Modern art has influenced our culture and lifestyle immensely and was the reigning art style for over a century. Hundreds have portrayed their emotions, views, or ideals through the obscure shapes and shooting lines. Modern art is an umbrella term for a plethora of other styles—cubism, futurism, and expressionism to name a few—and has gone through many trends, fads, and changes as the decades carried on. Modern art has its roots in the mid to late 19^th century with the creation of works by Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and other impressionists. The entire purpose of modern art was to dispel and rebel against the traditional form of art that had been instilled in the art world and create new, innovative ways of painting.

Ms. Dold, the visual art teacher here at Prep, says “The turn of the century is when everything really changed, when work moved from commission work to being about individuality and experience.”

Thus began the first sub-movement, impressionism, largely defined by light and condensed brush strokes, then to symbolism and then to more abstract styles like fauvism and cubism, modern art quickly transformed the artistic landscape into a place for individualism and self-expression. While the movement is considered to be done and has now been replaced by contemporary art and other styles of that nature, its impact will forever last.

Modern art and its subsequent styles is ubiquitous and found not only in museums and art galleries, but in public works, graffiti, and even in art displayed in the halls of Seattle Prep, made by our own student body. It can be found in works like the SLU Sculpture Park or the Seattle Center.

Ms. Dold continues “Modern art speaks to the individual. It is ideas and intents instead of commission. It’s self-expression at its core, and really encompasses everything since all art is just abstractions of reality.”

As you walk the halls of Prep or the streets of Seattle, observe the art you see, and discover what resonates to you.