When I was studying classical art history in high school it was easy to see why everything was considered art. All the pieces were beautiful and detailed and done by “fine artists” who had mastered their craft in an institution. Today art comes from people with anything from decades of technical training to none at all.

In my opinion an artist in the 21^st century is someone who is using a creative medium to send a message. Art in the 21^st century or “modern art” seems to have an innate ability to upset people. It is often meant to shock people or cause controversy. Some modern pieces are meant to be beautiful as well as controversial but I think that art has transformed from being a way of expressing beauty or chronicling history into being a vessel for the artist’s beliefs and emotions.