Modernism:

Modernsim was a movement in art, literature and architecture that reacted to the intense changes in technology, society and culture at the time. It rejected the dominance of older movements such as Naturalism and was in favour of new experimental ways of producing art.

Paul Strand was an American photographer who helped establish photography as an art form in the 20th century. His pictorial studies followed by coolly seductive machine photographs helped define early American modernism.

Post-Modernism:

Postmodernism was created through the dismantling of the modernism movement. Modernism was generally based on idealism and a Utopian version of human life and society and a belief in progress, whereas Postmodernism was born of skepticism and suspicion of reason. It challenged the notion that there are universal certainties or truths. Most art which can be included in this movement refers to things outside of the art world such as social and cultural issues, and looks at the importance of context behind a picture. A photographer which can be related to this movement is Cindy Sherman.

Cindy Sherman is an American photographer best known for her socially critical photography and feminist artwork. She uses makeup, costumes and stage scenery to create tableaus of situations to challenge modern concepts, mainly about the roles of women within society. A lot of her work can be considered postmodernism as the context behind her images are just as important as the work itself.