Recently, V&A museum held a retrospective
exhibition - Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990, which were arranged
a diversified art and design collection. V&A unfolded the debate about cultural
substance of Postmodernism spirit - self-criticism and self-consciousness that was
raised during the early 1970s. Intentions of both museum and curators were to rekindle
the public interests about Postmodernism, to rethink that history, to recap the
legacy which Postmodernism brought to modern design field, and also to foresee
the future of design from cultural past.
It is clear
that the purpose of holding this exhibition
in an era of globalism can be seen from three perspective views: firstly, modern
curators preserve cultural and intellectual legacy of Postmodern times. And, they
try to attract public engagements. Secondly, this exhibition will cause new
critic reviews about the Postmodern revival. Thirdly,
it will examine the big phenomenon in history of design practice. Therefore, the exhibition needs
to be interpreted through many layers, not only physical contribution, but also
cultural and social impact. *1
In the beginning, at first glance
of this exhibition, colorful neon sign was flashing at dim entrance-hall. The
whole tone was already set off through this fashionable and plastic light. Atmosphere was radical, controversial and rebel that
Postmodernism was supposed to be.
The exhibition was arranged in six
major sectors. Following the path, the first gallery was architecture gallery
that Postmodernism got its foot on the stage in the first place. This journey
began with a big panel showing a fire chair, which indicated the end of
modernism. Also, it was the time of emerging attitude that rejected modernist utopian
ideal perfection. Moving forward, amounts of objects were on display. Architects
in that period were optimistic. They combined motifs from the past with new elements,
such as Aldo Rossi, Charles Moore. The centerpiece of this first gallery was a full-scale architectural
façade reconstruction by Hans Hollein from Architecture Biennale in the 1980s.
When I saw it, some contradictory feelings emerged, for example, new and old, present and past, flourishing and
recession. And I think the reason is that curators tried to represent culture
from the past by using the modern space and light settings. Furthermore, the first sector also reminded me of
architecture in the current state which is being in a conflict.
Multimedia
presentation played a big role in this first sector. For example, still film
clips were showing off with moving and projected images. Solid architecture models
were powerfully displayed. They were accompanied with sophisticated architecture
plans filled with vibrant colors and geometric forms. Meanwhile,
ambient sound was penetrated into the whole room, heightening and strengthening
the space sense. In addition, from the
perspective of psychological consciousness, this multimedia display systems revoked
and stirred feelings of newness and nowness of the Postmodern legacy. And, this
representation offered an accurate view of the objects. Viewers had intimate
relation with artifacts. Meanwhile, other amounts of
delicate objects, such as Ettore Sottsass small 3d models, were exhibited in glass
display cases. This way of displaying produced a truth of analytic function
about museum rather than a representation of accuracy. *2
The second part was industrial design sector, which
prioritized certain information. This sector introduced two influential Italian
collectives studio of industrial design- Alchymia and Memphis. They were both pioneers
of product design in the early years. Because their design both showed the
inadequacies of Modernism and the alienating conditions of late capitalism. *3
On the left side of this sector, huge prints were hung on the
wall almost from floor to ceiling. Small-size products inside crystal glass
cases were displayed in a row with labels on the side. Therefore, this chronicle
of design narratives encouraged the audiences to have a contemplative way of
viewing. *4
The third part of the exhibition was exhibited to the
proliferation of Postmodern. In this case, objects of fashion, theatre, dance and performance were shown in
a three-layers steel framed structure, which were saturated in strong visual
and ambient auditory. Undoubtedly, the whole space setting
gave a sense of dynamic club-like culture- dazzling and radical. For example, large-scale persona of Grace Jones was a striking and powerful
one in center stage. But, different from the development in depth to display artifacts
in the first and second sectors, this field was developed much more towards
vertical direction. For instance, dramatic costumes were exhibited
in solid steel framed structure and echoed with other audio-visual installations.
Screens were hung on the second and third floor of the structure. Therefore,
rebel, plastic, superficial
and controversial elements of Postmodernism were totally flashing and spilling
out under this theatrical atmosphere. Rather than just classifying the
objects and narrating the cultural history, curators brought the substance of
postmodernism in this field to influence audiences by way of physiological and
conscious reflection.
Next session was graphic design sector that was
full of experimental design. The way to display was less dazzling and more
conventional. So, this concise way to display offered more time and space for
audiences to contemplate and reflect, knowing other important aspects about
artifacts from labels. In fact, at that time, graphic designers intended to put
new technology into aesthetics by using digital weapon. They wanted to empower people
to produce their own images. Thus, this endeavour resulted
in big impacts on recent graphic design. Firstly, the gap between amateur and
professional designers was narrowed down. But unfortunately,s
many design lost its originality because of the PDF download from online
resources. Secondly, in nowadays,
handmade objects are seen as a way of rebellion against flourishing digital
features.
The fifth sector set its focus on consumer
culture. It examined
the hyper-inflated commodity culture of the 1980s. This boom decade saw money
become a source of endless fascination for artists and designers. *5
The way of exhibiting the artifacts in this area was
more like representing commodities. Most of artifacts were preserved in glass
cases, which were displayed on both sides of the path. Thus, this
space setting made visitors feel like watching products on supermarket shelves. Last, Andy Warhol’s dollar sign print gave the final way to
commodity culture in the end of the path. In short, this sector offered some contemplating
reflections. Absolutely, a
question emerged that when culture was seen as a commodity in Postmodern
times, how far would Postmodernism go?
The last session displayed the death of Postmodernism by
the late 1980s. In this sector, jewelry design and other luxury goods were displayed in crystal
glass display cabinets. But unlike the way of displaying former sectors, artifacts
inside the glass were luxury and superficial with less function. It is clear that this representation showed a fragile sense of hope in the late
Postmodernism. In personal view, it was also the reason why Postmodernism died,
because it was too superficial and had no practical function. Finally, this
exhibition ended with the new order’s music video that showcased a person was
falling down from the sky. Its subversive style made audiences remind of the
whole exhibition contents and provoked reflection on it.
In fact, according to curator’s
speech “Postmodernism is often seen as a dead end in retrospect that offered
nothing more than cynicism and irony.” As mentioned above, superficial and
plastic, the negative feature, are major impression of Postmodernism. It resulted
in people’s ignorance and misunderstanding about the Postmodern legacy. So, as
curator said with the following sentence “It is impossible to understand today’s art and
design, without grasping the impact of Postmodernist ideas. These radical
gestures fundamentally changed the nature of creative practice, bringing a new
pluralism and freedom.” Thus, the purpose of exhibition was to promote an understanding
of Postmodern legacy, to reevaluate contributions from the past and finally to attract
audiences. *6
What did we miss in the postmodern
legacy? What will the audiences discover about dramatic period of art and design history
in this exhibition? What about its lasting impact? There are so many layers
need to be interpreted. Undoubtedly, Postmodern did have its lasting impacts on
popular culture at the present day. Firstly, in that period of economic bubble,
accumulation of information and catalogue in café was
seen as collecting statistics and database by social engagements. It was an
early stage to share the information. And that was contributed to resources
sharing in the digital age. Secondly, Japanese pop culture,
such as anime, comics, were also emerged under the
situation of economic bubble. This development boosted the self-consciousness and
auto-critique. Similarly, there was
another insight of consumption culture and social transformation. At that time,
People wanted to get away from community, discovering and searching the other
world. Therefore, tribe culture was raised which was opposite to fleeting and instant
feature of fashion. In fact, Postmodernism gave every individual
freedom and liberty. And indeed, Postmodernism denies, undermines and
deconstructs the possibility of high art. It embraces the ‘low’ in the
condition of democracy. *7 It is clear that Postmodernism was blended
into pop culture with its own anti-elitist and radical style. The phenomenon
of optimism explosion, gender blending, sexual ambiguity, deconstruction facts all
showed the substance of the postmodernism controversial culture. Furthermore, Postmodernism
could be read as a symbol of political frustration and mobility rather than as
a significant intellectual or cultural phenomenon in its own right. *8
In brief, after visiting this exhibition, I had amounts
of recollections of Postmodern times and reflected on the impacts of
Postmodernism on our daily lives .Its influences are also arranged from wider
design culture to design practice. And we should also draw lessons from the
failure and limit of Postmodernism.
Reference:
*1. V&A
symposium about the Postmodern legacy. (2011)
*2. VCT brief. (2011)
*3. Rethinking Postmodernism by Glenn Adamson (2009)
http://apache.ocad.ca/events_calendar/eventdetail.php?id=1647
*4. Duncan. (1995)
*5. V&A
symposium about the Postmodern legacy. (2011)
*6. V&A
symposium by Glenn Adamson, Postmodernism curator. (2011)
*7 &*8. Postmodernism by Geyh Paula. (2005)
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/postmodernism.aspx
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