Difference And Similarity Between Modernism And Post-modernism From Venturi

Post-modernism is the general name of advance guard trend of thought in arts , following modernism, from the Europe and America (especially America) in the 1950s'.Not only is the trend of thought in design involved in the category of the post-modernistic culture ,but has its own special idea, different from the post-modernistic culture and post-modernism. For this reason , it is obvious for us that Post-modernism in culture is such a great and complicated system that we can not define it clearly up to this point. On the other side, its philosophical definition and category includes destructuralism (post-structuralism), feminism and so on. Of course, it is not the question of design in post-modernism. As far as the post-modernistic design is concerned, it began in the 1960s', developed in the 1970s'and declined in the 1990s'.It aims at anti-purity functionality and non-adornment in post-modernism and is characterized by historical eclecticism, irony symbolism and popular-adornment style. Post-modernism in design is generated from the repugnance to the international style in modern architecture , around the anti-reductionism that "less is more", focusing on abundance in vision by adornment ,not the monotonous principle of functionalism. So it breaks the new ground in the development of design.Venturi is the forerunner of post-modernism design and is one of the great leading exponents in post-modernistic architecture. From the analysis of his main opinions in the books "Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture," and "Learning from Las Vegas," and the introduction about such typical living examples as a house for his mother in the Chestnut Hill, the older people's home in Philadelphia, and furniture, coffee cups and the like, we can find out his attitude towards architectural history and tradition and the newtrain of thought and new styles in the treatment of architectural forms. Meanwhile, we can reveal a concept in architectural aesthetics , that is, running for the architectural arts' complicity and contradiction contrary to classical aesthetic ideas-integrity, unity and harmony are not regarded as the highest principle and aim of art creation. Instead, non-integrity, non-unity and non-harmony are highly held in esteem. From the comments and appraises of critic , we've got a new and novel angel of review to go further into the world of Venturi. That is to say, Venturi provided a whole value system of design principles in liberalism for post-modernistic and contemporary architecture-a series of rules of humanism. Opposed as he was to "inclination to break the rules ", he held the principles of non-principle and rules of non-rules in esteem clearly. He tried to encourage architects to express themselves in design freely and liberally. Under his influence, post-modernism evolves from such multi-principles as elegance, romantics, adornment, entertainment, superficies, historical eclecticism to the appearance of new buildings designed by such symbolical skills and techniques as diverse, historical and literary symbols. So no one can ignore the influence from himself and his post-modernistic buildings on contemporary aesthetics of architecture.From the analysis of Venturi's practices and theories , we've come to a conclusion that modernism and post-modernism all are social practices based on modern civilization of science and technology and deep and profound humanistic spirits deriving from the Renaissance. They are not regarded as two opposite sects, but two different stages of modern architectural developments. In the early of 20 century forerunners of modernistic architecture went deeply and broadly into the function, technique, economics, art and social meanings and put forward a series of plans of reformation and creation. By contrast, advocates of post-modernistic architectural trend of thought paid their attention mainly to the problems of form and art. In one word, post-modernism is supplement and amendment to modernistic architecture, is modernistic architectural multi-development and is derived from modernism.