This reading essentially attempts to distinguish modernism and postmodernism through highlighting general differences between the two and looking at what critics and artists say about each of these "movements." We are currently considered to be in the age of postmodernity by most people. The "Age of Modernity" is often looked at as beginning in the late 1600s and mid/late 1700s. This, however, is different than the era of modern art, generally considered to have begun in the late 1880s and continued through the 1970s. Modernism in art began during a time of social upheaval, with the industrialization of the west and the movement away from more agrarian lifestyles. Modernist artists were very focused on the individual and thought it was important that art rise above everyday life. From the beginnings of modernism grew formalism, in which "the 'significant form' of the artwork was what was to be exclusively attended to" (33). Other important movements such as abstract expressionism and minimalism followed.
Criticism of modernism began the current movement of postmodernism in the 1960s/70s. Andy Warhol is observed by many as a sort of catalyst for the end of modernism. Where modernists believed art should reside above the everyday, postmodernists recognize narrative and political art as important. While modernists tended to gravitate towards the purity of one medium, postmodernists often use combinations of a variety of media. Most importantly, postmodernists are critical of the times they live in, whereas modernists were not.
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