"Modernity signifies the transitory, the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art of which the other half is the eternal and the immutable"
- Charles Baudelaire
About this Quote
This quote by Charles Baudelaire speaks with the duality of art, and how it is composed of both the transient and the everlasting. Baudelaire is recommending that modernity is the short lived, ever-changing aspect of art, while the everlasting and immutable is the classic, unvarying element. This duality is what makes art so effective and meaningful. It is the mix of the two that develops something that is both beautiful and significant. The short-term aspect of art is what permits it to stay relevant and engaging, while the immutable aspect is what gives it its long lasting power. By integrating the two, art has the ability to go beyond time and remain relevant and meaningful to people of any ages. Baudelaire's quote speaks with the significance of both the short-term and the everlasting in art, and how they need to be stabilized in order to create something genuinely significant.