Quote by Jean Francois Lyotard
A work can become modern only if it is first postmodern. Postmodernism thus understood is not modernism at its end but in the nascent state, and this state is constant.
Summary
This quote suggests that in order for a work to be considered modern, it must first be postmodern. Postmodernism, in this sense, is not the conclusion of modernism, but rather its initial stage, which remains ongoing. It implies that postmodernism is a constant state, and any modern work is rooted in this ongoing process. This view challenges the notion that postmodernism supersedes modernism, suggesting instead that it is a necessary precursor for modernism to exist.