What
is modernism? Why did it begin and how long
did it last? How does it relate to postmodernism?
Replies to these questions have often been
vague or confusing, but in this brilliant
new book Chris Rodrigues provides an accessible
introduction to this crucial and perplexing
formation of 20th-century culture.
Modernism
is usually thought of as a radical aesthetic
transformation, a shock wave of innovations
hitting art, architecture, music, cinema and
literature. Introducing Modernism explores
the avant-garde milieu of Picasso, Joyce,
Schoenberg and other modern masters, but it
also delves deeper, interpreting modernism
as a set of responses to the global phenomenon
of modernity itself – responses that
are often in conflict with each other, and
that encompass revolutionary advances in technology,
industry and science, set against a 20th-century
background of mass social and political upheavals.
Illustrator
Chris Garratt adds his irreverent humour to
make this a stimulating account of the central
issues of modernism, and an essential companion
to the best-selling Introducing Postmodernism.
***
Chris
Rodrigues is Senior Lecturer in Media Arts
at the University of Plymouth, where he runs
an MA in Contemporary Film Practice. He has
been involved with film studies in higher
education and film-making in the independent
sector over many years.
Chris
Garratt is an illustrator and cartoonist whose
“Biff” comic strip appears weekly
in the Guardian.
