Styles, Schools, Movements, Eras (a ramble)

[David Morris]

A ramble:

Does everyone (or MOST everyone) agree that Postmodernism, however
problematic that label might be, is now in the past us?  I don’t hear
anyone taking about it anymore. Although I don’t know what we might be “in”
right  now, I gather whatever it is, it’s still described in relation to
modernism somehow, aspects of modernism, either “neo” or “post”
**something** or other (like, maybe, post or neo structuralism).  Or maybe
“it” just claims ownership of some aspect of modernism without admitting
lineage, maybe as if there never really was a modernism?

I’ve never been a part of lit-theory, but being a long time member of this
list, I remember when Pynchon was often called a postmodernist.  I think
most of the early postmodern fiction writers were consciously rebelling
against aspects of modernism, so there was some consciousness of being in a
writer’s “generation,” but probably not a school or movement.  Being put
into a labeled category usually is the work of critics and historians after
the fact (like Charles Jencks inventing the term “postmodern” - Is that
really true?  And he was ONLY taking about architecture!  So that’s ANOTHER
major aspect of this discussion).

Anyway…
The reason I’m thinking about this is that I recently joined a Facebook
group for things Art Deco.  And people there are always posting things that
AREN’T Art Deco, and then asking, “Is this Art Deco?” And off to the races
we go, with the ever-present comment that all opinions on the subject are
equally valid, which is, of course absurdly ignorant.  It is a moderated
group, so, odds are, my days there are numbered…  So be it.

So in response to someone saying that all opinions are valid, I wrote this:

“Art styles are like breeds of dogs.  A dog breed is judged by a set of
“points” specific to that breed.  Art styles also have points that have
been agreed upon by art historians and art critics.  These points identify
if a dog/artwork is of a known style, and also the level of excellence the
dog/artwork reaches in meeting those points.  Not all dogs are  Great
Danes, and artworks are not all Art Deco, no matter how much the viewer
loves them.“

This kind of analysis is probably only useful for visual medium.  But I
enjoyed coming up with this analogy that even those (on Facebook) without
any knowledge of “schools” or eras might understand.

Thanks for your forbearance.
David Morris