Avant- garde

Avant -Garde is a term used for a piece of work which is considered surreal or  experimental. The term is used on all aspects of work but is mainly used and present in the art and fashion industry. 
When work pushes the boundaries of what is normally excepted as the norm in society.


Avant-Garde work is becoming less popular in Britain as the more mainstream films/plays are becoming more popular and commercial to families. Vannessa Thorpe wrote a piece in the Observer on the 26/02/2012 asking Is there British avante-garde cultural movement out there? And, if it does exist, would it ever be visible to the mainstream entertainment industry or to the orthodox media? 
In the article she includes an interesting quote by Alistair Spalding, who recently put on a show where nude girls with blonde wigs danced around the auditorium.
"You cannot call a performance or a work of art avant-garde unless it gives the audience that uncomfortable, perhaps even painful feeling."
I feel that this quote is very true to avant-garde and my film as I feel it does make the audience feel uncomfortable to watch. The article expresses how businesses are more concerned about making a profit rather than provoking a thought from the audience. It also shows defining moments from avant-garde through the years:


1913
Igor Stravinsky's ballet, The Rite of Spring, with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky, produced by Sergal Diaghllev, was premiered by his ballets Russes company in Paris. Stories that the music's dissonance and rhythms outraged the audience are thought to have been cooked up by the composer. It was the choreography that shocked most.


1917
Marcel Dunchamp's famous urinal, one of his objects trouves, was submitted to an art show advertising that all works would be accepted, but fountain was not actually displayed. The original no longer exists.


1952
American composer John Cage's notorious three-movement composition, 4'33", can be played by any instrument or instruments and consists of the sounds of the environment that the listeners hear while it is performed, rather than pure silence.


1994
Extreme American artist Ron Athey caused controversy when he made cuts in co-performer Divinity Fudge's back during a performance in Minneapolis. He then put strips of absorbent paper towel on the cuts and hoisted the bloodstained cloths in the air.


1994
Burn a Million Quid involved the duo K Foundation (Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty) burning a million pounds on the Scottish island Jura. The sum represented most of the K Foundation's funds, earned by the KLF, Drummond and Cauty's successful pop band in the late 1980's and early 1990's.