Societal transformations often spark controversy. In the early 1900s, a new movement in art — derisively called “cubism” for the bizarre cubes the art supposedly depicted — sparked backlash.

But Cubism, a term coined in 1908 by a French art critic, was not always revered. Cubist paintings, such as Demoiselles d'Avignon, shocked and outraged. The public initially disapproved of that ...