Postmodern

Scope note: Refers to the style and period of art and architecture that developed in the 1960s and after, when there was a clear challenge to the dominance of Modernism. Generally speaking, it advocated a pluralistic approach to the arts and it stated that Modernism had failed because of a lack of a coded language of meaning to the viewer. The term was first used by Spanish poet Federico de Onis in 1934 and later by Arnold Toynbee's "A Study of History" in 1938, but it was in the 1970s when it came into wide use in connection with a trend in architecture that employed selective Eclecticism and Historicism. This resulted in structures that displayed a knowledge of Modernism, but also playful, whimsical, applications of Classical elements. In the other arts, such as painting, there was a return to a classical approach to the human figure, style, and composition, often resulting in Old Masters style works, but with updated imagery, such as the inclusion of current celebrities, or artists from the past. In photography, as well as painting, a narrative or story telling approach to work also became popular. By the early 1980s, many work dubbed Postmodern, were purchased by the corporate art market, where large sums were paid for the work of relatively new artists. By the 1990s, Postmodernism showed signs of slowing down in terms of popularity, when more traditional Modernist forms began to re-emerge.

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