Modernism is a broad movement in art, architecture and design from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. Modernists rejected old rules and looked for new forms that fit the modern, industrial world. They valued experiment, progress and the special qualities of each medium.
In photography, modernism meant moving away from painterly Pictorialism toward sharp focus, clear form and unusual viewpoints. It often focused on form more than subject, an approach called formalism. From the 1970s, postmodernism challenged many modernist ideas, but modernist ideas still influence photography today.
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