Progressions and Reactions
What exactly is modernism and how did it lead to post-modernism?
One of the difficulties in understanding the movement from modernism to post-modernism, is that modernism can be correctly used to refer to two very different historical developments and time periods.
Sometimes modernism refers to the enlightenment and the scientific revolution. So, it’s centered on the late 18th, early 19th century. This kind of modernism focuses on rationality, reason and science.
But in other contexts, modernism refers to a completely different time period — the late 19th, early 20th century. This kind of modernism is all about experimentation and breaking the rules. It’s like, we’ve always made chairs with 4 legs, a seat and a back-rest…how else can we make a chair?
Post-modernism emerged around the middle of the 20th century, and that’s why we can think of it as a progression from the early 20th century kind of modernism, but, in terms of what actually drove the movement, I think it makes more sense to think of it as a reaction to the enlightenment form of modernism, because post-modernism is a rejection of certainty and knowability. It questions the very idea that there is a truth that can be illuminated.