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Trent Kampel-Sierolawski
Student Id:1129805
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complicated to articulate and difficult to define. There are those who describe post-
consideration of post-modernity in contrast with modernity suggests that this position is self-
Modernity’s roots can be found in the age of Enlightenment between the late 1600’s to
late 1700’s – an age of exploration, innovation and forward thinking. As such, it is a solid,
defined, exclusive movement away from traditional systems and social values. It embraces
empiricism, objectivity and scientific thought and holds itself high up in the ether as the new
way of the future. Terry Barrett, an art critic and professor of art education at University of
North Texas, in his book entitled “Modernism and Postmodernism” credits the modernist
movement with events such as the American and French democratic revolutions, the First
and Second World Wars, and the thinking of many today. Barrett (1997) indicates that “The
Architecture fulfils people’s basic needs in providing a place to live, work, play and pray.
Over time architecture has evolved through the combination and modification of styles as
influenced by culture, geography and religion. In the end we have sculpted our environment
into an architectural collage of various forms. This constant recycling and layering of ideas
and beliefs was challenged by modernism and its rejection of tradition, culture, and history.
Mies Van Der Rohe was a pioneer of architectural modernism from the mid 20th century
who sought to define the look of the new modern world. He created a minimalist style of
skyscraper that is now a prominent and well known sight in many cities around the world.
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Mies and other architects of his era were inspired by the Sullivan (1896) “Form follows
function” (pp.403-409) term attributed to the pioneer skyscraper architect Louis Henry
Sullivan and his own “Less is More” van der Rohe (1959) mantra. It states that the form and
shape of a building should reflect the intended use of the building. A notable modernist
structure designed by Mies was the Barcelona Pavilion in Spain for the 1929 Barcelona
International Exhibition - a building (de- and re-constructed) which people have extensively
studied and continue to visit to this very day. In 1958 in New York his Seagram building was
completed and immediately acclaimed by critics. This building may not look very special
these days, as there are knockoffs spanning the globe, but compared to traditional buildings,
In “Postmodernism comes to Montreal” Mark London (1991) comments on van der Rohe’s
work:
In modern architecture, forms became simple and abstract. The aim was to
purely reflect the building’s function, to clearly express its structure, and
nothing more. Mies van der Rohe offered the ultimate distillation of
Modernism, an elegant, multi-purpose, black box virtually identical
wherever in the world it was located and whatever function it housed”.
(p.33).
The modern architectural movement was taking over the western world, and demolishing
historic buildings and neighbourhoods in its wake. London (1991) writes that “A single
building, with one function, designed by one person and built in a year or two might cover a
whole block, and replace dozens of older buildings erected over time with their rich variety
It soon became apparent to many individuals that this new age was exclusive and uninviting.
What was once marvelled at as the wave of the future and the ascendance of a new world
vision soon became a burden on the human spirit. It was apparent that something needed to
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change. In his book “The passion of the Western mind: Understanding the ideas that have
shaped our world view” the philosopher and cultural historian Richard Tarnas (1991)
Postmodernism was term coined by Jane Jacobs, a Canadian writer and social activist, and
Robert Venturi, an American architect, during the 1960s, to describe the growing reaction
such as Terry Barrett in his book “Moderism and Postmodernism” Barrett (1997): “Post
modernism does not merely chronologically follow modernism; it reacts against modernism,
Architects such as Philip Johnson – initially a modernist architect - were leading the way
to salvation with postmodern architectural projects such as AT&T building in New York City
during the 1980s. This building was truly unique, looking like a giant Chippendale highboy
piece of furniture, and nothing like classical buildings that came before it. Around the same
time period, Johnson was designing plans to build the RPG place building in Pittsburgh. RPG
place looks as though a glistening crystal castle had draped itself overtop of a skyscraper. In
his book “Postmodernism comes to Montreal” Mark London describes this approach as
“…architects would just copy bits and pieces of old building designs and
collage them onto the facades of their buildings. Perhaps the architects,
trained in the modernist period and never having learned the design
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Instead of dropping modernism and turning completely in another direction, in many cases
movement, in contrast with modernism, is inclusive rather than exclusive. By its nature,
London (1991) refers to Robert Stern, an architect known for his skill in adapting
historical styles into a modern context, as “One of the first postmodernist architects to come
Stern was a firm believer that modernism was the downfall of architecture and elaborates
on many occasions through books and speeches upon what he thought modernism was doing
to our society London (1991) : “In an Alcan architectural lecture in 1976, he blasted
modernism for destroying all that people held dear in their built environment only to replace
At one time it is clear that Robert Stern was notably an antagonist of modernism, and a
protagonist of post modernism. Perhaps over time he has come to embrace the inclusive and
subjective nature of postmodernism which includes even modernism as part of its domain.
The website of Stern’s architectural firm further describes his views Robert A.M. Stern
Architects, LLP:
Our firm's practice is premised on the belief that the public is entitled to
buildings that do not, by their very being, threaten the aesthetic and
cultural values of the buildings around them. We do not believe that any
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There is only one universal truth about post modernity, and that is that it cannot be
defined with a universal truth. It has many different factors that define it in many different
ways. Post modernity includes everything from the past and the present as a continuously
shifting and growing entity, its philosophical meaning and understanding shifting as well. In
values. However, there are examples that reach far beyond this combination. This places us
in a sphere that is actually between tradition, modernism, and post modernism. To define the
essence of postmodernity is an almost impossible undertaking. The main themes and issues
are all present and to deconstruct them into intelligible knowledge is a forever and ongoing
process.
reason and the belief in universal truths, principals and rules based upon empirical evidence
and the rejection of tradition. In contrast, postmodernity embraces plurality, tradition, as well
as feminist and minority histories and influence in addition to patriarchal histories and view
of the world. The constraints and boundaries of objectivism are rejected in favour of a
subjective view of the world acknowledging that there is no “right” concept, methodology or
approach. It is the very inclusiveness of the postmodern movement and postmodernity that
claiming to be subjective and inclusive must, by nature and definition, accept modernism as
References
Barrett, Terry. (1997). "Modernism and Postmodernism: An Overview With Art Examples"
in Art Education: Content and Practice in a Postmodern Era.
Edited by J. Hutchens & M. Suggs. Reston, Virginia: National
Art Education Association, Pages 17-30
Demchinsky, B. (1989). “Grassroots, greystones, and glass towers : Montreal urban issues
and architecture. Montréal: Véhicule Press .
Tarnas, Richard. (1991). "The Postmodern Mind" in The passion of the Western mind:
Understanding the ideas that have shaped our world view.
New York: Ballantine Books, 1991, pages 395-410
van der Rohe, Ludwig Mies.(1959) Speaking about restraint in design, the New York Herald
Tribune, 28 June