Post-Modernism

World War II and its Aftermath The Holocaust Post-War America Existentialism: Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus The Absurd Theater of the Absurd: Samuel Beckett, Peter Weiss The Existential Hero: Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man, Joseph Heller’s Catch-22

The Post-War Era New York: European artists fleeing Europe congregated in N.Y. The New York School, Abstract Expressionism: Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm: Number 30 (fig. 23.2) and Mark Rothko, Red, Brown, and Black (fig.23.5)

Pop Art, Minimalism, Avant-garde Pop art – irreverence to tradition: beer cans, flags, advertisements, media Andy Warhol: Coca-Cola, Campbell’s Soup, movie stars (Marilyn Diptych – fig ) Robert Rauschenberg’s “combine paintings” “Minimalism” in sculpture: Donald Judd, Untitled (fig.23.19) Performance Art – theatrical presentations with mixed visual arts and media: “Happenings,”, Martha Graham’s modern art school

Sculpture Henry Moore: massive human forms. Influenced by Aztec and Mayan sculptures The Recumbent Figure (fig ) Alexander Calder’s mobiles (fig ) Louise Nevelson: used discarded objects and materials in a technique called “assemblage,” Sky Cathedral (fig )

Modern Architecture Mies van der Rohe’s International Style: Lake Shore Drive Apartment Houses, Chicago (fig. 23.8) Le Corbusier: Notre-Dame-du-Haut (fig.23.9) Frank Lloyd Wright: Guggenheim Museum (fig )

Music/Pop Leonard Bernstein: Candide, West Side Story Andrew Lloyd Weber: Cats, Evita, Phantom of the Opera Rock-and-roll: Elvis, Chuck Berry, The Beatles Rhythm and Blues/Soul

Post-Modernism Skepticism toward any representation of reality that claimed to be universal or objective Focus on the “construction of reality” through language and symbol Emphasis on the local and particular rather than the universal In the arts, a tendency toward parody, pastiche, and an eclectic mixture of styles (sometimes taken from history)

Post-Modern Architecture Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers: The Pompidou Center, Paris (fig.23.24) Frank Gehry: Gehry House, Santa Monica (fig.23.25)

Minimalism in Music Philip Glass: opera, Einstein on the Beach John Adams: opera, Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer

Visual Arts Superrealism Chuck Close: photographic image in paint Duane Hanson: sculpted life-sized humans Earth Art: Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Central Park Gates (fig.23.23)

New Fiction Meta-fiction: stories about stories, fiction about fiction Thomas Pynchon Gravity’s Rainbow Jorge Luis Borges: Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis, Tertius

Magical Realism in Fiction Qualities: 1.elements of the fantastic or marvelous 2.a lack of discursive explanation 3.an acceptance of the irrational and illogical 4.an abundance of sensory images and details 5.temporal distortions and causal disturbances 6.elements of folklore and legend 7.multiple perspectives and points of view 8.ambiguity and uncertainty Writers: Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende

Liberated Voices Novelist Chinua Achebe (Nigerian): Things Fall Apart Artist Betye Saar: The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (fig. 24.6) Playwright and activist Vaclav Havel: Letters to Olga Artist Judy Chicago: The Dinner Party (fig. 24.2) Novelist Toni Morrison: Beloved Writer N. Scott Momaday: House Made of Dawn Architect Maya Lin: Vietnam War Memorial (fig.24.10)

A New Century 9/11 The Twin Towers Arata Isozaki: Team Disney Building, Orlando Renzo Piano: Osaka Airport, Japan Frank Gehry: Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain “Hip-hop,” rap Nam June Paik, video art Painter Ma Liuming Baby 5 Architect Daniel Libeskind: Ground Zero