Many scholars and theorists have been critical about the social concepts and elements of postmodernism. Some individuals such as Noam Chomsky say that postmodernism does not add analytical knowledge; hence, it is meaningless (Mansfield, 44). Timothy Bewes, on the other hand, calls the approach a cynical reaction (Lee, 16). To develop a better understanding of the criticism of modernity, this essay will sieve through different articles and publications. Through this, the paper will develop two sides to the argument, that is, the artists, architects, and thinkers who support the theory and those who do not, to assist in the formulation of a comprehensive conclusion.
According to Brooker (12), the phrase postmodernism represents the transformations that took place in the Western culture and society in the 1960s to eliminate the challenges brought by modernism. The postmodern movement associated itself with architecture, the arts, and philosophy (Dimendberg, 43). Some of the individuals who played the essential role of developing the theory include Frederic Jameson, Jacques Derrida, John Watkins, Mel Bochner, Jasper Johns, etc (Ding, 33). It was utilized to describe forms of music, art, and architecture to create new literary and cultural paradigms that indicated the postmodernists’ dissatisfaction with modern art and architecture (Bergesen, 302).
According to McHale (31), two primary historical occurrences catalyzed the introduction of postmodernism. They include the revolution of technology and science in the 1950s and the Second World War (Eagleton, 58). The postmodernist approach sought to rectify the injustices in the community such as neglected minorities, underprivileged journalism, and regional art (Gaggi, 11). The art that arose during postmodernism broke the boundaries of human thinking (Simon, 143). It included diverse aspects such as the disadvantaged people in the society and minority groups (Horne, 42).
Postmodernism also revealed the elements that the community had strived to keep hidden such as angels, the devil, and God (Mitchell, 420). All these developments were represented in paintings, art, music, views, and architecture (McRobbie, 19). The aim of this evaluation is to explore the foundations of postmodernism obtained from different scholarly texts and works to understand why criticisms such as limited truths and uncertainty were raised concerning the theory (Hossain, 175). Also, the analysis will assist in dissecting the various elements that make the postmodernist approach crucial in the society (Joselit, 61). Lastly, the paper will assess the contributions that the discipline has introduced in the arts, music, and architecture (Wolfe, 30).
Works Cited
Bergesen, Albert. "Postmodernism: A world-system explanation." Strukturelle Evolution und das Weltsystem. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2016. 299-307.
Brooker, Peter. Modernism/postmodernism. Routledge, 2014.
Dimendberg, Edward. Diller Scofidio+ Renfro: architecture after images. University of Chicago Press, 2013.
Ding, Guanghui. "“Experimental Architecture” in China." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 73.1 (2014): 28-37.
Eagleton, Terry. The illusions of postmodernism. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.
Gaggi, Silvio. Modern/postmodern: A study in twentieth-century arts and ideas. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015.
Horne, Victoria. "Kate Davis: re-visioning art history after modernism and postmodernism." feminist review 110.1 (2015): 34-54.
Hossain, Dewan Mahboob, and M. S. Karim. "POSTMODERNISM: ISSUES AND PROBLEMS." Asian journal of social sciences & humanities 2.2 (2013): 173-181.
Joselit, David. After art. Princeton University Press, 2013.
Lee, Pamela M. New games: postmodernism after contemporary art. Vol. 4. Routledge, 2013.
Mansfield, Elizabeth. Making art history: A changing discipline and its institutions. Routledge, 2014.
McHale, Brian, and Len Platt, eds. The Cambridge History of Postmodern Literature. Cambridge University Press, 2016.
McRobbie, Angela. In the culture society: Art, fashion and popular music. Routledge, 2013.
Mitchell, Sebastian. "Celtic Postmodernism: Ossian and Contemporary Art." Translation and Literature 22.3 (2013): 401-435.
Simon, David. "„Postmodernism and development “." The companion to development studies. London (2014): 142-146.
Wolfe, Ross Laurence. "Stalinism in Art and Architecture, or, the First Postmodern Style." Situations: Project of the Radical Imagination 5.1 (2013).
