What is “Modernism”? What is “Post-Modernism”?

Search far and wide, you won’t find an easy definition of “Modernism”—let alone of “Post-Modernism”. A lot of seemingly smart people have tried to deliver a handy definition of the two terms—tried and failed. 

  

The when of Modernism is not in much dispute: Starting roughly in the 1890’s, it was greatly affected and accelerated by the First World War, and had its apogee in the arts (Picasso, Braque) in the ‘teens and ‘20’s, in literature (Hemingway, Joyce, Faulkner) in the 1920’s and ‘30’s, in architecture (Lever House) the ‘30’s, ‘40’s and ‘50’s. 
  

The when of Post-Modernism also is not in dispute—simply put, Post-Modernism in each of the arts occurred after Modernism did. (Ha-ha.) Starting in the ‘50’s, and very self-consciously from the ‘80’s, Post-Modernism is still with us today. And works that are clearly “Post-Modern” from this period are easy to spot: Jeffrey Koons’ flower dogs are Post-Modern. So is David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, as is Frank Gehry’s Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. 
  
But what is “Modernism”? What is ‘Post-Modernism”? 

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