what are the similarities and differences between modernist art and post-modernist art?

Question

what are the similarities and differences between them?

Answer 1

The following quote comes from a very good paper:
http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/postmodernism/modules/introduction.html
If you scroll down a bit, there is quite a bit on modernism, post-modernism and the background, with examples on the differences and similarities.

"One of the problems in dealing with postmodernism is in distinguishing it from modernism. In many ways, postmodern artists and theorists continue the sorts of experimentation that we can also find in modernist works, including the use of self-consciousness, parody, irony, fragmentation, generic mixing, ambiguity, simultaneity, and the breakdown between high and low forms of expression. In this way, postmodern artistic forms can be seen as an extension of modernist experimentation; however, others prefer to represent the move into postmodernism as a more radical break, one that is a result of new ways of representing the world including television, film (especially after the introduction of color and sound), and the computer. Many date postmodernity from the sixties when we witnessed the rise of postmodern architecture; however, some critics prefer to see WWII as the radical break from modernity, since the horrors of nazism (and of other modernist revolutions like communism and Maoism) were made evident at this time."

There are two very good, short articles here - link to post-modernism at the end of modernism article:
http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/glossary/definition.jsp?entryId=174

I do hope these are helpful. There is such a lot of information on both that it can be quite difficult to extract exactly what you want!

Answer 2

You are right in a way but I think modern art is more intellectually motivated. Read what the encyclopedia says.... Romanticism might best be described as anticlassicism. A reaction against Neoclassicism, it is a deeply-felt style which is individualistic, exotic, beautiful and emotionally wrought. Although Romanticism and Neoclassicism were philosophically opposed, they were the dominant European styles for generations, and many artists were affected to a lesser or greater degree by both. Artists might work in both styles at different times or even combine elements, creating an intellectually Romantic work using a Neoclassical visual style, for example. Great artists closely associated with Romanticism include Caspar David Friedrich, John Constable, J.M.W. Turner and William Blake. In the North America, the leading Romantic movement was the Hudson River School of dramatic landscape painting. Obvious successors of Romanticism include the Pre-Raphaelite movement and the Symbolist painters. But Impressionism, and through it almost all of 20th century art, is also firmly rooted in the individualism of the Romantic tradition.

Answer 3

Modernism or modernism - An art movement characterized by the deliberate departure from tradition and the use of innovative forms of expression that distinguish many styles in the arts and literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Modernism refers to this period's interest in:

new types of paints and other materials
expressing feelings, ideas, fantasies, and dreams instead of the visual world we otherwise see
creating abstractions, rather than representing what is real
a rejection of naturalistic color
a use of choppy, clearly visible brushstrokes
the acceptance of line, form, color, and process as valid subject matter by themselves
a requirement that the audience take a more active role as interpreter. Each viewer must observe carefully, and get information about the artist's intentions and environment, before forming judgments about the work.

postmodernism or Postmodernism - Art, architecture, or literature that reacts against earlier modernist principles, as by reintroducing traditional or classical elements of style or by carrying modernist styles or practices to extremes.