The A to Z of PoMo (selected relevant highlights)

Capitalism: Shiny post modern products were churned out to supply the demand of the money to burn consumers. Function became less important that the "boom times". Post Modern signifier; an object which is sleek & stylish to do a mundane job.

three-legged lemon squeezer, by the French designer Philippe Starck

Graphics: challenged established rules of design, Neville Brody via The Face, made dramatic new layouts the norm.

Las Vegas: Different styles. Style over substance; hotels made to look Rome, Paris & New York.

New Order: (Power, Corruption & Lies) Juxtaposition of electronic music and still life painting.

Outrage: Gender Bending antics of Stephen Strange/Boy George. The excess of the lifestyle.

Zoo Records: Post Modern Rockbands - Echo & the Bunnymen & Teardrop Explodes

> Bill Drummond, while drawing attention to the void at the heart of post modernism, raises a burning question; "if attacking post modernism is also post modern, can the movement ever end?"

From Neon to New Order

Postmodernism is define by it's fragmentation or out right refusal of narrative. The Las vegas Strip does not follow a single narrative, it is a time machine, a clash of cultures from french landmarks, Egyptian pyramids, Italian architecture. Some would deem all of this to be kitsch and superficial and there is no doubt it's post modern.

The idea of style holds the idea of post modernism together, some go as far as to say that it beyond style. It is a pluralist theory too suggesting that there is not one universal style that defines itself, it means multiple things to multiple people. An idea deeply critical of the past was turned on it's head in 1978, when Kraftwerk, became critical of the future. With their "robot" selves, they predicted that we would all become like robots, stylized and cultivate. It was presented in such a way, that their were distopian undertones to it, suggesting you will be like this one day.

Cindy Sherman, the photographer, rejected the fixed narrative of gender and heterosexuality in photography by being the central focus of all her photographs, dressing up as men, women, children. Unfixing individuality and cultural permissiveness. The effects of post modernism are still being felt in today's culture. So it can be accepted, like it or not, we are all post modern.

Postmodernism: Style & Subversion, 1970-1990

It was a dramatic change in direction for the art world; and by the early 1970's it had "arrived". As a movement that was revolutionary, irreverent and stylistically rehashing of the old. It dismantled boundaries, between high and low culture, thus removing art's superiority. Art was no longer an elitist profession, low culture could begin to enjoy art as it meant something to them.

In the 80's, Andy Warhol painted dollar signs, alluding to arts capitalist ways. It was still an expensive game. Peter Saville, took art from the canvas to the record covers by using 19th century art and contextualizing for the music industry. "Pop Culture used to be like LSD; different, eye opening & reasonably dangerous" Saville said "the things that pop music was there to do for us, have all been done.." He proclaims that "Andy Warhol illustration on a Velvet Underground album was a revelation.

What will history make of postmodernism? Is it style over substance? is it style without substance? "Art is whatever you can get away with" Warhol proclaimed.

http://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/1472/postmodernism-style-subversion-1970-1990

Tony Wilson : The Postmodern Mythmaker by Adrian Shaughnessy

Shrewd patron of Graphic Design. A man who signed the first wave of post modern popstars - Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays, Durtti Column, and others - are name checked in the article. Asked why he thought design was important he is quote as saying; "why was music packaging important to us? because the job was a sacred one.. does the catholic church pour wine into moldy earthenware pots? I think not."

On the subject of meeting Peter Saville, the designer at Factory records for its pivitol early years, said He showed him "a book on Jan Tschichold. He showed him the Penguin Crime covers from 1941, the constructivist play posters from the 1920s and the cover of the 1965 Hoffmann-Laroche catalogue."

http://www.designobserver.org/article.php?id=5817

Design in a Nutshell

Modernism: Less is more.
Post Modernism: less is a bore.
Cultural references.
More than one appraoch.
Challenging.
Recycling the past.
Mass Media.
Liberating.
Quirky.
Political.
Creative

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKomOqYU4Mw

Indiapolis Musem of Art, Design as Art: Post Modernism

Design history is subjective. It is driven by personal opinion. Not objective like the modernists once thought. In today's world, look at old and new design with the same subjective views where as they used to be separated. The 19th century was the start of all design as we know it, so we have a wealth of history to look over.

Post modernism was the "new" trend in the 1980's. Its effected images, ideas,messages, stories & emotions. It can be defined as a combination of styles, design for decoration. It is all about context; you can take an existing product, make minor changes to it and change it's purpose, therefore it has to be seen in a different context. Consumer's Rest' chair, 1983, Siegel, Günzburg, is sighted in the lecture. 

Post modernism blurred the lines between art and design. The idea that art is done by artists and design is done by designers, is no longer relevant. You can design a piece of art and re purpose a piece of art into a design. Design is the new art, as art collectors are buying design. Appearance is dominant but you need judge them in the same way you would any piece; intellectually, who was this designed/done for? why is it the way it is? 

 to paraphrase the speaker, Dr. Josef Strasser, "without knowledge of the past, how can we look at tthe present, let alone the future. Looking at design past, saves us from wrongly judging the present." 

Pop: the begining of post modernity.

Pop art was the beginnings of post modernism. It was the first major movement to look back. In terms of Liechtenstein; he in particular looked back to the vintage comics of his childhood and paid homage to them by blowing up scenes from the comics and painting them on large scale canvases. In Ray Johnson's work, took photographic references of old popular figures and included them in his collages, all of this years before Warhol celebrity based work. Then there is Andy himself, who used celebrities as well as popular branded products in his multimedia works. James Rosenquist; another americain pop artist, took his call mainly from US billboards showing the American dream and juxtapose them with the reality of living in the USA.

In Britain, Peter Blake & Richard Hamilton were also post modern in their approach, often credited with being the first piece of pop art with Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?, takes from american culture, not via a homage but taking clippings and cuts from the media of the time. Blake did this this too with images of Elvis, Ricky Nelson and Frankie Avalon, as well as a vinyl record.

The main things that makes these pieces post modern is the idea of the fusion or blurring  of low and high culture. Prior to these pieces/artists, art was considered for the upper classes, snobs if you will. But inclusion or just references of pop figures and consumerist imagery, art could begin to speak to the masses. This is what is known as intertextuality. References will always be made this things gone before are common place, everything is a copy of a copy. True originality, there is no such thing. Even though it was frowned upon at the time for being subversive or just offense to the old guard of artists. It has penetrated popular thought and now as a style it is a given.