In Postmodernism, or, the cultural logic of late capitalism, the author argues that architecture, which dominates the western culture, is an aesthetical form of cultural logic used to express postmodernism. Much of the expressions in paintings and philosophy show the true meaning of postmodernism. Architecture is a new form of aesthetically popular culture that takes political dimensions depending on the aesthetical features used to express a piece of an architect. Here, the higher forms of commercial (postmodernism) cultures have the merit of influencing people to decide the group to which an aesthetical feature belongs. Aesthetics is about the impressions people develop from what their eyes see.
Responses
“….a point that will be argued,…… namely that, every position on postmodernism in culture –whether apologia or stigmatization is also at one and the same time, necessarily, and implicitly or explicitly political stance on the nature of multinational capitalism today (Jameson 1991, 2). Here, a stylistic description of architecture shows the relationship between architecture and the cultural style of people, which often translate into the political dispositions of the people.
I agree with the statement because people with different cultures have different ways of doing things and architecture is one of the crucial tools used to express the culture of the people. The connection between culture and the political disposition of the people is evidently expressed in the objects they make. Typically, culture dictates the things people do and the way they relate with their environment (Jameson 1991).
“Of all the arts, architecture is the closest constitutively to the economic, with which in the form of commissions and land values it has virtually unmediated relationship” (Jameson 1991, 4). It is argued that architecture is necessary in shaping the culture of the people because it is an economic necessity that people must learn to accept to live with.
I agree with the author who argues that different consumers have different preferences for different products because each product appeals differently to each consumer. Production has become a dominant culture in the modern society because it is one of the economic activities where architecture is deeply embedded. The author presents many examples of buildings that represent architectural modernism, which represent the vernacular of the American city fabric (Jameson 1991). The architects of John Potman, which include the Peachree and the Renaissance Centers in Detroit, are good examples used to represent the lexicon and syntax of the language of the people in the modern society.
“….I believe one has to see such ‘people movers’ (Portman’s own term, adapted from Disney) as somewhat more significant than mere functions and engineering components” (Jameson 1991, 41). The ‘people movers’ are the lifts and mechanical devices that make movement easier and faster for the people who used to walk on their feet before engineers invented the mechanical devices architects use in modern architecture.
I disagree with the author about the components used to move the people within a building because Portman’s space does not merely consist of mechanical components but extra ordinary linguistic innovations of his work (Jameson 1991). Architects express the problem being addressed in a language that easily conveys the meaning of architecture to the target audience. Here, the new meaning enables people to develop new perceptions about a piece of an architect by using words and aesthetics properly.
Bibliography
Jameson, Fredric. Postmodernism, or, the cultural logic of late capitalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1991.