201 DESIGN Eunice Wong: MODERNISM

During the period of Modernism, artists tried to create art that would take viewer out of the traditional setting and make them an active viewer of the artwork. This idea of interactivity has developed more and more and became one of the important aspect for designers nowadays. Also, one of the important change during Modernism is the definition of beauty. The idea of simplicity and use of geometrical shape was brought into Modernism and continued to be one basic “trend” today. The use of geometrical shape can be found in many areas including architecture, fashion and graphics. In the article written by Charles Jencks, he mentioned the shift “from repetitive manufacture of identical objects to the fast-changing manufacture of varying objects; from few styles to many genres; from national identification to both local and global consciousness”(Jencks, p. 224). As discussed in seminar, the idea of individuality is becoming more and more important yet the definition of it is unclear. The fact that people nowadays are looking for uniqueness but at the same time their perspective of beauty are basically similar or even the same. It seems like individuality has become a “dream” to people especially in Asia. The Western culture has become something for Asians to copy and that many people are still conservative that following the trend is something more comfortable to them. The idea of blending in a society has become an obstacle for people to become individuals and unique. It was shown in the lecture slides that Modern Design is reductive, rational, industrial, standardized, ideological, socialist, universal and timeless. These are something continued and also transformed into today’s design aspect.