Postmodernism is a term that we have come to known since the late twentieth century. Derived from the Latin words “post” (after) and “modo” (just now), postmodernism is a widely discussed phase of contemporary history today. The early appearances of the word go back to a surprisingly long way. American postmodernist Ihab Hassan indicated in his book, The Postmodern Turn (1987), that “postmodernism” could be traced back to the Spanish word “postmodernismo” in Antología de la poesí española e hispanoamericano, published in 1934 by Federico de Onis.
Postmodernism overturned established ideas about style and brought a radical freedom, especially to art and design. Postmodernism was a drastic departure from modernism’s vision, which was based on clarity, simplicity, and functionality. Born as a challenge to the existing movement at the time that
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The inspirations were really reflected in their products, as clearly seen with their bold, geometric shapes and lavish ornamentation. Clashing colors, blocky shapes, and loud patterns were also associated with their designs. Many of their pieces were coated in brightly colored laminates. Laminates were commonly used to protect kitchen furniture and surfaces from stains. The Memphis specifically chose this unusual material because of its obvious lack of culture. A fine example was Sottsass’ 1981 Beverly cabinet that sported green and yellow snakeskin pattern laminate doors with brown tortoiseshell bookshelves at a topsy-turvy angle and a bright red bulb. Another example was Sottsass’ eccentric Carlton bookcase, which was displayed in the Memphis’ debut exhibition in 1981, with angled shelves and bookends in primary colors, posing and underlying question: Why does a bookcase need to look a certain way? It was obvious that within the design world, Memphis was a