Research Essay For Modernism Postmodernism Example

Research Essay For Modernism Postmodernism Example Research Essay For Modernism Postmodernism â€" Essay Example > PostmodernismStudent’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code Name: Date of Submission: PostmodernismPostmodernism is a theory in art and architecture which has came about so as to solve the problems which were associated with the former modernism theory. Postmodernism deviates from the values of modernism (Milavanovic, 1995, p. 2). In architecture, post modernism is said to be the agent of kindling wits, reference and ornaments, hence the glamour, meaning and sustainability associated with postmodern art work (Vermuelen, Akker, 2010, p. 3). Robert venture is a famous postmodern architect whose works have continued to evolve a lot of interest up to date. Bruce Nauman is also a famous postmodern artist whose sculpture, video, neon, performance, photography and drawing works have earned him recognition globally. The works of the two artistes are relevant to postmodernism since they exhibit the characteristics of postmodernism. Postmodernism is associated with the following chara cteristics; appropriation, humour/playfulness, deconstruction, simulacra, self-reflexivity, eclecticism/pluralism, intertextuality and the fusion of high art work and low art work. Nauman’s works are characterized by humour, playfulness, irony and parody. On the other hand, Venturi’s works are characterized by pluralism, humour and deconstruction. The following paper compares the works of the two postmodern artistes, Robert Venturi and Bruce Nauman, with respect to the pluralism and humour associated with their works respectively. Robert Venturi is an architect who has been dubbed as the founder of postmodernism. Venturi was one of the architects who deviated from Modernist architecture in the 1950’s and assimilated aspects of postmodernism in his architectural designs (Kirby, 2006, p. 1). His design of the Guild House, Philadelphia in 1950 gave the architectural world a feeling of what postmodernism could offer. Figure 1. Guild House (Guild House, 2012, p. 1) As indicated ea rlier, postmodernism in architecture brought with it wits, ornament and reference which were associated with ancient architecture. As opposed to the modernism architecture, postmodernism architecture made vast use of symbols, aesthetics, meaning, hidden structure among others. In fact, there was no limit to what an architect could design since the limit was only determined by his creativity, imagination and his/her ability to explain his/her actions scientifically hence being able to give meaning (Kahl, 2008, p. 55). For this reason, postmodernism gave birth to pluralism/ eclecticism which uphold the fact that there is no universal/ definite/ formal way of coming up with architectural designs, the complexity and form of the design only lays in the hand and mind of the architect. Being a strong believer of postmodernism, Robert Venturi gave a magnificent touch of pluralism in his works. Starting with the Guild House, Venturi deviated from the modernist approach of designing blocks for residential houses, instead of it; Venturi came up with a magnificent building which integrated aesthetics on its look, glass art on its windows and meaning in its form. Pluralism upholds the deviation from the formalized way of coming up with architectural designs. For this reason, Robert Venturi once said that ‘Great architects should not be graded according to the consistency of their works but by the quality of their work’. This further affirmed his stand of deviating from the formalized architectural practices for instance formalized shapes, designs and materials. This is implicated in all his works.