Modernism/Postmodernism

According to some theorists, the 20th century can be divided into two distinct periods; one characterised by the modernism movement and the other by postmodernism. Modernism in the late 1800s was followed by Postmodernism after world war two. This blog tells the difference between Modernism and Postmodernism.

Modernism


Modernism began in the 1890s and lasted till 1945. Modernism in everyday terms 'modern' is often used to refer to contemporary design, media or forms of social organisation (as in 'the modern family'). Modernism describes a collection of cultural movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in art, architecture, literature, music and applied arts.

Modernism in photography was mainly used for portraits or landscapes found in history, like this image above showing what the history of photography how it was during modernism.

Postmodernism


Postmodernism began after world war two, especially after 1968. Literally 'after the modern', the postmodern represents a critique of the limitations of modernism with its emphasis upon progress and, in the case of the arts, upon the materiality of the medium of communication. At the time of postmodernism, thing were changing even in photography, in postmodernism photography has now become a form of art. Theorists believe that postmodernism was a response to modernism and hence consider them as two aspects of the same movement.

With Cindy Sherman's work, it show both modernism and postmodernism as her black and white stills relates to hollywood movie like theme as it were before postmodernism.

Bibliography

Wells L., 2009, Photography A Critical Introduction, 4th Edition, Oxon, Routledge, p348-349

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/214493.html