Modernity, modernism and the contemporary

Abstract

Titled - "Modernism and Contemporary Art", in the journal Theory, Culture & SocietyThe final, definitive version of this paper has been published in Theory, Culture & Society. Problematizing Global Knowledge, 23/2-3, 2006 by SAGE Publications Ltd, All rights reserved. © SAGE.At the beginning of the 20th century, artists responded to the changes in the modern city with a mix of awe and excitement. Modernity was ushered in by the power of new industrial technologies. Modernism, as the cultural representation of modernity, promised to break from traditions that restricted creativity and embrace the spirit of progress