This is a great quote to further understand the definition of what makes something modernist. As humans we understand time as this linear line, so when we say something modernist it is as if at the end of that line, but its is rather staggered between those lines rather completely at the end of it. It is not "a break from the past" but something that extends into the future I believe.

I thought it pretty bold to refer to the styles of Modernist art as risks but it essentially is when it comes down to it. It is a risk that tries to establish it as a norm. It stays true when looking at other movements for examples, where artistic styles attempts its aesthetic be a kind of normal. Sometimes it even encompasses aesthetic but as a way of life as well. In this case modernism is a bit of both.

I thought this sentiment was very thought-provoking as it says a lot of truths about not just Western paintings but Western art in general. I feel as though what pioneered art is the observation of the natural world and its elements of lights shadows, three-dimensionality etc. This has later evolved into the art we know of today, encompassing all art movements. It's the style that is different but it all derived from the natural world.