The Modernist's command was Pound's 'Make it New.' The postmodern imperative is 'Get it Used.' The more used the better.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Modernism prioritized novelty, while postmodernism values reuse and appropriation.
- In plain terms
- Old art seeks newness; new art embraces using what already exists.
- What can you take from it?
- Value lies in repurposing existing ideas rather than seeking pure originality.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does repetition change meaning?
- Is originality still valued?
Another view
This distinction oversimplifies the complex overlap between modernist and postmodernist practices.
More from Andrei Codrescu
Unchecked, the tourist will climb over the fence and come right into your house to take pictures of you in your habitat. Cities mindful of tourists have built …
Permalink to quote #2 The language of the game is interesting. You can think of the pauses as caesuras, breaks between the lines. As a poem the game is composed of a number of short…
Permalink to quote #3 There is undoubtedly something religious about it: everyone believes that they are special, that they are chosen, that they have a special relation with fate. …
Permalink to quote #4
Related quotes
Make it new!
Ezra PoundEzra Pound quote #4 The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar, familiar things new.
William Makepeace ThackerayWilliam Makepeace Thackeray quote #54 This power...reveals itself in the balance or reconcilement of opposite or discordant qualities: of sameness, with difference; of the general with the concrete…
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeSamuel Taylor Coleridge quote #114