In modernism, the form is more important than the content. The means of artistic expression are way more significant than the message that is being expressed. It’s okay not to express any message at all, as long as you have found an original, striking, or unusual artistic form.
A modernist artist doesn’t tell you a story or show you a picture. He tries to get you to come up with the story or the picture. His art often makes no sense at all because modernism is about questioning the very need for things to make sense.
Modernist art tries to disturb you. It doesn’t try to appeal to passive consumers. It doesn’t lecture or teach. It doesn’t try to explain anything about the world. Instead, it is trying to get you to wonder why explanations matter and why you look for their source outside of yourself.
All of this sounds kind of cute. The first encounters with this art are exciting, but then the message that there is no message gets old.
Leave a Reply