Stephen Knudsen Proposes "Metamodernity" to Reframe Metamodernism as Post-1945 Condition
In an article for Artpulse Magazine, Stephen Knudsen contends that the term "Metamodern generation," introduced by Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker, ought to be replaced with "Metamodernity" to better characterize a post-1945 reality in which humanity grapples with science, technology, and governance. He differentiates between Metamodernity (the state) and Metamodernism (the artistic expressions), drawing a comparison to Modernity/Modernism and Postmodernity/Postmodernism. While mainstream academia traces the rise of Metamodernism to the late 1990s and early 2000s, Knudsen asserts its concurrent existence with Postmodernism, both stemming from the existential upheaval of 1945. He points to early examples in 1960s art and critiques works by Summer Wheat, such as her Zombie Series (2010) and Foragers (2020), along with revisiting Michael Heizer's Levitated Mass (2012). The essay emphasizes the need for careful analysis when applying the Metamodern label.
Key facts
- Stephen Knudsen proposes replacing "Metamodern generation" with "Metamodernity" to describe a structure of feeling beyond demographics.
- Metamodernity is defined as the post-1945 condition shaped by humanity's negotiation of science, technology, and governance.
- Metamodernism denotes late 20th- and 21st-century artistic and literary formations arising from this oscillatory structure of feeling.
- Knudsen argues Metamodernism is not a successor to Postmodernism but a parallel mode coexisting with it throughout the 21st century.
- Summer Wheat's Zombie Series (2010) and Foragers (2020) are presented as examples of Metamodern tension.
- Foragers is a 3,720-square-foot installation at the Mint Museum's Robert Haywood Morrison Atrium, commissioned by The Mint Museum and presented by Wells Fargo Foundation Women Artists Fund.
- Michael Heizer's Levitated Mass (2012) is discussed as a Metamodern work oscillating between Kantian and Postmodern sublimes.
- The essay originated from a 2013 discussion in Notes on Metamodernism involving James Elkins, Timotheus Vermeulen, and Robin van den Akker.
Entities
Artists
- Stephen Knudsen
- Timotheus Vermeulen
- Robin van den Akker
- Summer Wheat
- Francis Bacon
- Sianne Ngai
- Jean Baudrillard
- Jean-François Lyotard
- Michael Heizer
- James Elkins
- Luke Turner
- Friedrich Hölderlin
- Gustave Courbet
- Clement Greenberg
- Lee Krasner
- Jackson Pollock
- Andy Warhol
- Arthur Danto
- Immanuel Kant
- Karsten Harries
- Fredric Jameson
- Stan Allen
- Marc McQuade
- Elon Musk
- Warren Buffett
- Abbot Suger
- Lisanne Skyler
- Joshua Dildine
- Hilary Scott Dildine
- Stefanie Keenan
- Michael Govan
- Alex Murphy
- Eliasson
Institutions
- Artpulse Magazine
- The Mint Museum
- Wells Fargo Foundation Women Artists Fund
- Notes on Metamodernism
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
- Huffington Post
- Musée d'Orsay
- Basilica of St. Denis
- Berkshire Hathaway
- Apple
- Neuralink
- HBO Documentary Films
- BIG
- Snohetta
- Herzog & De Meuron
Locations
- Missouri Ozarks
- Jacks Fork River
- Alley Spring
- Charlotte
- North Carolina
- Los Angeles
- California
- Hiroshima
- Nagasaki
- Japan
- Ornans
- France