Modernism

The rise of modernism began in the period between the late 19th century to the beginning of the second world war. Modernism also refers to a cultural shift which saw the more traditional forms of art and culture sidelined for more up to date views and changes.

Some examples of key players within this period include Pablo Picasso, the modernist painter who's works are famous for their strange nature, and creative flare

Modernism was all about rejecting the traditional, for example, portraits of people before this period were very realist and almost exact copies... Here I give you an example of a portrait by Picasso from 1910 which incorporates  a 'modernist'  stance

Portrait of Daniel-Henry Khanwieler
1910

Taking this as an example we can see the way that particularly within art (although modernism was not exclusive to art, it affected architecture and religion too) during this period, the traditions were changed and new ways of producing art came into fashion. However within our society now we would call this piece of work 'surrealist', due to the abstract nature of the painting. This I feel is a key point of modernism, it was about welcoming the surreal and abstract and breaking away from tradition, questioning what was the general opinion of society and building upon this within the arts.
Modernism is relevant to screen cultures, as it paves the way for the surrealist and post-modernist views that are so popular in our culture today