism vs Postmodernism‘. For more detailed information about these two important movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, we recommend you to read our articles on ‘Postmodernism Definition‘ and ‘Modernism Definition‘.

Don’t forget to visit our homepage for inspiration on different topics related to interior design & architecture! 🙂

This Article Modernism vs Postmodernism Was Originally Published on This Website: DeCombo. The Source of the Article is This Website.