Postmodernism

In architecture, design, and the decorative arts, it is characterized by an acknowledged return to ornament, historical reference, irony, and eclecticism. Postmodernism designates a movement emerging from the 1970s, in reaction to the rigor and universality asserted by modernism.

Postmodernism designates a movement emerging from the 1970s, in reaction to the rigor and universality asserted by modernism. In architecture, design, and the decorative arts, it is characterized by an acknowledged return to ornament, historical reference, irony, and eclecticism. Expressive forms, historical citations, bold colors, and plays on proportion break with strict functionalism. Postmodernism asserts formal freedom and a plurality of languages, re-contextualizing objects and spaces within cultural, symbolic, and at times playful frameworks. It marks a major stage in late 20th-century artistic creation.