Skip to main content
Humanities LibreTexts

19: The Postmodern World

  • Page ID
    219622
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

    \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

    ( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

    \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

    \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)

    \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

    \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

    \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}}      % arrow\)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}}      % arrow\)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

    \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

    \(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)

    Introduction

    With the many manifestos written in the early 1900s and the technological innovations arriving after WW II, the modern age was embraced allowing for more leisure time, and would ultimately be a time of progress, peace, prosperity, and happiness. The realities of the Modern Movement did not fulfill those high expectations, and art soon moved to counter and criticize the modern with the emergence of Pop Art and overall cynicism. Postmodern art allows the space for critical reflections on modern life as well as creating art from multiple periods. Postmodern artists can pull from the classical past, the Renaissance, world art, and the modern world to create art in a wide range of media. The visual art produced in this period still functions just as art has functioned for thousands of years - it moves us, its uses are many and varied including propaganda, visual delight, to protest, to inform, to educate, and for the fun of it.

    clipboard_e054c900ce8b6e2f6ccf604028122d047.png

    Vanna Venturi House, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia 1962 Robert Venturi

    https://video.pbsnc.org/video/geoffrey-baer-tours-9-vanna-venturi-house-web-exclusive/

     

    clipboard_e9798c770864ae521bc4beba7471a09a1.png

     

    clipboard_e45dda1d9ee12ebc72ac752078bafdb48.png

    SITE design for Best Products, Towson, Maryland circa. 1978

    https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_1781_300297029.pdf

    https://failedarchitecture.com/the-ironic-loss-of-the-postmodern-best-store-facades/

     

    clipboard_e636c9e37f942a1534e8e47dce5f3530a.png

    550 Madison Avenue, Philip Johnson John Burgee

    https://550madison.com/design/

     

     

    clipboard_e049f4c20423f5b788f8679c9ee4068c3.png

    Neue Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, 1977-83  James Stirling

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzE5X2kVuog

     

    clipboard_e51542b94d2729ed244debe5674d2cd35.png

     

    clipboard_e1a7ad65f390e50109fba50ef9949f503.png

     

    clipboard_ea4f9e6b771317323528d12afb7165394.png

    Centre National d'Art et Culture Georges Pompidou, Paris 1971-77  Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DOVlROG-lY

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC2NpJQCVHQ

     

    clipboard_e5e7b0a12d48bb8a20f7c73c4976641be.png

    Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, Hong Kong, China 1979-86  Norman Foster

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yp7tIbz6D8

     

    clipboard_edeb0ac71ff38cdaa7a3b029acd7895d7.png

     

    clipboard_ef3563a695317dd2249dbdd9a82055069.png

    Kansai Airport, 1988 Renzo Piano Building Workshop

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va4j-bcmuPI

     

     

    clipboard_e7b1b58cedd8b4c65628d80f623dea65f.png

    clipboard_ef61bcba9a7e32c00e26c99af19ecad0f.png

    Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain 1992-97  Frank Lloyd Wright

    https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/global-contemporary-apah/20th-century-apah/a/gehry-bilbao

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrVCVJOcvzs

     

    clipboard_e0764c2682edef26a9dae4471a7e9d5e1.png

     

     

    clipboard_e9a1b869f5d78bd27ac25e4d409abbef6.png

    Vietnam Memorial, 1982  Maya Lin

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuxjTxxQUTs

    https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/global-contemporary-apah/20th-century-apah/v/mayalin-vietnamvetmem

     


    19: The Postmodern World is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

    • Was this article helpful?