Impressionist artists were excluded from top official exhibitions because their “fuzzy paintings” did not fit the mold (i.e., set of assumptions) of what constituted great art of its time. So Monet, Van Gogh and others formed their own association, held their own exhibits, and attracted an art dealer who needed to differentiate himself from established art sellers. And that’s how modern art was born. Do these century-old reinvention patterns feel familiar?