Comprehensive Study Guide: From Modernism to Postmodernism in Architecture and Visual Art

Modernism in Art and Architecture ($1890–1950$)

• Core Objective: The movement sought to get behind surface appearances to discover the pure, universal, and true reality of the world.

• Rational Vision: Modernism was driven by a rational vision and fundamental values characterized as minimal, efficient, humane, and progressive.

• Enlightenment Rationalism: This era served as the peak of Enlightenment ideals, viewing rationalism as the definitive solution to all human and societal problems.

• The Metanarrative: Modernism relied on a singular "Metanarrative," a grand overarching story of universal truth and progress.

• Piet Mondrian ($1872–1944$): Identified as a key figure in modernist art, utilizing grid-based abstraction to seek universal aesthetic order.

Architectural Modernism: The International Style ($1920–1945$)

• Basic Philosophical Principles:

  • Preservation of the rational ideals of the Enlightenment.

  • Progress: Belief in the perfectibility of human life through socio-political-cultural engineering, fueled by rationalism, humanism, and optimism.

• Moral Commitment in Design: Modernist architects believed in shaping human living and working spaces to help people live out progressive virtues. Elizabeth Douglas stated: "If you put people in the right kinds of buildings they will live the right kinds of lives."

• Economic Modernism:

  • Patronage shifted in the $20^{th}$ century from the church or state to business and commerce.

  • Cultural optimism in architecture reflected the economic optimism of its corporate sponsors.

Formal Principles of Modernist Architecture

• Structure: Conceived as minimalist and skeletal.

• Spatial Ambiguity: An open interpenetration of form and space where the interior blends seamlessly with the exterior.

• The "Plan": Thought of as a continuous flow of sculpted space.

• Functionalism: Embodied by Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous dictum: "Form follows function."

• Aesthetics: Defined by the elimination of ornament and the integrity of the site.

• Ideals: All formal elements expressed Enlightenment ideals of rational efficiency and a unified idea of reality.

• Historical Context and Fallout: The movement was eventually challenged by the realities of World Wars, "The Bomb" (atomic warfare), and themes of power, fear, and conformity.

Key Figures and Structures of Modernist Architecture

• Walter Gropius ($1883–1969$):

  • The Bauhaus ($1925–1926$): Designed with the "glass curtain wall," facilitating the blending of interior and exterior space to create a holistic image of reality.

• Le Corbusier ($1887–1965$):

  • Villa Savoye ($1931$): An exemplar of the open interpenetration of form and space, featuring sculpted, flowing space.

• Frank Lloyd Wright ($1867–1959$):

  • Falling Water ($1936$): Focuses on "organic architecture" and the interaction of building and site to preserve the site's integrity.

  • The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum ($1959$): Features sculpted flowing space and maintains a unique interaction between the building and its site (though it is often used as a point for critique concerning site integrity).

• Ludwig Miës van der Rohe:

  • Seagram Building ($1958$): Represents functionalism, rational interaction of building and site, and the glass curtain wall. It is described as a perfect image of corporate culture, emphasizing modularity (e.g., cubicles).

The Transition to Postmodernism: The Fall of the Modernist Ideal

• The Symbolic End: Architectural critic Charles Jencks stated that Postmodernism began on $July\,14,\,1972$, in St. Louis, Missouri, when the failed Pruitt-Igoe housing project was dynamited.

• Pruitt-Igoe Timeline:

  • $1951$: The project won a national design award.

  • $1954–1956$: Construction of the idealized urban housing project.

  • Late $1960s$: Deterioration into a site infamous for poverty, crime, and segregation.

  • The Demolition: Became an icon for the failure of urban renewal and signaled the end of modernist architectural optimism.

Philosophies and Traits of Postmodern Architecture

• Disruption of Unity: Replaces modernist formal unity with a clash of localized forms and images (e.g., Portland Public Service Building vs. Seagram Building).

• Interrogation of Metanarratives: Deconstructs functionalism's "seriousness of purpose" with deliberate playfulness (e.g., the SONY Building in New York, formerly the AT&T building, with its ornamental top).

• Key Design Concepts:

  • Historical Eclecticism: A collage of historical references.

  • Building as "Text": Invites a "reading" of the structure rather than just observing its function.

  • Cultural Documentation/Critique: Offers a commentary on the culture it exists within.

  • Genre Violations: Playful mixtures of forms and images that blur or violate boundaries between genres.

Famous Postmodern Architectural Images and Examples

• PPG Place (Pittsburgh): Incorporates historical references to Gothic and Romanesque styles.

• $5^{th}$ Avenue Building (Pittsburgh): Utilizes intertextuality, encouraging observers to "read" the building.

• Bonaventura Hotel (Los Angeles): A hallmark of postmodern design.

• National Gallery, East Wing (Washington, D.C.): Provides cultural and aesthetic commentary.

• Pompidou Center (Paris): Displays playful exploration of forms and structural exposure.

• Wonderworks (Orlando): An extreme example of playful forms (an upside-down building).

Comparison of Architectural Contexts

• Patronage:

  • Modernism: Associated with the corporate world ($1960s–1970s$).

  • Postmodernism: Associated with the entertainment industry, such as the Disney Corporation ($1980s–1990s$).

• Thematic Orientation:

  • Modernism: Seriousness of purpose, rational organization, function, and stable signification.

  • Postmodernism: Critique of seriousness, deconstruction of rational form, emphasis on decoration, and focus on the "surface." It treats images as "free-floating signifiers" and invites interpretation through dialogue with Modernism.

Semiotics in Modernism vs. Postmodernism

• Semiotics: The science of sign systems, studying how cultures communicate.

• Components of a Sign:

  • Signifier: The vehicle (word, image, etc.) that expresses meaning.

  • Signified: The actual meaning(s) expressed by the signifier.

• Examples of Sign Systems:

  • Traffic Code: Composed of three signs: green, yellow, red.

  • Fashion Code: A complex system determining what clothing says in a given context (e.g., wearing a tuxedo on a hiking trip).

• Focus:

  • Modernism: Typically focuses on the Signified (purpose and function).

  • Postmodernism: Typically focuses on the Signifier (the image calls attention to itself).

Postmodern Visual Art and Sculpture

• Modernist Art Characteristics: Focused on meditation, private spiritual quests, exploration of perceptual experience, and social/cultural protest.

• Postmodern Art Characteristics: Rejects deep emotional seriousness and individualist self-expression. It explores life from a coolly ironic perspective, fascinated by the superficiality and waste of commercial culture.

• Pop Art: Challenged modernist "angst."

  • Pop artists ($post-WWII$ generation) had no direct experience of the Great Depression or the horrors of World War II.

  • They drew imagery from consumer product saturation and documented culture by showing mass production, consumption, and disposal.

• Notable Comparisons:

  • Alexander Calder: "Big Red" ($1963$) mobile sculpture; explores dynamic form and artist/audience ambiguity.

  • Roy Lichtenstein: "Drowning Girl" ($1963$); utilizes playful comic irony vs. Mondrian's serious formal exploration.

  • Claes Oldenburg: "Giant Hamburger" vs. Alberto Giacometti’s "Alienation."

  • Andy Warhol ($1928–1987$): Famous for Campbell's Soup cans and Brillo Boxes, highlighting the mass-produced nature of art.

Postmodern Art Techniques: Blurring Boundaries

• Deliberate Violation: Breaking the line of what is considered "natural" or "normal."

• Art and Advertising: Blurring boundaries as seen in Warhol's soup cans.

• Art and Audience: Maya Lin’s "Vietnam Memorial" ($1982$), which creates an interactive, immersive experience for the viewer.

• Art Object and Art Venue: Christo, known for wrapping large-scale objects/landscapes.

• Art and Nature: Andy Goldsworthy’s "Land Art."

• High and Low Culture: Tattoos as ink drawings on human skin; celebrating traditionally "low" art forms in a "high" art context.

• Legitimate and Illegitimate Materials: "Bricolage"—creating new things out of recycled materials (e.g., Saint Louis Children's Museum).

• Real and Virtual: The rise of tridelity and digital simulation.

• Intertextuality: Dialogue between texts, such as the Beatles' "Abbey Road" or Pop Culture mashups (Star Wars and Coffee).

• Deconstruction: Conceptually flipping expectations, such as in the musical "Wicked," which tells the "untold" story of the witches of Oz.

• Magical Realism: Blurring the real and the magical, as in Jorge Borges' "Book of Sand."

Fragmentation and the Celebration of the Local

• Core Concept: Celebrating the local and particular rather than a unified whole that obliterates diversity.

• Wendell Berry ($1934–$): Known for reverence for the local; features the "Port William Membership" family tree and map in his writing (e.g., "Remembering").

• David Greusel: Emphasizes the "inspiration of place," illustrated by projects like PNC Park.

Postmodernism and Worldview

• Humanness: Humans are viewed as narratives, texts, or mosaics. Engagement with "otherness" and diversity is mandatory.

• Nature: The boundary between nature and culture, or "real life" and art, is considered less clear than in Modernism.

• The "Ought to Be": Postmodernism argues that Modernism dehumanizes by effacing diversity. It advocates for celebrating particular, locally situated, and diverse pluralistic cultural richness.

The End of Postmodernism?

• Arguments for Postmodernism being over:

  • David Greusel: Suggests a return to modernist stylistic uniformity (e.g., Hotel Dubai) but without the former utopian social programs.

  • Makoto Fujimura: Argues that Postmodernism ended on $9/11$ ($September\,11,\,2001$).

• The Shift from Irony: The "cool, playful irony" of Postmodernity is viewed as inappropriate in the current era defined by:

  • COVID-19

  • Looming terror threats.

  • Frequent gun massacres.

  • Resurgent white supremacy and Neo-Nazi hate culture.

• The Current State: Modern Internationalism and Postmodern Pluralism are under "tribal assault" by a new nationalist dogmatism and growing authoritarianism. The historic American democratic conversation about diversity is facing significant challenges.