Theories of Modernism. Politics of Time and Space

Abstract

The author explores relations between different theories of modernism. He takes into con- sideration: (1) general concepts and theories of modernism; (2) theories of international modernism inherent to Western twentieth-century hegemonic modernism; (3) theories of the local (national and regional Western) modernism; (4) revisions of the concept of modernity in contemporary theories of globalization. These topics are considered, in a first step, via the philosophical distinction between a historical perspective (international modernism) and geographical perspective (global revision of modernism). The author then interprets aesthetic universalism and the concept of the autonomy of art charac- teristic of international modernism (Adorno, Greenberg, Argan). He points to the trans- formation of the hegemonic aesthetic universalism into national modernisms which are characteristic of local modernisms. He argues that the theories of global modernity carry out a critical discussion of Western modernism as the ideal model. This shows that uni- versalist western modernism appears as one of many modernisms in relation to colonial/ post-colonial societies and to socialist/post-socialist societies.