Postmodern Classicism
Recorded: November 17, 1980
Running time: 1:30:53

Presented as part of Revisiting Postmodernism, a digital archive series of presentations held at the Architectural League by leading theorists and practitioners in 1980s post-modernism.

Charles Jencks’ first lecture at the Architectural League on postmodernism is a strong and witty argument for what he calls “the consensus of postmodern classicism.” Jencks builds his argument through a comprehensive series of case studies ranging from the classcial to the (then) contemporary. He begins his lecture with an extended analogy, equating Modernism in architecture with the Christian Reformation.

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The League’s Digital Archive Project is made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.