Modernism


 * =What is modernism?=

Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement in the arts, its set of cultural tendencies and associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The concept of modernism would be a central theme in these efforts. Gaining popularity after the Second World War, architectural modernism was adopted by many influential architects and architectural educators, and continues as a dominant architectural style for institutional and corporate buildings into the 21st century. Modernism eventually generated reactions, most notably Postmodernism which sought to preserve pre-modern elements, while Neomodernism emerged as a reaction to Postmodernism.


 * =What is it called in different countries?=

Modernism is also called : “Art Nouveau” (Belgium and France), “Modern Style” (England), “Sezession” (Austria), “Jugendstil” (Germany), “Nieuwe Kunst” (Netherland), “Liberty or Floreale“ (Italy).


 * =When did it start and why?=

It started in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In particular the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, followed then by the horror of World War I, were among the factors that shaped Modernism. Central to Modernism was its rejection of the ideology of realism, and how it made use of the works of the past, through the application of reprise, incorporation, rewriting, recapitulation, revision and parody in new forms. Modernism also rejected the lingering certainty of Enlightenment thinking, as well as the idea of a compassionate, all-powerful Creator. In general, the term modernism encompasses the activities and output of those who felt the "traditional" forms of art, architecture, literature, religious faith, social organization and daily life were becoming outdated in the new economic, social, and political conditions of an emerging fully industrialized world. The poet Ezra Pound's 1934 injunction to "Make it new!" was paradigmatic of the movement's approach towards the obsolete. Another paradigmatic exhortation was articulated by philosopher and composer Theodor Adorno, who, in the 1940s, challenged conventional surface coherence and appearance of harmony typical of the rationality of Enlightenment thinking. A salient characteristic of modernism is self-consciousness. This self-consciousness often led to experiments with form and work that draws attention to the processes and materials used (and to the further tendency of abstraction). The modernist movement, at the beginning of the 20th century, marked the first time that the term "avant-garde", with which the movement was labeled until the word "modernism" prevailed, was used for the arts (rather than in its original military and political context). Surrealism gained fame among the public as being the most extreme form of modernism, or "the avant-garde of modernism".


 * =What are its main characteristics?=

Characteristics of modern architecture, particularly modernist architecture, may include: “Form follows function“: the principle that the materials and functional requirements determine the result An adoption of the machine aesthetic (using industrially-produced materials) An emphasis of horizontal and vertical lines A creation of ornament using the structure and theme of the building, or a rejection of ornamentation. A simplification of form and elimination of “unnecessary detail” An adoption of expressed structure

Building of **Bauhaus** (Art school)