OUGD401 - Contextual Studies - 10 examples of Post/Modernism

5 Modernist pieces of art/ design:

This poster falls successfully under the category of modernist because of its minimalistic themes and its 'function before form' design. Its no-nonsense layout is clear and straight forward. The left alignment of the text is also a giveaway of modernist style. 

This page from 'Neue Grafik' magazine is strong in modernist themes because of its experimental but again, minimalistic style. The small range of colours used and the black and white images are not fussily decorative but still explore this idea. Again, the use of sans serif typeface such as helvetica is classic in modernist pieces. 

The simple shapes of this armchair and limited colour scheme show a strong modernist vibe. This doesn't explore the idea of function before form very successfully though because the design of the chair stands out more than the fact that it is a chair, but is still minimalistic and non-florid in style. Its also unsuccessful in that it will outdate, but is still modernist because its the typical style of the modernist period. 

This building, although again, failing in the 'function before form' rule because of its decorative walls atop the roof, its plain, box-like shape and black and white colour scheme is timeless - it was built in 1931 and would still be welcome in 2012!

The London tube map is a perfect example of modernist design because it is totally unrealistic in terms of shapes and proportion, but is clear, legible and easy to use. The designer didn't care what it looked like, so long as it successfully assisted in travelling round London- which it arguably does. 

5 Postmodern pieces of art/ design:

This piece of art by Damien Hirst named 'For the love of God'  is perfectly postmodern in it's arguably 'glorifying of the tacky' style. 8,601 real diamonds were encrusted on the platinum- plated real human skull - not even by the artist but by Bentley and Skinner jewellers and wasn't even designed by the artist but by Jack du Rose. The piece was said to be sold for  around £50 million. This piece is successful in the postmodern style because of its controversial themes and shock tactics. The huge price tag for lack of labour by the actual artist is also common in postmodern pieces.

Tracy Emins 'my bed' was also a victim to over hyped publicity. She argues that it tells a story - but it sparked a lot of controversy because it is arguably just an unmade bed. Through her artwork she challenges taboo themes of love and sex which you wouldn't really get in modern art. It is very successful in post modernity because the story behind it is more prominent than the actual manufacturing of the piece.

Yoko Ono's performance art piece 'cut piece', from the sixties is strong in post modern themes because it is more about the meaning behind it rather than its manufacturing efforts or visual appeal. 

The controversial imagery and shock tactics in Gilbert and George's 'naked shit pictures' are truly postmodern.Much hype and controversy over the obvious exploitative-nature of these artworks  put Gilbert and George on the map.

Barbara Krugers 'You are not yourself' is very postmodern in that it is strongly portrays a message to the viewer and is almost a graphic design piece. The shattered text reflects the same style of the shattered glass as the viewer tries to extract tthe message behind it.