1. Mopo: An Introduction

2. PIET MONDRIAN – “Composition 10” (1939-1942)
Modernism
Rejected positivism
Challenged tradition
Fascination with new/mechanical
Stylistic experimentation (fff)
Critique of mimesis
(fff) = form follows function
PIET MONDRIAN – “Composition 10” ( )

3. “The Treachery of Images” (1929)
–RENÉ MAGRITTE

4. Anti-Realism Art for art’s sake
Confusing on purpose  confusion of new world
Subjective  no absolutes
Relies on
Myth
Symbol
Archetype (“primary image”  inherent, not societal)
The Unconscious

5. Aesthetic Characteristics of Modernism
Abandonment of traditional “rules”
Fragmented representations of time, meaning, and human nature
Sense of loss, alienation, abandonment, and disillusionment
MARC CHAGALL
“I and the Village” (1911)
VINCENT VAN GOGH – “The Starry Night” (1889)

6. Global Causes: World War I Technology Urbanization/Industrialization
Philosophy shifts brought on by…

7. KARL MARX
-The requirements of a particular (economic) system create moral, cultural, and religious values.
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
- “God is dead…”
CHARLES DARWIN
-“natural selection” and competition vs. God.
SIGMUND FREUD
-interested on unconscious mind
-childhood experiences impact development

8. Postmodernism Extreme self-reflexivity Irony / parody
Breakdown between high and low cultural forms
Nostalgiapastiche
Secondary orality
Late capitalism: paranoia narratives
Multiple “truths”
Disorientation (Faulkner, Vonnegut
Visuality…
Self-reflexivity: Frank Gehry, Nationale-Nederlanden Building
Self-reflexivity: a term applied to literary works that openly reflect upon their own processes of artful composition. Such self‐referentiality is frequently found in modern works of fiction that repeatedly refer to their own fictional status (see metafiction). The narrator in such works, and in their earlier equivalents such as Sterne's Tristram Shandy (1759–67), is sometimes called a ‘self‐conscious narrator’. Self‐reflexivity may also be found often in poetry.
In postmodern architecture, this effect is achieved by keeping visible internal structures and engineering elements (pipes, support beams, building materials, etc.)
Paranoia Narrative: Minority Report

9. “The Treachery of Images”
Hyper-reality: Image more real than reality.
Surface/aesthetic (pomo) more important than depth (mod)
RENÉ MAGRITTE

10. Global Causes: World War II Technology
Suburbanization/Deindustrialization

11. Modernism and Postmodernism
Experiment with style  form follows function
FRAGMENTATION
Questions of “truth” and perception
Disillusionment / Loss / Disorientation

12. Modernity
Postmodernity
Individuality (alienated, tortured)
Loss of individuality / Multiculturalism (“the Other”)
Age of Literacy (elitism)
Image culture (spectacle)
Serious (change world, follow metanarrative)
Silly (no point in trying, critique metanarrative)