Postmodernism

7 Pages 1844 Words

uld suggest. Such decorative indulgence was an aspect that ‘puritans’ of the Modern Movement wished to deny the public.’ The AT & T building in New York, constructed from 1978-82 is a building that was designed deliberately omitting Modernism tendencies of Functionality and simplicity. The architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee incorporated the idea of a modernised classical pediment to crown the top of the skyscraper, showing its direct link with art of the past.

Postmodernist art, as already established, may be viewed as a collection of previous styles and genres of art, going against the grain of the progressive principles of Modernism, forming a new, distorted view of the future. Charles Jencks, an architect who was tired of the doctrine of functionalism, first brought the term into discussion in 1975. Clearly, the art of the ‘Modern’ was becoming tedious, and failing to make an impact, for which it was once renowned. An increasing number of artists began reacting negatively to Modern art, and its tendency to do away with decoration and ornamentation. Decorative elements were therefore reintroduced with the Post- Modern genre, perhaps also in an attempt to render art more accessible, and simply more pleasurable for its audience, going against the pretentious and inaccessible aspects for which Modernism had been criticised. The Clo...