Originating as a rebellious movement in philosophy and literature, Postmodernism proclaimed the death of modernism and promoted a new, nonlinear way of approaching architecture and design, spearheaded by Michael Graves, Robert Venturi, Ettore Sottsass, and Alessandro Mendini. It became a style in itself and the defining look of the 1980s.
Postmodern Design Complete is the comprehensive reference to this period of vibrant design, as it profiles key creators including Graves, Mendini, Sottsass, Venturi, Charles Jencks, and Denise Scott Brown and covers the fields of architecture, furniture, graphic design, textiles, and product and industrial design. A section on Living with Postmodernism presents fifteen seminal homes and their furnishings; and a final section titled Postmodernism Continues is a comprehensive overview of contemporary makers. Highly informed and accessible texts are illustrated by more than 1,000 images that bring together classics and little-seen rarities, unusual objets d’art, and mass-produced items. This definitive volume also includes a foreword by Charles Jencks and an afterword by Denise Scott Brown, followed by a substantial reference section.
Reviews
Over 480 pages it covers architecture, design, graphic design and edited design in the work of more than 60 adherents. It includes a section on living with postmodernism and another on its aftermath. As a very infrequent admirer, I was surprised by how much I liked.
— New York Times
Contributors
Judith Gura
Author
Judith Gura was a design historian and author whose books include A History of Interior Design (as coauthor), Design After Modernism, Sourcebook of Scandinavian Furniture, and Postmodern Design Complete. She served on the faculty of the New York School of Interior Design, taught at Pratt Institute and FIT, and lectured frequently about contemporary design and furnishings. She was a contributing editor to Art+Auction, curated exhibitions at the New York School of Interior Design, and worked on exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum and the Whitney Museum.
