As Told By Ginger, Smith

     In the Grove Art Online article on "Modernity," the author, Terry Smith, discusses modernity in sections; first the nature of it, then modernity in the arts. When exploring the nature of modernity, the author explores the topic through a somewhat timeline of events sequence, relating issues of the times to events that have occurred in the past, therefore shaping our current world.
     Smith references how many associate modernity as "being up to date, 'of today', or, less strongly, part of the present or recent past" (Smith 2007-2010). This immediately brought to mind the way that the general media is always pushing to sell what is most up to date and the newest technologies. We are always pushed by the media and our peers to have the newest model of phone, cars, computers, tablets, etc. abroad, as well as influential celebrities and bloggers.

Many of my own peers have adopted an attitude of 'unworthiness' if you own anything that is outdated, aka, more than a year old. Smith then emphasizes that modernity is a constant changing of the society as a whole, and is often influenced by individual beliefs and actions - which brought to mind political movements both here and
     Returning back to the timeline of events, Smith references the renaissance period and claims that it was then, during the 19th century, that the world really began to modernize. Capitalism began to take hold, and the church / traditional values began to fade into the past. When discussing modernity and the arts, Smith explains how visual imagery and media began to infiltrate cities as billboards

and advertisements lined the streets - the beginning of branding that led to mass production and consumption.
     The author then concludes with the idea that, "the forces of modernization have been blamed for creating alienating, repressive societies that are increasingly divided between rich and poor, for accelerating the inequities between nations and for wide-scale environmental destruction" (Smith 2007-2010). Although I understand how this could apply to many of the issues we face today, I do not understand Smith's explanation there after, and what exactly she means after that statement.