Guilty as charged. I've mixed and misused the term "modern" as much as the next guy in my posts on Apartment Therapy. I couldn't help but feel a little bit sheepish as I listened last week to NPR's All Things Considered...
"Modern and contemporary can — and do — mean the same thing, of course. But in the world of art and design, "modern" means Kandinsky or Picasso, Schoenberg or Stravinsky. It means daring experimental writers such as Ezra Pound or Gertrude Stein. It means Frank Lloyd Wright sweeping out the overstuffed and fusty in favor of long, clean lines."
Reality TV's Thoroughly 'Modern' Mistakes takes a look at reality design shows like Project Runway and their runaway use of the term "modern" when what is meant is "contemporary". During the piece, NPR speaks with modernism expert Douglas Mao, chair of the English department of Johns Hopkins University:
"Mao says he cringes a little bit when he hears the word tossed around by lazy designers. He's an avid fan of Project Runway, and he's noticed that the judges tend to use "modern" and "contemporary" interchangeably. Which is not necessarily wrong, he's quick to say — just surprising when it comes from people who've presumably studied the history of art and design."
The radio feature served as a reminder to choose words carefully. "Modern" used on Apartment Therapy or in other discussion about design will bring along with it specific connotations. Moving forward, I will be careful to use "modern" appropriately, and elsewhere use "contemporary", "new" or some such other term. What other terms do you suggest for describing contemporary design?
Which Wall Color Gives the Best Sleep?
Marisa and Peter's Playfully Eclectic Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Z2 iPod Dock and Wi...
10 Low-Budget Pantry Items Everyone Should Have
Summer Recipe: Gluten-Free & Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
As someone pointed out in the comments, there is a difference between Modern(ism) and modern. And its really easy to see that when they say 'what modern woman would wear this" they are using modern properly as in current/contemporary and not women from the early 1900s.
http://www.onelook.com/?w=modern&ls=a
I think the word "Modern" -- like "Baroque" or "Gothic" -- will always have both a general pop-culture and a specific art-historical meaning.
The thing is, I think using a term like Modern-capital M on a site like this is not really a big deal since a pretty visible percentage of contemporary design draws on Mid-century profiles and lines.
I'm a word nerd to the point of annoyance to those around me. BUT words are a function of language as the language is used by anyone who speaks it. It is malleable and flexible and subject to the whims of culture, mores and actual use. "Modern" only joins a very, very, very, very long list of words regularly used, which do not reflect the original definition. "Race" and "fascism" come to mind.
Besides, Capital-M-Modern(ism) is but the fourth definition under "modern" according to the great Merriam Webster. The first three uses seem similarly appropriate.
NPR surely has a style manual to define how and when to use "modern." If AT has qualms about word usage, it should adopt a style manual. Just sayin'. It would be modern, um, contemporary, or classic, I mean, traditional, or...just shoot me...
Wait, did I miss it? Where were the definitions of "Modern" and "Contemporary" provided? I'm pretty sure modern art is not limited only to Kandinsky and Picasso - so where is the line drawn?
Sadly, modern = mid-century.
some possibilities: up-to-date, current, fashionable, trend/trendy, today,
Conversely, I'm not so convinced that just because a particular group of people decided that "modern" only applies to a particular one-time trend, that it really gives them dominion over the term. The word existed before that particular style period, did it not? It probably makes more sense for there to be a qualifier for the term indicating its place in history, i.e. mid-century modern, rather than claiming rights to all of history, the present, and future as well.
@SeanG, I would say you're almost right.
Modern = mid-century
modern = new, current, contemporary, etc.
I am a fan of modern furniture, but not Modern furniture.
my only pet peeve in this realm (because it's all a game of semantics really) is when someone says "oh check out my new, really modern furniture!" ...and the best I could describe it would be traditional contemporary.
Jesus wept. The term Modern is certainly not limited to mid-century designs. The middle of the 20th century was pretty well the end of the Modernism: by then it had been bubbling along as a style and a movement for fifty years or more, depending on what you call 'mid' century. Modernism is over a century old at this point. All that pointy-legged teak furniture is called mid-century Modern to distinguish it from all the other periods and styles within Modernism, not because all of Modernism is mid-century.
It seems like the word "modern" to designers is kinda like "space age" to inventors. Sure, it refers to a particular period that passed a few decades ago, but it's a fun word to throw around.
When the term modern is referenced with regards to art it takes on another meaning. Modern, when speaking of art, refers to modernity or modernism, which generally refers to a change in thinking and art. Ideas shifted away from religion and nature as catalysts for art and artists attempted to break away from the norm in art. This is where we start to see the shift away from conventional religious paintings.
It has been a while since I've cracked one of my art history text books but generally that is what is being referenced when someone says modern in relation to art or design. The term modern has been around for some time (somewhere around the fifth) century. Artist scholars did not just coin the phrase or own the proper context of it (to centrd) it just references a time period in art (like romanticism, Baroque etc.)
Contemporary would be used when describing art or design that is happening at the present. I beleive it can be used for up to a decade ago (early 90s) but again it has been a while. I need to put my degree to use.
There is a clear but nuanced distinction between modern and Modern, but I would never fault someone who is not steeped in art or design for not knowing it.
I understand the feeling -- as expressed by centrd above -- that the Modernist movement somewhat co-opted a broad word, but when you think about the roots of the term, it makes so much sense; "Modern" is used as the polar opposite of "traditional."
After centuries of building upon the skills and ideas of the artists who have come before, this was the first period in human history when artists said "to hell with the rules." The one word I would use to describe this era is rejection; for the first time ever -- starting with the Impressionists in France -- the artist rejected what was expected of him and his work.
Before the turn of the 19th century, there was the right, or traditional, way of doing things -- going to the right schools, learning the right techniques, mingling in the right patronizing society -- and then there was the Modern with a capital M way of doing things -- however the hell the artist damn well pleased that best expressed their vision. This was not an era in which artists worked freely; this was the era.
In a nutshell: anything made now is modern to us relativistically -- we are in a modern era because we concurrently exist with the work.
However, the era in which artists first discovered that they were allowed to reject -- that was the Modern Era. It laid the groundwork for all modern and postmodern work follow. It was the rejection era, the doing-away-with-tradition era, the Modern Era.
"Contemporary" as a style description makes me think of the bad contemporary design of the 80's (primary colors, black and gray triangles, Purple swirls). the word "modern" has a much better connotation, to me. Maybe we need to coin a new term for modern (sorry, I couldn't use that c-word) styles of the 21st century. It is sad that we don't have anything to call it.
My first introduction to this was at a summer class at Parsons when the guest critique ripped into this poor girl (not a full design student, a then-high schooler contemplating going into design) for using both the words 'modern' and 'futuristic' to describe a design that was contemporary and high-tech with lots of synthetic fibers. It terrified me and I was so glad he left before my critique.
That said, yes, I try to use the proper terms, but even on this blog I think we should all keep a little perspective about things and use context to figure out if something is truly Modern or just very modern-day.
Modernism definition - The deliberate departure from tradition and the use of innovative forms of expression that distinguish many styles in the arts and literature of the 20th century. I think so long as there is an innovativeness and pushing the envelope, that design object can be referred to as modern.
From a journalistic perspective, I think it is important to consider the audience. If we were writing a text book then these small distinctions between Modern and modern-day would certainly make quite a difference.
If it is for design lovers of contemporary interiors and all the search engines take you to Apartment Therapy when you search for the words "modern lamp", then AT would be shooting themselves in the foot by calling it "contemporary lamp" as that is not as searchable as "modern lamp" online. Meaning: more people type in "modern lamp" (into their search engine) when looking for a contemporary modern lamp. I think for a design blog, it is more important to be relevant than 100% specific and intellectually right. As long as we all understand each other.
I'm going to keep throwing the word modern around as after all I write for MODERnestS. And a Modernist is defined as - an artist who makes a deliberate break with previous styles artist, creative person - a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination. I think so long as we're doing this, we can claim to be Modernists and refer to our works as modern.
I completely disagree with NPR. "Modern" and "Contemporary" have specific connotations in architecture and design. Ulrika has provided a good, brief explanation of Modern, and Contemporary essentially references the later 20th century period. But the word "modern" also is correctly used to connote anything pertaining to the present and recent time - as does "contemporary". We should all feel free to use those words to describe Project Runway dresses, or anything else for that matter!
I think this discussion of verbage is somewhat misguided for this forum... Let me explain...
I'm an academic (scientist). Scientists are very careful with their usage of discriptive terms. However, this care is often lost when conveying a thought to the general public. Therefore, we adjust our language when speaking to non-scientists.
Within a design school, or between professionals/academics, it is of course crucial to use the proper academic terms in the description of a design movement or the style of a particular object. But this is NOT an academic or professional setting. This is a public forum on the web. Common lay-terms rule here.
If you ask most common folk if a couch is modern, they will usually say yes if it looks avante guard, unusual, and sleek.... They will identify it as contemporary if it has familiar aspects (rolled arm rests, warm fabrics, informal/rounded wood legs) yet is not ornate. They will identify it as traditional if it mimicks a historical piece and has intricate wood working, tufting, and is not casual.
Sure they're not precise definitions... but they convey common thought none the less.
@ulrika--
modernism is actually far from dead. it's traditionally thought of a movement that ended in the 1940s-50s with postmodernism starting in the 1960s; however, since the 1980s there's been a revival with many famous modernist scholars claiming that we are still in modernism & that postmodernism is just another form of it. and then there's harold bloom who claims we never entered modernism but are still in romanticism.
'Famous' modernist 'scholars' claiming we're still in Modernism? Nothing self-serving in that, is there?
can I just point out that I believe that 3rd photo - of the girl in the blue and white isn't from project runway, but from Bravo's new designer-competition show "The Fashion Show"?
@Northwest in LA: Absolutely not. The 3rd shot is from last season's project runway winner Leanne: http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/2009/spring/main/newyork/womenrunway/projectrunwayleanne/
I think the OED would beg to differ...modern being a break from the traditional, and contemporary being, well...modern.
Could we vote on a new term to describe everything created now so that we stop getting confused. How about millenimodern... or how about Newfangled... or how about something completly new like fundtasticalign or smust. Just trying to bring a little humor to the argument.... sorry.
one vote for "newfangled" :-D
When I was in Strasbourg a few years a friend of mine scoffed at what she thought was the redundancy of the "Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art".
In general, I agree that the words should be used according to the context and audience. However, more than just being nitpicky, I think it is very appropriate to bring up the specificities to educate people. Will this mean that they will henceforth cease to use modern and contempory interchageably and only use the words in the art/design context? Certainly not. But they might be a little more clued in should they enter a conversation where they are being used in that manner.