1. English 3044 Late Modernism

2. Late Modernism (about 1930-60 (70?) → Postmodernism
Reminder: What is literary “modernism”?
A style of writing which rejected traditional and conventional methods and saw the experience of reality as individualistic, subjective, non- chronological, and often irrational.

3. Characteristics of late modernism
Strongly existentialist
Affected by WWII, Holocaust, and bombings of Japan
Urban and intellectual
Centered more on USA (Chicago, NY)

4. Art of the Holocaust

5. Late Modernist Painting

6. Late Modernism in Art - Art made from industrial objects - Beyond paint

7. Late Modernism in Art - Angles and cubes still popular - Abstract symbolism

8. Robert Rauschenberg

9. Late Modernism in Music Dave Brubeck – Time Out (1959) Pierre Schafer – Apostrophe (1948) John Cage – Sonata II for Prepared Piano (1951)

10. Existentialism John-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
- Discussed by German / English / French philosophers in the late 1800s and 1900s
- Popular after WW II
- Existence happens before meaning
- The “angst” or fear of living
- Meaning must be constructed
- Absurdity: Things only mean something if we decide they do

11. “Theatre of the Absurd”
Waiting for Godot (1953) – Samuel Beckett
“Let's go." "We can't." "Why not?" "We're waiting for Godot.”
Two beggars state that they need to stay by a tree to wait for “Godot,” not knowing who/what this is. At the end they decide to commit suicide, having no reason to do anything.

12. “Theatre of the Absurd”
The American Dream (1961) – Edward Albee
Albee: “[It is] an examination of the American Scene, an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society.”
‘Mommy’ and ‘Daddy’ leave, and ‘Grandma’ tells ‘Mrs. Barker’ that Mommy and Daddy killed their adopted son. However, Mrs. Barker’s other son shows up (‘The American Dream’) and is adopted instead.

13. “Theatre of the Absurd”
The American Dream (1961) – Edward Albee

14. “Theatre of the Absurd”
“The characters in Absurdist drama are lost and floating in an incomprehensible universe and they abandon rational devices and discursive thought because these approaches are inadequate.”
…Or no characters at all: Beckett’s “Breath” (1969) – a 25 second play. The breakdown of communication leads to silence.