Answering the Question: What is Postmodernism| Jean Francois Lyotard| PG S3 Critical Studies II

Key Concepts

Postmodernism, Modernism, Realism, Sublime, Avangard, Enlightenment, Unpresentable, Totality, Experimentation, Kitsch, Taste, Judgment, Rules of Art, Presentation, Conceivable.

Main Topics and Key Points

Introduction to Lyotard and the Essay

Jean-François Lyotard, a French socialist philosopher and literary theorist, discusses postmodernism in his essay "What is Postmodern?".
Lyotard argues that there's a trend to halt experimentation in cultural production, particularly in art.
He critiques various theorists and essays related to postmodernism, including references to neo-expressionism and architects abandoning the Bauhaus project.

Critique of Attempts to Stop Experimentation

Lyotard observes a "period of slackening" where efforts are made to suppress experimentation.
Neoconservatives aim to dismantle the "unfinished project of Enlightenment" (referencing the German word "Aufklärung").
He cites Karl Popper's "The Open Society" and Theodor Adorno's "Aesthetic Theory" as relevant philosophical works.
Lyotard references Jürgen Habermas's critique of modernity's failure to create a unified life experience, leading to expert-dominated fields.
Habermas suggests shifting aesthetic judgment from taste to comparative, contingent, and historical situations.
Lyotard questions Habermas's vision of unity, asking if the world can be comprehended holistically or if postmodernism re-examines Enlightenment values.

Realism and the Avangard

Lyotard notes a recurring call for order and unified expression, urging artists and writers to conform or be "healed."
He discusses the need to "liquify" the avangard movement.
Avangard movements are defined as experimental, radical, and unorthodox approaches to art, culture, and society, encompassing movements like Cubism and Futurism.
Avangard developed as a reaction to World War I, rejecting logic and reason in favor of irrationality.
The rise of mechanical reproduction destabilized realism, as photography and cinema surpassed painting's ability to stabilize the referent.
Lyotard argues that the rules of art must evolve with changing times.
Those who question artistic rules are ostracized by those concerned with reality and identity.
Photography and cinema excel at replicating reality, challenging traditional painting.
The central question shifts from "what is beautiful?" to "what can be said to be art?".

Art as Kitsch and the Sublime

Lyotard claims that art has become "kitsch," pandering to confused tastes and prioritizing profit over aesthetic value.
Kitsch is defined as art that caters to mass popularity and is valued for its commercial success.
Scientific knowledge and capitalist economy impose a rule that reality must be validated by conscious agreement.
Modernity requires shattering belief and discovering the lack of reality, alongside inventing new realities.
Lyotard connects this to the Kantian theme of the sublime, which involves both pleasure and pain.
The sublime, according to Kant, is a principle of disorder and purposelessness, where understanding encounters something it cannot organize or contain.
In postmodern philosophy, the sublime indicates the limits of reason and representation.
The sublime emerges when imagination fails to present an object matching a concept.
Modern art aims to present the fact that the unpresentable exists, exemplified by empty abstraction.
Lyotard criticizes the avangard for directing viewers away from the concept of the unpresentable.

Defining the Postmodern

Lyotard asks, "What is postmodern?".
A work can only be postmodern if it is first modern; postmodernism is not the end of modernism but a nascent stage.
Modernism occurs in the withdrawal of the real.
Modern aesthetics are an aesthetic of the sublime, albeit a nostalgic one.
He references James Joyce's fragmented stream of consciousness as an example.
The postmodern puts forward the unpresentable in presentation itself, denying the solace of good form and taste.
It seeks new presentations to impart a strong sense of the unpresentable.
A postmodern artist or writer resembles a philosopher, working without pre-established rules to formulate new ones.
Their work has the character of an event, happening in the moment and capturing reality as it is.
Postmodernism must be understood through the paradox of the future.

Conclusion

Lyotard concludes by referencing Kant and advocating for a "war on totality."
He urges witnessing the unpresentable, activating difference, and saving the honor of the name.
Lyotard emphasizes the presence of the unpresentable in reality.

Notable Quotes

(Referring to Habermas) "What kind of unity does Habermas have in mind?"
"The real question is not what is beautiful but what can be said to be art."
"Let us wage a war on totality, let us be witness to the unpresentable."

Technical Terms and Concepts

Postmodernism: A philosophical and cultural movement characterized by skepticism towards grand narratives, emphasis on subjectivity, and deconstruction of traditional values.
Modernism: A cultural movement characterized by a rejection of traditional forms and a focus on innovation and experimentation.
Realism: The attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding speculative fiction and supernatural elements.
Sublime: A concept in aesthetics referring to the feeling of awe and terror experienced when encountering something vast, powerful, or incomprehensible.
Avangard: Experimental or innovative art, culture, or society.
Enlightenment: An intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century.
Unpresentable: That which cannot be adequately represented or conceptualized.
Totality: The concept of a complete and unified system or understanding.
Kitsch: Art or objects that are considered to be in poor taste because they are garish or overly sentimental, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.

Logical Connections

The essay progresses from identifying a trend against experimentation to analyzing the historical context of realism and the avangard. It then delves into the philosophical implications of the sublime and the unpresentable, culminating in a definition of the postmodern and a call to action. Lyotard uses examples from art, architecture, and philosophy to support his arguments, creating a cohesive and multi-faceted exploration of postmodernism.

Synthesis/Conclusion

Lyotard's essay argues that postmodernism is not a rejection of modernism but a continuation of its exploration of the unpresentable. He critiques attempts to impose order and totality, advocating for embracing difference and witnessing the limits of representation. The essay serves as a call to resist conformity and to engage with the complexities and contradictions of the postmodern world.