Page 43 - Wax Fusion Spring 2022 Issue 6 WIP v19

Avant-Garde in the 21st Century?

Catherine Walworth

The term “avant-garde” summons an image of artists with
pointy little beards and black turtlenecks, gesturing wildly

through plumes of cigarette smoke while talking about art in
cryptic ways. To say something is avant-garde often implies,

“and that’s why you just don’t get it.” There is a reason why,
though. It is actually a French military term meaning the

advance guard that goes bravely ahead of the other troops to
do reconnaissance or to lead into war. Avant-garde art,

therefore, is ahead of the curve, radical even, created by
experimenting outside the safety of traditional art.

While there have been rule-breaking artists peppered

throughout art history, and those are the ones we remember
most today, the term came into specific use with modern
European artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

When the notion of the artistic avant-garde appeared in the

19th century, it described those who were in a pitched battle
specifically with the Royal Academies. European countries like
Italy, France, and England each had their own version of these

of cial state-sponsored schools that trained painters,
sculptors, and architects and launched their careers through

exclusive juried Salons. This support also meant adhering to a
strict hierarchy of artistic themes, with history painting at the

top and still life at the bottom.

The Big Trees
Paul Cézanne

Oil on canvas
31.8 x 25.5 in
National Galleries of Scotland

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