--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 1979, postmodernism lost its…" description: "\"In 1979, postmodernism lost its understanding of the meaning of ornament. It degenerated into kitsch applique.\" — Charles Jencks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/charles-jencks-18110_kitsch_in-1979-postmodernism-lost-its-understan_3184251.jpg" --- # In 1979, postmodernism lost its understanding of the… ![“In 1979, postmodernism lost its understanding of the meaning of ornament. It degenerated into kitsch applique.” quote by Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/charles-jencks-18110_kitsch_in-1979-postmodernism-lost-its-understan_3184251.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/charles-jencks-18110_kitsch_in-1979-postmodernism-lost-its-understan_3184251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/charles-jencks-18110_kitsch_in-1979-postmodernism-lost-its-understan_3184251.jpg) > “In 1979, postmodernism lost its understanding of the meaning of ornament. It degenerated into kitsch applique.” [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Claims postmodernism lost its grasp of ornament’s meaning, degrading into superficial decorative excess. **In simple terms:** Postmodernism’s ornament became shallow kitsch. Key Takeaway Reclaim meaningful design beyond superficial decoration. Themes design postmodernism ornament Mood analytical critical Type architectural philosophical When to use this quote - architectural criticism - urban planning - interior design Key Concepts aesthetics cultural theory Questions to Reflect On - What defines meaningful ornament? - How can design avoid kitsch? A Different Perspective Some argue ornament can still convey depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Kitsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kitsch/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism/) [Postmodernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postmodernism/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [If you can't take the kitsch, get out of the kitchen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/if-you-can-t-take-the-kitsch-get-out-of-the-kitchen/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [Kitsch of course only comes into existence when we recognize how and why it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bayley/kitsch-of-course-only-comes-into-existence-when-we-recognize-how-and/) John Bayley > [“A taste for kitsch among the well-to-do is a sign of spiritual impoverishment; but among the poor, it represents a striving for beauty, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/a-taste-for-kitsch-among-the-well-to-do-is-a-sign-of-spiritual/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [A real Rembrandt hung in a millionaire's home elevator would undoubtedly make for kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matei-calinescu/a-real-rembrandt-hung-in-a-millionaire-s-home-elevator-would/) [Matei Calinescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matei-calinescu/) > [A kitsch novel describes the world not as it really is, but as it is hoped and feared to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-broch/a-kitsch-novel-describes-the-world-not-as-it-really-is-but-as-it-is/) [Hermann Broch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-broch/) > [Kitsch is very important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oneohtrix-point-never/kitsch-is-very-important-to-me/) [Oneohtrix Point Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oneohtrix-point-never/) > [Modern art was born from a desire to destroy kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/modern-art-was-born-from-a-desire-to-destroy-kitsch/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [I did my homework and didn't go out much, and had a very highly developed kitsch fantasy life where I dreamed of being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/i-did-my-homework-and-didn-t-go-out-much-and-had-a-very-highly/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) > [The peasant finds no "natural" urgency within himself that will drive him toward Picasso in spite of all difficulties. In the end the peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-peasant-finds-no-natural-urgency-within-himself-that-will-drive/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [If you speak of beauty, you are at once suspected of...kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/if-you-speak-of-beauty-you-are-at-once-suspected-of-kitsch/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [Those who were still able to write beautiful melodies were kitsch composers like Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky approaches true art not in his numerous beautiful melodies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/those-who-were-still-able-to-write-beautiful-melodies-were-kitsch/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Her kitsch was the image of home, all peace, quiet, and harmony, and ruled by a loving mother and a wise father. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/her-kitsch-was-the-image-of-home-all-peace-quiet-and-harmony-and/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Architectural kitsch is most common in the commercial pop vernacular - typified by the Big Duck of 1931 in Flanders, New York, a Long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architectural-kitsch-is-most-common-in-the-commercial-pop-vernacular/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [Salvador Dali has been called kitsch, but, although some of this work may be grotesque, its brazenly self-conscious bad taste saves it from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-dutton/salvador-dali-has-been-called-kitsch-but-although-some-of-this-work/) [Denis Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-dutton/) > [Kitsch is the daily art of our time, as the vase or the hymn was for earlier generations. For the sensibility it has that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-rosenberg/kitsch-is-the-daily-art-of-our-time-as-the-vase-or-the-hymn-was-for/) [Harold Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-rosenberg/) ## More by Charles Jencks > [If you can't take the kitsch, get out of the kitchen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/if-you-can-t-take-the-kitsch-get-out-of-the-kitchen/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [Like our attitude to love, truth and goodness, we seem to be confident about knowing what beauty is - certain, even dogmatic - until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/like-our-attitude-to-love-truth-and-goodness-we-seem-to-be-confident/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [If you look at any leaf on any tree branch, it's similar to but not exactly a repetition of the previous branch. So the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/if-you-look-at-any-leaf-on-any-tree-branch-it-s-similar-to-but-not/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [I do believe architecture, and all art, should be content-driven. It should have something to say beyond the sensational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/i-do-believe-architecture-and-all-art-should-be-content-driven-it/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [You have to believe in a placebo or it won't work, but if it works, it's obviously working in some indirect way, through feedback…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/you-have-to-believe-in-a-placebo-or-it-won-t-work-but-if-it-works-it/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [Cant you see, we are in a dialogue with the universe?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/cant-you-see-we-are-in-a-dialogue-with-the-universe/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [What is a garden if not a miniaturization and celebration, of the place we are in, the universe?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/what-is-a-garden-if-not-a-miniaturization-and-celebration-of-the/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [Beautiful people are always with us, as evolutionary psychologists and a trip to the news-stand confirm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/beautiful-people-are-always-with-us-as-evolutionary-psychologists-and/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [The cell is a city of production centres, each part working away like mad, and it's co-ordinated. Six trillion cells in a body -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/the-cell-is-a-city-of-production-centres-each-part-working-away-like/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [“There is an unalterable and widening gap between exterior and interior, symbol and content, form and function -a gap which is making the environment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/there-is-an-unalterable-and-widening-gap-between-exterior-and/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [The singular point of beautiful objects, and people, is that they are experienced not as parts, or ratios between cheekbones and chin, but as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/the-singular-point-of-beautiful-objects-and-people-is-that-they-are/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [What is the most interesting thing to people? Other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/what-is-the-most-interesting-thing-to-people-other-people/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [A sign to me is a one-liner, a symbol is very complex and my house is a series of symbols.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/a-sign-to-me-is-a-one-liner-a-symbol-is-very-complex-and-my-house-is/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [“Whereas art critics are ready to accept-indeed are looking for-the new fabrication of a consistent visual language, architectural critics, like the general public, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/whereas-art-critics-are-ready-to-accept-indeed-are-looking-for-the/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [“A recurrent theme of this book is that architects, fairly low in the chain of command and needing jobs, are prone to compromise with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/a-recurrent-theme-of-this-book-is-that-architects-fairly-low-in-the/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) [Explore all 35 Charles Jencks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) ## More Kitsch quotes > [Kitsch of course only comes into existence when we recognize how and why it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bayley/kitsch-of-course-only-comes-into-existence-when-we-recognize-how-and/) John Bayley > [Salvador Dali has been called kitsch, but, although some of this work may be grotesque, its brazenly self-conscious bad taste saves it from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-dutton/salvador-dali-has-been-called-kitsch-but-although-some-of-this-work/) [Denis Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-dutton/) > [If you can't take the kitsch, get out of the kitchen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/if-you-can-t-take-the-kitsch-get-out-of-the-kitchen/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [Architectural kitsch is most common in the commercial pop vernacular - typified by the Big Duck of 1931 in Flanders, New York, a Long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architectural-kitsch-is-most-common-in-the-commercial-pop-vernacular/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [Her kitsch was the image of home, all peace, quiet, and harmony, and ruled by a loving mother and a wise father. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/her-kitsch-was-the-image-of-home-all-peace-quiet-and-harmony-and/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Those who were still able to write beautiful melodies were kitsch composers like Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky approaches true art not in his numerous beautiful melodies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/those-who-were-still-able-to-write-beautiful-melodies-were-kitsch/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [If you speak of beauty, you are at once suspected of...kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/if-you-speak-of-beauty-you-are-at-once-suspected-of-kitsch/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [The peasant finds no "natural" urgency within himself that will drive him toward Picasso in spite of all difficulties. In the end the peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-peasant-finds-no-natural-urgency-within-himself-that-will-drive/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [I did my homework and didn't go out much, and had a very highly developed kitsch fantasy life where I dreamed of being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/i-did-my-homework-and-didn-t-go-out-much-and-had-a-very-highly/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) > [Modern art was born from a desire to destroy kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/modern-art-was-born-from-a-desire-to-destroy-kitsch/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Kitsch is very important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oneohtrix-point-never/kitsch-is-very-important-to-me/) [Oneohtrix Point Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oneohtrix-point-never/) > [A kitsch novel describes the world not as it really is, but as it is hoped and feared to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-broch/a-kitsch-novel-describes-the-world-not-as-it-really-is-but-as-it-is/) [Hermann Broch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-broch/) > [A real Rembrandt hung in a millionaire's home elevator would undoubtedly make for kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matei-calinescu/a-real-rembrandt-hung-in-a-millionaire-s-home-elevator-would/) [Matei Calinescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matei-calinescu/) > [“A taste for kitsch among the well-to-do is a sign of spiritual impoverishment; but among the poor, it represents a striving for beauty, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/a-taste-for-kitsch-among-the-well-to-do-is-a-sign-of-spiritual/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [Kitsch is the daily art of our time, as the vase or the hymn was for earlier generations. For the sensibility it has that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-rosenberg/kitsch-is-the-daily-art-of-our-time-as-the-vase-or-the-hymn-was-for/) [Harold Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-rosenberg/) [Browse all 144 Kitsch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kitsch/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In 1979, postmodernism lost its understanding of the meaning of ornament. 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