The emergence of modern art is one of the most significant changes in the extensive history of visual expression. Western art had centuries-old rules about the proportion, perspective, subject, and technique. These standards were based on classical principals and supported by schools of thought. Artists had to learn to make realistic representations, proper composition and harmonious form. As much as this system had resulted in numerous remarkable pieces, it also limited artistic freedom. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, a number of artists started becoming compelled by these expectations. They wanted to react differently to the fast changing world and this need saw the birth of what is currently referred to as modern art.

The social and technological reality during this period was a significant factor in changing art. Industrialization changed cities, work and the life. The rhythm of existence was changed by the railways, factories, and mass production. Photography presented a different way of depicting visual reality in a more mechanical way. Painting could no longer be the main method of description of appearances. Most artists came to a conclusion that art needs to investigate the sense, emotion and experience more than description.

The modern art is characterized by the focus on subjectivity. Rather than posing the question, What does the world look like? artists were posing a more interrogative question, How does the world feel? This changed the priorities in art. Color, line and form were not only descriptive tools but also expressive. Artists started working with exaggerated color, deformed forms and unusual compositions to communicate to inner states of consciousness. These decisions forced the audience to perceive art on an emotional and intellectual level instead of noticing the objects that they were familiar with.

The pivotal role in this change was played by photography. Scenes shot on the camera could be in a mechanical precision, which even the best painter in the human hands could not have matched in detail. This technological advancement challenged artists on the basic role of painting. When painting no longer had to serve the purpose of a graphic document of a visual appearance, then what would it be? A great number of artists came to the conclusion that the subjective experience should be explored instead of objective depiction in the arts.

The idea of subjectivity came to the fore in the modern art. Artists no longer tried to represent the outer world as it looks to every one, they started to investigate the way the world is perceived by the individual. Emotion, memory and personal interpretation create the perception. Two individuals in the same location can have the same scene and both individuals will have a completely different perception of the same scene. Modern artists aimed to portray these inner experiences as opposed to just imitating surfaces.

This change resulted in exploration of colour. The use of colors was traditional in a way that it tried to emulate natural colors. The contemporary artists also started using color symbolically or emotionally. Colors were allowed to convey mood, tension or energy as opposed to physical accuracy. Bright and unnatural colors were admirable and even admissible. Even color itself was something being explored.

Another relationship that was brought by modern art was between artist and tradition. Artists started to choose, alter or dismiss the past elements instead of inheriting a single dominant style. Others turned to the non-Western art. Others researched folk art, the drawings of children or the culture of the past. This eclectic style was a wider cultural trend of defiance and the inclination to accept diversity in thinking. Art was used to experiment and not to follow established rules.

Defining beauty again is another big change of the modern art. Classical traditions correlated beauty with harmony, symmetry and ideal form. Contemporary artists provoked this definition.In the era of fast change, uncertainty and tension between social classes, beauty could not be restricted anymore to smooth perfection.

The contemporary art emergence is a transition between assurance to discovery. It is a response to a new world that is no longer dictated by single worldview.It is also an indication of the ability of humanity to be flexible, challenge and be creative.Contemporary art has not supplanted traditional art but has widened the scope of creative endeavors.It is a response to a new world where there is no longer a single view of the world but multiple, competing views.