--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Postmodernism has not overcome the…" description: "\"Postmodernism has not overcome the problems of modernism, but only compounded them with a dosis of cynicism, relativism and indifference.\" — John Walford" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daa/john-walford-30124_art_postmodernism-has-not-overcome-the-probl_1296978.jpg" --- # Postmodernism has not overcome the problems of modernism… ![“Postmodernism has not overcome the problems of modernism, but only compounded them with a dosis of cynicism, relativism and indifference.” quote by John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daa/john-walford-30124_art_postmodernism-has-not-overcome-the-probl_1296978.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daa/john-walford-30124_art_postmodernism-has-not-overcome-the-probl_1296978.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daa/john-walford-30124_art_postmodernism-has-not-overcome-the-probl_1296978.jpg) > “Postmodernism has not overcome the problems of modernism, but only compounded them with a dosis of cynicism, relativism and indifference.” [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Postmodernism adds cynicism and relativism to modernism's issues, worsening rather than solving them. **In simple terms:** Postmodernism worsens modern problems. Key Takeaway Critically assess postmodern ideas. Themes philosophy culture critique Mood critical skeptical Type analysis theoretical When to use this quote - academic debate - media analysis - art criticism Key Concepts relativism skepticism nihilism Questions to Reflect On - Can cynicism be constructive? - What alternatives exist to relativism? A Different Perspective May overlook valuable postmodern insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Cynicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynicism/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism/) [Modernism Compounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism-compounded-4245346/) [Overcoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcoming/) [Pessimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimism/) [Postmodernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postmodernism/) [Postmodernism Overcome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postmodernism-overcome-4245345/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problems Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems-modernism-4245344/) [Relativism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relativism/) [Relativism Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relativism-indifference-4245347/) ## Related quotes > [Relativism is not indifference; on the contrary, passionate indifference is necessary in order for you not to hear the voices that oppose your absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/relativism-is-not-indifference-on-the-contrary-passionate/) [Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [“Postmodernism's specifically academic appeal comes from its being another in the sequence of all-purpose "unmasking" strategies that offer a way to criticize the intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/postmodernism-s-specifically-academic-appeal-comes-from-its-being/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“Worship, then, needs to be characterized by hospitality; it needs to be inviting. 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The term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-bourriaud/altermodern-is-an-in-progress-redefinition-of-modernity-in-the-era-of/) [Nicolas Bourriaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-bourriaud/) ## More by John Walford > [Begbie offers an additional valuable contribution by rejecting the traditional emphasis on beauty, in its Platonic sense, and instead suggesting that beauty be reconceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/begbie-offers-an-additional-valuable-contribution-by-rejecting-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Beyond the pervasive disinterest in the visual arts among the Protestant community, the core problem lies in the fact that the art world rejects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/beyond-the-pervasive-disinterest-in-the-visual-arts-among-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [As far as stimulus from the visual arts specifically, there is today in most of us a visual appetite that is hungry, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/as-far-as-stimulus-from-the-visual-arts-specifically-there-is-today/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Advertizing, television and film all wield mighty powers to visually seduce us, while much fine art leaves us indifferent, confused or, at worst, repulsed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/advertizing-television-and-film-all-wield-mighty-powers-to-visually/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Beauty, therefore, for the modern and postmodern artist has become a highly dubious metaphor for a discredited belief system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/beauty-therefore-for-the-modern-and-postmodern-artist-has-become-a/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [In this same tradition, beauty is inextricably bound up with the principles of order and harmony believed to underlie the cosmos. Artists in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/in-this-same-tradition-beauty-is-inextricably-bound-up-with-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Narcissism and Christianity have little in common, yet the Romantic paradigm of artistic creativity, particularly in light of subsequent Freudian ideas, has tended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/narcissism-and-christianity-have-little-in-common-yet-the-romantic/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Beyond a narrow, elite audience, there is a pervasive sense from the side of the public that much contemporary art fails to connect -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/beyond-a-narrow-elite-audience-there-is-a-pervasive-sense-from-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Who is one's audience, the spiritually hostile professional art world or one's visually insensitive Christian neighbour?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/who-is-one-s-audience-the-spiritually-hostile-professional-art-world/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Redemption in Christ should give the artistically gifted not only a new orientation and a new sense of purpose, but also a new vision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/redemption-in-christ-should-give-the-artistically-gifted-not-only-a/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [In as much as Christ's mission was to bring all things into submission to God, and to restore not only humanity, but also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/in-as-much-as-christ-s-mission-was-to-bring-all-things-into/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Put crudely, one is left with a choice between two unsatisfactory combinations: artistic integrity married to spiritual compromise; and spiritual integrity married to artistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/put-crudely-one-is-left-with-a-choice-between-two-unsatisfactory/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [The cumulative effect of the Romantic theory of creativity, as played out in the context of belief in the virtue of the avant-garde, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/the-cumulative-effect-of-the-romantic-theory-of-creativity-as-played/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Christ, as the ultimate Imago Dei is alluded to in scripture as being without external beauty in the Classical sense, and should better be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/christ-as-the-ultimate-imago-dei-is-alluded-to-in-scripture-as-being/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [It would be a serious oversight to limit our understanding of the impact of theology to strictly religious art, and overlook its pervasive role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/it-would-be-a-serious-oversight-to-limit-our-understanding-of-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) [Explore all 17 John Walford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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