Postmodernism And Modernism

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In the 1960s, E.H. Gombrich stated that, as humans, we have an epistemological need to classify things, particularly in the realm of art. However, the Western-Centric master-narrative of Art History has been exposed as flawed in its exclusion of many regions of the world, as well as its dependence on periodization. Adding to the problematic nature of this approach to the history of visual works, this linear framework of the evolution of art has hit a snag at the end of post-modernism, resulting in the scholarly debate over what comes next. In our globalized society, it has become increasingly difficult to make a distinction between art movements even in terms of location. This has resulted in an essential, yet deceptively complicated question: …show more content…

However, placing the period break at this date is discordant with the timeline of so-called postmodern theory – marked by antifoundationalism and a suspicion of metanarratives, which were surely present in theoretical debates long before the 1960s. Noël Carroll asserts that “Often, in order to make the story stick that postmodern theory is distinguished by its antifoundationalism, commentators assimilate the modernist period to the enlightenment. Postmodernism is a reaction to modernism which, in turn, is equivalent to Enlightenment foundationalism.” If we hold the enlightenment as the foil to postmodernism, one must note that the rebellion against the Enlightenment began long before the emergence of the postmodern movement. Carroll notes: “Postmodern dance gets going around 1963, Nietzsche died in 1900. Is this a felicitous periodization?” Furthermore, numerous thematic discrepancies are present within the category. Postmodern architecture represents a revolt against modern architecture in terms of a (resurgence) of expressive elements, while postmodern dance was a reaction against modern dance, which was heavily aligned with expression. How is it possible that a single movement can push for both expressivity and antiexpressivity, depending on the art being

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