Comment by TheOtherHobbes
14 days ago
The more relevant term is Modernism, which was a wave of anti-realist abstraction in the arts and sciences.
It's more than a century old now.
"Modern art" in the 1950s/60s post-war sense means extreme abstraction with no realism at all.
Ironically abstraction can work in two directions - evocative messes like Pollock, or clean geometry and abstract functionalism in design and architecture.
The CIA liked the former in art because it was bold, challenging, abrasive, and individualistic. And the artists were drunks and addicts who were easy to own.
The other direction became domestic and corporate design.
> The CIA liked the former in art because it was bold, challenging, abrasive, and individualistic.
And probably also due to it being a counterpoint to the constructivist styles that were being actively promoted by Soviet authorities at the time.