Intro to Avant-garde

            When I think of ‘avant-garde’. I think of Italian Vogue or something that exhumes high fashion or gaudiness. I believe that today the word avant-garde is used to characteristic art that is very unconventional and experimental. The art is not supposed to be logical or rational; it can be in films, music, sculpture, paintings and any other mediums. For example when I look into Italian Vogue and see the wardrobes the women are wearing I am perplexed. I am perplexed because although the clothes have deep rich colors and have a variety of textures, the clothing itself is not practical. The shoes would be enormous or the coat would be too large and long for the person, but this is what characterizes avant-garde. The wardrobe is not supposed to be for practical reason or be worn outside of a runway, the clothes is created purely out of the innovation and imagination of the designer. The art is supposed to be about the art, to focus on the details and overall compositions to the piece, so as to make the viewer ask why combine those different elements. An example of avant-garde art would be Manet’s Luncheon on the grass.

            Before obviously looking at the naked woman, the scene seems serene and relaxing. Two men are enjoying their conversation and a woman is wading in the water at the background. Then when your gaze has come across the entire painting you are pulled to see the naked woman. She is emphasized by the paleness in her skin, forcing the viewer to direct your eyes towards her. Once one sees her the whole painting loses all logic and narrative. Her pose is very relaxed and her gaze is directed towards the viewer as if he or she was included in the painting. Avant-garde focused on the innovative and unconventional and Manet’s painting achieved this. Back in the time that it was created nudes were highly appreciated by the art galleries, but the nude characteristics had to depict historical or mythical scenes, with women usually in a provocative or sensual pose. Manet challenged this stereotype of the nude female to draw a female that is shown nude, but is not showing any of her indecencies. She is very relaxed and has the energy that she belongs there. Aside from her the scene combines further objects and figures and convey avant-garde. The men are in conversation as if she was fully dressed. The men have no shocked faces upon them and the woman is not embarrassed about her state.

            What shocks the viewer the most though is her gaze, she looks at the viewer in a very calm expression. She is not exhibiting any sexual energy, so it seems awkward as to why she would be present in the scene. Manet captured this scene to be innovative, to go outside the box and push the limits of what art is and how society views it at the time. There is no clear indication to what is the background since the woman in the water is not scaled in proportion to the figures in the foreground. The scenery seems to be man-made and some of the objects look as if the artist was quickly painting it. The food scattered upon the floor in the foreground is random and appears unimportant. All these elements further challenge the viewer to make some sense of the painting. Manet was trying to create an art piece for the sake of art. He intended his brushstrokes to be very random and transparent to give his technique away to the viewer and the unconventionalism of the objects and figures further heightens the feeling of avant-garde. Much like the clothing in the high fashion magazines, the clothing is not to be seen as a wearable clothing, but as a unifying composition that asks the viewer what art is.