Postmodernism can be described as irrational, anti-science, populist, subjective, illogical, chaotic and fragmental. It is a philosophical reaction to Modernism as the possibility of further progression is still valued. Andy Warhol’s ‘Brillos Boxes’ is a monument to consumerism and an iconic Pop Art piece. It questions ‘what is art’ , the value and context of the object, suggesting ‘a shift from production of goods to production of knowledge’ (J.F. Lyotard).
Left: Brillo Boxes, Andy Warhol, 1964 (source: http://www.undergroundartproject.com/blog/tag/andy-warhol/)
Right: Fountain, Marcel Duchamp, 1917 (source: http://www.beatmuseum.org/duchamp/fountain.html)
Hybrids and combinations, as shown in the architecture of the AT&T building which is defined by the classical detail within a modern design, are also part of the Postmodernism Movement. I really like how the glass windows create a pattern which reminds me of a checked fabric. Combined with an art-deco style of detail at the top and the shape of the building itself, creates a quirky and decadent design.
Left: Sony Building, David Shankbone 1984 (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sony_Building_by_David_Shankbone_crop.jpg)
Middle and Right: Metropolis, Fritz Lang, 1927 (source: Metropolis stills, www.youtube.com)
The design of the AT&T Buliding is similar to the buldings featured in Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ which have a very ‘futuristic’ and sci-fi feel about them. In ‘Metropolis’ hierarchy plays a very important part throughout the whole film, with the upper-class and the wealthy living on the top levels of the buildings, whilst the working class that keeps the city running and organised live under the ground. This hierarchy is represented in the architecture (levels of buildings) and is successfully captured in the viewer’s memory.
Jean Baudrillard beleived that reality is now replaced by the hyperreal and obtained through media, technology, devias and information, but it does not matter that reality has dissapeared. Print has become a source of experemintation rather than a veichle and furniture now serves a decorative purpose rather than a functional one. This can be observed in the ‘Maternity Dress for Grace Jones’ by Gaultier and Lopez, as it is more coture than designed for every day wear and does not serve it’s function as a maternity dress.
The Face Magazine, Neville Brody, 1982 (source: http://s-walker1215-dc.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/5-examples-of-post-modernist-graphic.html)
Pop inspired Sunset in New York Sofa, Gaetano Pesce, 1980 (source: http://fauteuil.gazette-art.com/canapes.php?i=3&limit=300,25)
Maternity Dress for Grace Jones, Jean-Paul Gaulter and Antonio Lopez, 1979 (source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/art365592)
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