postmodernism....ism..

So yesterday we had a guest lecturer, Mark Hanlen, come and speak to us about several things. He spoke about the two types of space, talked us through an in-depth powerpoint focusing on modernism, and briefly touched on postmodernism. I personally find postmodernism architecture rather interesting so I figured I'd focus on that teeny part of the lecture.. 

Seagram Building, NY

   

Harold Washington Library, IL

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 Postmodernism architecture as a movement came into being in the late 1950's. It is described as the return of "wit, ornament and reference" to architecture and emphasizes that the masses are not to be unified, but accustomed to. I reckon postmodernism is neutral. Its neither just modern, nor just old. It's both. When modernism kind of, well, failed.. a group of people took the new modernist idea of 'form following function' and combined it with the old ways of designing for appearance. With postmodernism, its as though architects rediscovered the symbolic value and the form of architecture as it has changed through history which had been ditched by the ideas that make up modernism. It combines the functionality of modernist architecture, which is machine-like in that it is built for efficiency and function, with the more creative and decorative approach of traditional architecture. Mark stated that post modernism was "..incredulity toward meta-narratives" which pretty much means disbelief in the abstract idea that there is a comprehensive kind of a story or narrative that is deeply embedded in a particular culture and justifies its power structures. Or more basically put, a disbelief in a unified idea to solve all mankind's problems such as modernisms belief that by creating buildings that focused on efficiency and function, life would be perfect. This idea kind of touches on Marx's theory of Utopia... Which kind of makes sense, but by ignoring the face of building and the beauty in its appearance, we lose the feelings architecture can stir up within because when you think about it, architecture is sculpture too.. it fills a space and that space has a meaning. We as humans, feel. Building purely for need without touching on that idea of feeling, makes buildings boring. Postmodernism challenged this perception and in a way, brought the romance back into architecture. So postmodernism architecture is pretty much efficiently modern, but at the same time, it has feeling. Its not just functional, but beautiful.