Daisy, Jencks

After reading Jencks I found him to a little easier to digest than the previous theorists Lyotard and Habermas. My impression of Jencks is that he believes we live in a postmodern era, which is governed by new rules, different from the classical rules. Although he mentions these rule, he says that we should escape the rules and rise above them, because with following the rules they are constricting.
Jencks first canon talks about “disharmonious harmony.” This concept deals with objects within our society that we can denote multiple meanings, which is justified by another rule which Jencks highlights, pluralism. Pluralism denotes multiple different views and an opposition to just one view. I find the application of “disharmonious harmony” and “pluralism” fascinating influences on architecture and art. It was created infinite possibilities to be creative. Jencks mentions that postmodern architects and artists create pieces that have multiple meanings and create at times frustration because there is not a clear meaning. Another rule that Jencks identities which postmodern artists incorporate within their work in multivalence, which creates “continual discovery of new meaning” (290).
When I was thinking of these rules and applying it to an artists/ architects I knew I thought of Frank Lloyd Wright. I remember going on a field trip in 7th grade to Fallingwater, which was a house he created in the late 30’s. It was a very modern house, but it tied many natural aspects into it at the same time, such as a waterfall. I would consider some aspects of the architecture to fall under Jencks rules. I find Fallingwater to be an example of “disharmonious harmony” by merging modern concrete architecture with the organic nature around the home. Looking at the outside of the home it looks very modern. On the inside there is an aspect of modernism merged with raw natural materials. At times it almost feels like you are still outside when inside. Reading Jencks fifth rule, anamnesis, which he says is the relation between past and present, I felt Wright demonstrated this within his architecture. He did this by creating something new and modern but using design elements that are more traditional, such as raw stone and woodwork. I found Jenck’s article to be very interesting and applicable to many buildings and artworks within our society.