Impressions of the Avant-Garde

Art 237 Impressionism through Postmodernism

I’ve lived quite a long happy time without considering the avant-garde at all since I tend to be quite a traditionalist.  I’ve heard the word, of course, and associated it with those individuals on the edge of society- not just art but society itself.  Those who don’t actually produce art may be hangers on and associate themselves with artists as drug dealers, models or those who simply like the artist and any attendant drama, controversy, social events or excitement that may ensue.

The following description seems to take care of the stereotypes about avant-garde type(s) that I can think of offhand:  The avant-garde artist usually isn’t very social in spite of (above) hangers-on.  A more recent American type avant-garde artist can be male or female (is traditionally male), is rebellious in the sense that he/she doesn’t fit or conform to traditional ideals, lives in a bad neighborhood, chain smokes, uses alcohol or some other drug habitually, is young, looks older, often forgets to bathe (especially when in the grip of some artistic inspiration/project), may have lots of tattoos and piercings and isn’t usually fun to be around.  Yet… the quality that makes this person an Avant-garde artist is that he/she has noticed something about the world that others have missed and is attempting or has figured out a way to represent this thing or idea in visual or other media. 

If one looks at Art as a vast 3-D mosaic of works and ideas the avant-garde is that placing of tiles on the outside edges of the whole; it builds on what has gone before.  Any part of this mosaic can be seen by shifting the viewer’s perspective but the mosaic never can be viewed in its entirety from one point in time or space.   The older work can be hidden or highlighted by the new additions and anything new is destined to be built over in turn with the passage of time and the formation of new ideas.  Even terms such as avant-garde and Modernism change over time or can mean different things to different people at their inception.  The idea that a given artist or work is avant-garde can have a limited shelf life.  As time goes on this work is either forgotten or incorporated into the mainstream as society accustoms itself to the mew mode.  Sooner or later another idea will occur to some creative person and their work will gain the avant-garde title.

In Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass the 19^th Century viewer  is challenged by the painting’s size, lack of narrative in subject matter, modern nudity that doesn’t hide behind Mythological convention, bold, visible brush strokes, blocks of color and the direct, immodest stare of the nude female figure.  Manet introduced the concept of avant-garde before the name was coined by representing the idea that a painting need be only a painting and represent itself as such.  The size of the painting (7’ x 8’8”) announces it as an important work despite the convention that only historical, Biblical or Mythological subjects should merit such a large area of canvas.  Think of The Swing by Fragonard; it measures only 2’8 5/8” x2’2” and this might have been considered an appropriate size for Luncheon on the Grass.  The lack of a narrative is also new and makes one ask questions like:  is this an event that really happened?  Is this meant to be a portrait of real people?  Why is a nude woman with clothed men (and being ignored)?  What is the woman in the background doing?  Making people question the painter’s motivation is also an avant-garde concept.  The viewer must make an effort to find meaning or decide there is none.  This work also flouts the convention that female nudes should be soft, round goddesses lit with flattering illumination.  This woman looks -well- starkly naked because of the way she is lit.  She has shown herself to be modern by the clothing that she has discarded; she is no goddess from myth.  Manet also uses a non-Academic style of visible brush strokes, removal of some of the conventions about perspective and bold blocks of color instead of smooth blending because he wants us never to lose sight of the fact that this is a painting and not a window into heaven, history or reality.  That’s why this painting is considered one of the first avant-garde works.