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Modern art is one of the most widely discredited and controversial art forms. Most people tend to see modern art as only whats laid-out in front of them - rather than looking beyond the canvas. The intentions, meanings and symbolisms are almost always overlooked. One thing to remember when it comes to modern art, is to take the originality of the piece into consideration.

Whilst walking through my local town, with a friend, the other day, we saw an armchair floating in a river. I gave my thoughts on how that could be seen as modern art, but my friend relinquished these idea's immediately. His reply was "So if I went and through a dinner table in a lake, that would be modern art?". This is something that almost everyone does when they see a piece of modern art; they describe a similar piece, in a slightly different context, and ask would it be modern art?
...Well maybe it would. And they have a good point. But the art isn't just about what's been done, it's about the idea. After my friend had made his statement, I asked him to think up a piece of modern art, that wasn't just what we'd seen, but in a different context. All he could come up with was "A set of living room furniture on fire". And certainly this could be seen as modern art, but it was just the same as the armchair in a river. It all revolved around a subject of destruction.
He has now began to see the importance that the originality has on the piece. And the importance to look deeper than image portrayed.

Learn more about this author, Joseph Laity.
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