Contextualism describes a collection of views which emphasize the context in which an action, utterance, or expression occurs, and argues that, the action, utterance, or expression can only be understood relative to that context.

“Charles Harper painted homes designed by Rudy Hermes as photomontage backdrops to introduce the 1960 Fords in November 1959's Ford Times magazine... ‘the ultimate in prefabrication since it has no footings or foundation.’”—Dwell

Atley