Charles Jencks and Postmodernism - Essay Example

Charles Jencks and Postmodernism Postmodernism is used as a label for a group of architectural styles that draw some of its references from modernismand some from the historical antecedents. Since 'Modern' comes from the Latin 'modo' meaning 'just now', 'post-modern' means 'after' just now or beyond the present. A common definition to Postmodernism is 'to be beyond or after the modern'. It has emerged as a movement in different fields of art including literature, painting, sculpting and architecture. Though the term is not coined by him, Charles Jencks has been the first personality to theorize Postmodernism from the perspective of architecture. For Jencks, Postmodernism hybridizes modernism by reweaving the recent modern past and local culture in to a single entity. He defines Postmodernism as the reaction against the monolithic architectural principles of Modernism. Postmodern architecture is a return to the sense of meaningful or referential function of architecture. It is a renewed awareness of the suppressed linguistic or connotative dimension in architecture and is expressed with contextualism and with a collaborative use of modern as well local or historical or referential elements in design. In spite of its opposition to modernism, Postmodernism has its roots in modernism which as we know rejected all old Victorian ideals of how art should be made, interpreted and what it should mean. Architects tried to get away from the philosophical, ethical and formal dictation of the rationalism by a playful and ironical association with construction forms, architectural historical quotations and stylistically contamination and this eventually lead to Postmodernism. The movement largely has been a reaction to the orthodoxy, austerity, and formal absolutism of the International Style. Postmodernism describes the returning tendency of assembling organic narration and historical references in architectural designs by a process of assimilation and re-interpretation; the assimilation of the essence of historical works and reinterpreting the same in combination with the modernist style, thus creating a hybridized form of art. Hence Postmodern architecture is characterized by the incorporation of historical details in a hybrid rather than a pure style, by the use of decorative elements, by a more personal and exaggerated style, and by references to popular modes of building. This type of architecture where reference and ornament have returned to the facade, replacing the aggressively unornamented modern styles, has also been described as "neo-eclectic". This Post modernity in architecture is generally thought to be heralded by the return of "wit, ornament and reference" to architecture in response to the formalism of the International Style of modernism. It is a rejection of strict rules set by the early modernists and seeks exuberance in the use of building techniques, angles, and stylistic references. Postmodern architecture is a return to the sense of meaningful or referential function of architecture, a renewed awareness of the suppressed linguistic or connotative dimension in architecture. Jencks was on of the first to transfer the term 'Post Modern' from literary expression, where it was first used in 1975 to architecture. And in this manner he is the first to theorize postmodernism from the perspective of architecture. Jencks and some other post-modernists believe that post-modernism really began to emerge in the counter-culture of the 1960s. In the West it was a period of questioning and challenging rules and norms, and of embracing spiritual and artistic modes from other cultures that had previously been ignored. According to Jencks's earlier definition, postmodernism describes anything that was build after 1972, the year in which the Pruitt-Igoe project in St Louis for low-income housing was eventually destroyed with dynamite. Jencks's Concept of Modernism and its Shortcomings Jencks claims that modern architecture developed from the interests of large corporations on account of the progress in building technology. The aesthetic of factory and engineering buildings was then transferred to the construction of residential houses and there was practically little or no variation in between them and thus least resembling the function of the two. In his words, he finds the Modernist buildings as 'ugly, brutal and too big'. He criticizes the univalent form of Modern architecture and the way in which their universal grammar represents universal disregard for place and its characteristics. He criticizes the style in which everything is practically interchangeable with disregard to the locally prevailing conditions and the history of a place. He also criticizes the machine aesthetics of a building which fail to convey any meaning to the surroundings and do not relate with the ultimate users of the buildings. He finds that Modernism, which was essentially a style of post war architecture, was only a reflection of the economic triumph of the consumer society in the west and of bureaucratic state capitalism in the east. Jencks criticizes the Modernist architects for inverting the traditional syntax of architecture, and using non-suggestive forms of building which at times did not represent the function of the buildings at all. The factory buildings, residential houses, chapels, public buildings etc. were non-distinguishable by the architectural grammar that they followed. He admonishes the Modernists for inverting the traditional syntax of architecture, turning boiler rooms into chapels, and chapels into boiler rooms, which he felt was the case with Mies at the IIT campus. With reference to the Sydney opera house by Jorn Utzon and the chapel Ronchamp by Le Corbusier , Jencks comments that the .. The Death of Modern Architecture "Modern architecture died in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 15, 1972 at 3.32 pm when the infamous Pruitt-Igoe scheme, or rather several of its slab blocks were given the final 'coup de grace' by dynamite."1 Pruitt-Igoe, a housing scheme, was constructed according to the most progressive ideals of CIAM and it won an award from the American Institute of Architects for being a landmark modernist achievement, when it was designed in 1951. It consisted of modernist blocks fourteen storey high with the rational 'streets in the air' which were thought to be safe from the road traffic and convenient for pedestrian movements. Moreover, its Purist style, its clean, salubrious hospital metaphor, was meant to instill, by good example, corresponding virtues in the inhabitants. Good form was to lead to good content, or at least good conduct; the intelligent planning of abstract space was to promote healthy behavior. The tradition-busting, rational, and modular lifestyle that the high-minded architecture tried to impose on its residents instead made them hate the 14-story slab buildings. And consequently, these award winning houses were destroyed on account of unavoidable social problems that it created. With reference to this Charles Jencks later said, 'Pruitt-Igoe exploded as a great rebuke in the face of Modernism's believers and practitioners'. Jencks's Concept of Postmodernism Jencks finds the beginning and the hints of Post Modern architecture since the late 1950s with the works of architects like Minoru Yamasaki, Eero Sarrinen and Philip Johnson. The works of Philip Johnson are the most appreciated by him and along with the works of Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, judges them to be semi Post Modern. According to Jencks, an important development in Post-Modern architecture was the 'reanimation of down to earth architecture,' which he finds in decorative forms and building materials, in the reduced dimensions and more or less Revivalist-style domestic architecture of Ralph Erskine in England, Theo Bosch in Holland and Martorell in Spain. Postmodernism contains some remnants of Modernism and it has a positive attributes of all of those elements that late modernism lacks: irony, contextualism, sense of history, ornament, pluralism, multivalent meaning, shifted axes and layered spaces. It is a restructuring of modernist assumption with something larger, fuller, and truer. Postmodernism challenge of monolithic elitism--to bridge the gaps that divide high and low cultures, elite and mass, specialist and non-professional, and most generally put--one discourse and interpretive community from another. Jencks contends that Postmodernism would be better categorized as Late Modernism by virtue of a shared method of self-definition (i.e. definition by negation: not this, not that..), Postmodernism is based on a different view according to which things emerge out of other things and this process is generally formulated under the terms of complexity theory. Jencks described the experimentalism in the arts and avant-garde technology in architecture, trends that not as Post-Modernist but as Late-Modern, "the continuation of Modernism in its ultra or exaggerated form"2. For Jencks, Post-Modernism is fundamentally the eclectic mixture of any tradition with that of the immediate past: it is both the continuation of Modernism and its transcendence. Its best works are characteristically double-coded and ironic, making a feature of the wide choice, conflict and discontinuity of traditions, because this heterogeneity most clearly captures our pluralism."3 This double coding uses irony, ambiguity, and contradiction to allow us "to read the present in the past as much as the past in the present". 4 Although, for Jencks, double coding is the most prevalent aspect of Post-Modernism, he distinguishes several other qualities that characterize it. Dissonant beauty or disharmonious harmony, are concepts expressed in disjunctions and collision. "Oxymoron, or quick paradox, is itself a typical Post-Modern trope and 'disharmonious harmony' recurs as 'organic whole' in the aesthetics of classicism and Modernism."5 Cultural and political pluralism are manifested in radical eclecticism in architecture, and in enigmatic allegory and suggestive narrative, genres that emphasize ambiguity. Anthropomorphism and contextualism are favored tropes of Post-Modernists. The relations between the past and present is a valued subject: it risks deteriorating into mere parody, nostalgia or pastiche, but, ideally, results in anamnesis, suggested recollection, often producing a juxtaposition of related and opposed fragments, A will to meaning results in diverse and divergent content, appropriate in a pluralistic society, and in multiple meanings. Multivalence is a quality sought by Post-Modernism; Jencks explained, "If a work is resonant enough it continues to inspire unlimited readings."6 Such resonance depends on a complex relation to the past, either through anamnesis or through the displacement of conventions - tradition reinterpreted. Consciously elaborated new rhetorical figures are employed to renew past conventions: ambiguity, double-coding, paradox, oxymoron, amplification, complexity and contradiction, irony, eclectic quotation, anamnesis, anastrophe, chiasmus, ellipsis, elision, and erosion. A "return to the absent center, is one of the most recurring figures of Post-Modernism."7 Jencks argues that postmodern architecture "contrast(s) with the older notion of classical rules in being understood as relative rather than absolute, responses to a world of fragmentation, pluralism and inflation rather than formulae to be applied indiscriminately." In his book: 'The Language of Post-Modern Architecture', Jencks describe and reflect architecture trends which signaled a conscious move away from the modernist movement or the International Style as much for overtly ideological as for aesthetic reasons. He identifies six styles of postmodern architecture: Historicism, Straight Revivalism, Neo-vernacular, Adhoc Urbanist, Metaphor Metaphysical and Post-modern space. Jencks works with semiological expression 'codex' which became popular with French structuralism in the 1970s. 'Codex' is used to criticize the univalance and the elitist reductionism of Modern architecture and to enlarge the vocabulary of architecture in different directions, to include local, traditional and commercial jargon of the street. In the architecture of the Post Modern, Jencks sees a 'Radical Eclecticism' in which different architectural languages make ironic comments and in this he sees a double standard which appeals to the elite as well as to the man on the street. Pluralism For Charles Jencks ('The Language of Post-Modern Architecture' 1977) postmodernism meant a 'new Pluralism' and a conception of architecture as a communicative language of forms. After identifying univalency and monotony as the problem with the International Style, Jencks advocated multivalency or variation as the solution. He later said that "If anything reigns [in modern Western society] - it is pluralism' (introduction, The Language of Post-Modern Architecture, 1991). Hence postmodernism emphasize multivalent messages, which inherently do not present a single, unified meaning. Jencks's view of post-modernism is that it draws from modernism - that is, it takes aspects of the rationalist systems of the world and then develops them into something hybrid - derived from the modern, but new and post-modern. In 'What is Post-Modernism' Jencks states, "The most visible shift in the post-modern world is towards pluralism and cultural eclecticism". In his view the post-modern is a mixture of different influences, artistic expressions and cultural practices. He characterized postmodernist architecture as "double coding": the mixture of Modern techniques with traditional construction so postmodern architects could communicate with the society at large as well as to those people who had a trained eye and a cultivated taste for architecture, especially architects. Post-modernism means the end of a single world view and a resistance to single explanations, a respect for difference and a celebration of the regional, local and particular. Yet in its suffix 'modern', it still carries the essence of a process which is international and in some senses universal. In this sense it is a hybrid, mixed, ambiguous and 'double-coded." Pluralism essentially means the idea 'that an architect has to consider different cultural tastes in his designs in addition to the universal construction techniques and that is why Jencks took the definition in by describing the postmodernism as double coded, Pluralism is also important. Stylistic variety is important, and the celebration of difference is always apparent. Different "languages" of art and architecture are mixed together. It is not just a matter of whim, but is tied to specific functions and symbolic intentions. Ambiguity is often valued - it is up to the reader to supply the "unifying text". Hence Postmodernism uses double-coding, irony, ambiguity, and contradiction. The unexpected is incorporated. Opposites are juxtaposed. When several codes are used coherently they produce another quality, multivalence. A univalent work or building attempts to refer only to itself. A multivalent building reaches out to the rest of its environment and makes different associations. This ensures that a work will have multiple resonances, and different readings. This multivalence comes only with the displacement of conventions and the reinterpretation of tradition. A classical form may be pressed into new service, and look strange to begin with but actually make sense once you understand the references. According to Jencks Post-modernism means the end of a single world view, and, by extension, 'a war on totality', a resistance to single explanations, a respect for difference and a celebration of the regional, local and particular. Yet it still carries in itself the essence of a process which is international and in some senses universal. In this sense it is always hybrid, mixed, ambiguous and 'double-coded." Jencks in his book 'The New Paradigm in Architecture' describes the AT&T building in New York by Philip Johnson and John Burgee to be a transitional example of postmodern architecture, which, like modernist architecture, is a skyscraper relying on steel beams and with lots of windows, but, unlike modern architecture, it borrows elements from classical Greek style as well. Postmodern architecture has also been described as "neo-eclectic", where reference and ornament have returned to the facade, replacing the aggressively unornamented modern styles as, While modernist architecture tends to be univalent inform, postmodernist architecture is characterized by double coding, the inclusion of messages to be interpreted by other professional architects and a separate set of messages to be interpreted by the buildings' users and inhabitants. Contextualism Jencks was enthused by the concept "radical eclecticism" which he believes "appeals to elite as well as to the man on the street." He praises postmodern architecture for returning to an explicit rather than an implicit system of metaphors. Contextualism influences the ideologies of the postmodern movement in general. It was centered on the belief that all knowledge is "context-sensitive" The Laws of Architectural Communication Jencks comments on the communication that various architectural works make, on account of their syntax and the hidden metaphorical meaning in their form. He finds the styles that preceded modernism, were being governed by architectural grammar whereas the modernist buildings just end up in confusion. He discusses in detail 'in the book 'The New Paradigm in Architecture' the ability of a building to convey meanings through hidden metaphors. The arguments convey that man always looks at a building as a metaphor which he can relate to his experiences in life and his surroundings. The metaphors for Modernist buildings are cardboard boxes and checked paper. Jencks analyses the development t of late Modernism which uses polyvalency as a means of design. He refers to Robert Venturi's distinction between the iconic (the 'duck') and the building covered in pictures (the 'decorated shed'); he defines the one as iconic sign and the other as symbolic sign and opines: the more metaphors architecture triggers, the greater the dramatic effect: yet the more those metaphors remain mere suggestions, the greater the semiotic ignorance. He critically exemplifies this with the Sydney Opeera House and Sarrinen's Trans West Airlines Terminal building. For him the most successful use of Metaphor is the Ronchamp by Le' Corbusier. Jencks's identification of postmodernist work Jencks identifies the elements of historic architectural styles in the works of Eero Sarrinen and Philip Johnson as one of the earliest examples of Postmodernism. With the example of Johnson's 'Kneses Tifereth Israel Synagogue' in Port Chester, Jencks explains what elements of that work make it qualify as an early example of postmodern work. He identifies the building to have qualities of both; historical elements as well as modernist features. "On the outside it was a startling simplification recalling those of Ledoux; on the inside it was reminiscent of the Soane Museum. These historical quotes are located within a black picture-frame of Miesean steel and the absence of ornament and content mark it as Modernist".8 On account of the superfluous use of historical elements in the works of Minorou Yamasaki, Ed Stone and Wallace Harrison, Jencks identifies their works as variants of kitsch and not as a mature work of Postmodernism as done by Johnson. Jencks identifies three major factors for a work to be identified as a Postmodernist example. These are (1) ornamentation, (2) regional suitability and (3) contextual appropriateness. These potential factors the eclectic qualities of a building. Jencks judges the work of Robert Venturi to be a mature work of postmodernism. The inclusion of traditional ornamental elements in 'The Headquarter Buildings for Nurses and Dentists' in 1960 has been identified by Jencks as one reflecting Postmodernism in its appropriate strength. In an ironic and semantic manner, Jencks finds the building as first 'anti-monument of Postmodernism'. 'Suffice it to say that we have, finally, a building that was willfully traditional in some respects, while still partly modern.'9 Jencks further judges the work of American architect Thomas Beeby as an example that displays good mixing of local and modern codes to produce a double coded Postmodernist building. In his row houses of a town project in Chicago, Jencks points out how the houses display a conjunction of 'Neo-Palladianism' and 'Neo-Miese' that was elegant in its crisp detailing and structuring of spaces. The design of the house had a mixture of modernist structural grids with traditional aedicules and barrel vaults. The use of iconographic statements by Beeby provides a resemblance with local American culture. 'Perhaps the most important aspect of these town houses is that they return to the American street tradition by combining individual variation within an overall street morphology.'10 He finds the houses of Jeremy Dixon in London to be a good example of Postmodernist Neo-vernacular style. The houses relate to the historic styles at two levels. Firstly it identifies the immediate locale, the character and the line of street and adjusted itself into the fabric of the nineteenth century. The facades also derived inspiration from the surrounding houses ultimately maintaining the character of the street. According to Jencks's idea 'the scheme manages to be both, acceptably familiar and inventive. This traditional language of construction and the use of local construction materials (London bricks) were easily identified by the users as something that belonged to the place. At the second level the building displays esoteric messages which are more directly accessible to architects. On further inspections, the fenestrations on faade bear resemblance with that of a face and a traditional picture of a domestic hut (a trait of postmodernist architecture), hence providing opportunities to find hidden references for people who care to search for them. Summing up It can be observed that for Jencks it is important for a building to relate to historical references to qualify as postmodernist work. The deeper assimilated response makes a building to be better identified as Postmodern. In the opposite case, when the historical references are not properly assimilated into buildings, it might just degenerate into kitsch or prove to be an example of simple Historicism and not Postmodernism. Further, Jencks also emphasizes the importance of a building to relate to the immediate context. He is in search of rich and flexible language that stems from the locale. The language that is eclectic and responsible to particular cultural conditions is being identified by him as postmodernist. According to him 'The goal of postmodernism is acknowledgement and not reproduction of the past.' 11 Jencks's concept of architectural Postmodernism is in the favor pluralism, complexity, double coding and historical contextualism. Jencks praises Postmodern architecture for returning to an explicit rather than an implicit system or metaphors and such Postmodern architecture revisits the past, citing different periods and styles within a single building, but doing so ironically and subtly. Pluralism offers a new synthesis at a deeper level and overcomes the modern world picture. While modernist architecture is serious, didactic, and elitist, Postmodern architecture tends to be playful, and populist. Modernism completely disregarded the ability of regular people, including a building's users or inhabitants, to understand the messages of their architecture. To explain this better, Jencks writes, "the better the Modern architect, the less he can control obvious meanings". By contrast, postmodernists pay greater attention to the messages a building sends to its average observers. Realizing that people see buildings in the context of the other surrounding architecture, postmodernists acknowledge the styles of surrounding buildings, Postmodernist architecture acknowledges its own context. In contrast with the modernist counterparts, postmodernist buildings display more ornamentation and detail. Postmodernist building is characterized by its asymmetrical form, juxtaposition of different colors, textures and building materials, ornamented facades, acknowledgement to other buildings around it, incorporating multiple styles and cultural allusions and by including three-dimensional elements like sculptures into its form. Postmodernist architecture also draws attention to its surfaces through the use of asymmetry and symbolism. By shifting or rotating familiar axes or combining dissonant, eclectic, or referential elements. Unlike modernist buildings that look the same when left-right reversed, postmodernist buildings generally demonstrate variety. By playing with a viewer's expectations, postmodernists hope to provide people with a structure that fulfills more than one purpose, supports more than one interpretation, embodies a sense of pluralism, and offers a level of complexity. Reference: Jencks, Charles., 1986, What is postmodernism, New York, Saint Martin's Press. Jencks, Charles. 1977 The Language of Postmodern Architecture. New York: Jencks, Charles. 1987, Modern movements in Architecture, New Ed edition, Penguin (Non-Classics) Jencks, Charles., 2002. New paradigm in architecture: the language of post-modernism. New Haven: Yale University Press, Jencks, Charles., 1987. Post-modernism: the new classicism in art and architecture, London: Academy Editions, Read More