Free Essays on Postmodernism

Can postmodernism end? In preparation for answering the monumental question of whether post-modernism can end, certain issues must be first addressed, and certain points established if a logical argument is to be conceived. Firstly, one must establish how post-modernism came about, whether it can be perceived as a style within art, with a beginning that can be marked relatively clearly, or whether it should be looked upon more as a philosophy that has always existed, but came to the forefront with the coining of the term. Throughout the history of art, there have been many attempts to chart the progression of various styles, how they were born and what constitutes them, with categorization of artists who serve as exponents for their cause. Within authoritative surveys of the history of art, such as Gombrich’s ‘The Story of Art’, it has been voiced that artistic elements of Post-modernism are currently underway, and have been born as a reaction against Modernism. The beginning of Post -modernism could therefore be marked as the point at which Modernism ended. I feel it may be necessary to also establish, however (if we are to look at the history of art as a progression of different styles, with evolving styles continually eclipsing existing ones) what exactly would surpass the movement of Post-modernism in order to answer the question of whether it can possibly end. The essence of Post-modernism has been defined as reactionary, a movement resulting as a response to the ideologies of Modernism. Modernism itself is seen as a movement, which emerged in an attempt to fight against Capitalism and segregation. Post-modernism is to be viewed as an opposing force, and has been defined as art for the consumer. Its ideals lie within a picking and choosing of various styles of existing art throughout history, manipulating it to produce a hyper reality, over-indulgent type of excess such as the art and architecture of Las Vegas wo... Free Essays on Postmodernism Free Essays on Postmodernism Postmodernism Postmodernism is a complicated term, or set of ideas, one that has only emerged as an area of academic study since the mid-1980s. Postmodernism is hard to define, because it is a concept that appears in a wide variety of disciplines or areas of study, including art, architecture, music, film, literature, sociology, communications, fashion, and technology. It's hard to locate it temporally or historically, because it's not clear exactly when postmodernism begins. Perhaps the easiest way to start thinking about postmodernism is by thinking about modernism, the movement from which postmodernism seems to grow or emerge. Modernism has two facets, or two modes of definition, both of which are relevant to understanding postmodernism. The first facet or definition of modernism comes from the aesthetic movement broadly labeled "modernism." This movement is roughly coterminous with twentieth century Western ideas about art (though traces of it in emergent forms can be found in the nineteenth century as well). Modernism, as you probably know, is the movement in visual arts, music, literature, and drama which rejected the old Victorian standards of how art should be made, consumed, and what it should mean. In the period of "high modernism," from around 1910 to 1930, the major figures of modernism literature helped radically to redefine what poetry and fiction could be and do: figures like Woolf, Joyce, Eliot, Pound, Stevens, Proust, Mallarme, Kafka, and Rilke are considered the founders of twentieth-century modernism. From a literary perspective, the main characteristics of modernism include: 1. an emphasis on impressionism and subjectivity in writing (and in visual arts as well); an emphasis on HOW seeing (or reading or perception itself) takes place, rather than on WHAT is perceived. An example of this would be stream-of-consciousness writing. 2. a movement away from the apparent objectivity provided by ... Free Essays on Postmodernism Can postmodernism end? In preparation for answering the monumental question of whether post-modernism can end, certain issues must be first addressed, and certain points established if a logical argument is to be conceived. Firstly, one must establish how post-modernism came about, whether it can be perceived as a style within art, with a beginning that can be marked relatively clearly, or whether it should be looked upon more as a philosophy that has always existed, but came to the forefront with the coining of the term. Throughout the history of art, there have been many attempts to chart the progression of various styles, how they were born and what constitutes them, with categorization of artists who serve as exponents for their cause. Within authoritative surveys of the history of art, such as Gombrich’s ‘The Story of Art’, it has been voiced that artistic elements of Post-modernism are currently underway, and have been born as a reaction against Modernism. The beginning of Post -modernism could therefore be marked as the point at which Modernism ended. I feel it may be necessary to also establish, however (if we are to look at the history of art as a progression of different styles, with evolving styles continually eclipsing existing ones) what exactly would surpass the movement of Post-modernism in order to answer the question of whether it can possibly end. The essence of Post-modernism has been defined as reactionary, a movement resulting as a response to the ideologies of Modernism. Modernism itself is seen as a movement, which emerged in an attempt to fight against Capitalism and segregation. Post-modernism is to be viewed as an opposing force, and has been defined as art for the consumer. Its ideals lie within a picking and choosing of various styles of existing art throughout history, manipulating it to produce a hyper reality, over-indulgent type of excess such as the art and architecture of Las Vegas wo...