The first effect of modernism was to make high culture difficult: to surround beauty with a wall of erudition.

Summary

The quote suggests that one of the initial impacts of modernism was to make appreciation of high culture challenging. Modernism, with its emphasis on innovation and departure from traditional norms, cultivated an environment where beauty and cultural significance became obscured behind complex layers of intellectual knowledge. Accessing and understanding high culture became daunting as it required extensive erudition and specialized knowledge. In this way, modernism set up a barrier between the general audience and the appreciation of beauty in art and culture, demanding a certain level of education and familiarity with the avant-garde.

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