Is a tower block your unmade bed your lavatory basin or the bicycle chained to the gate next door a work of art? Why should a novel have a beginning a middle & an end; or even a story? Whether we recognise it or not virtually every aspect of our life today has been influenced in part by the aesthetic legacy of Modernism In this Very Short Introduction Christopher Butler examines how & why Modernism began explaining what it is & showing how it has gradually informed all aspects of 20th & 21st century life Butler considers several aspects of modernism including some modernist works; movements & notions of the avant garde; & the idea of &progress& in art Butler looks at modernist ideas of the self subjectivity irrationalism people & machines & political definitions of modernism as a whole ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable