avant-garde
Radically innovative movement
Avant-garde refers to artists, works, or movements that push beyond established conventions, experimenting with new forms, techniques, or ideas.
The term comes from French military language meaning the advance guard—the troops at the front.
In art, the avant-garde leads rather than follows: avant-garde cinema, avant-garde composers.
The word can be a noun or adjective: She was part of the avant-garde or an avant-garde approach to sculpture.
What counts as avant-garde shifts over time; yesterday's radical experiments become today's mainstream.
Favoring contemporary approaches
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- formalismPrivileging structure over substance
- abstractionDistilling to essential qualities
- anti-artRejection of conventional aesthetics
deconstruction · aestheticism · criticism · theory · manifesto · ism · movement · school
Creating something original
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- noveltyQuality of being original
- originalityNovel creative quality
- explorationTraveling through unknown regions
unorthodox · nontraditional · transgressive · boundary-pushing · radical · provocative · subversive · challenging
Being the first through
- groundbreakingIntroducing radical new ideas
- precursorSomething that comes first
- forerunnerOne that comes before
- pathfinderOne who discovers routes
innovator · trendsetter · visionary · originator · cutting-edge · forward-thinking · revolutionary · progressive
Irrational, dreamlike aesthetic
- dadaismAbsurdist artistic movement
- cubismGeometric, fragmented visual style
- futurismStudy of tomorrow's possibilities
- expressionismDistorting reality for emotion
constructivism · minimalism · installation · abstract · collage · assemblage · readymade · happening
Rejection of mainstream values
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
- eccentricUnconventional in character
- beatnikFifties counterculture member
- rebelAuthority defier
outsider · maverick · dissenter · unconventional · artistic · intellectual · salon · underground
Expert judges of quality
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- collectorsThose who systematically acquire
- galleriesSpaces for displaying art
- curatorsCollection caretakers
tastemakers · cognoscenti · intelligentsia · literati · glitterati · salons · vernissage · highbrow
modernism
Favoring contemporary approaches
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- formalismPrivileging structure over substance
- abstractionDistilling to essential qualities
anti-art · deconstruction · aestheticism · criticism · theory · manifesto · ism · movement · school · style
innovation
Creating something original
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- noveltyQuality of being original
- originalityNovel creative quality
exploration · unorthodox · nontraditional · transgressive · boundary-pushing · radical · provocative · subversive · challenging · daring
trailblazing
Being the first through
- groundbreakingIntroducing radical new ideas
- precursorSomething that comes first
- forerunnerOne that comes before
pathfinder · innovator · trendsetter · visionary · originator · cutting-edge · forward-thinking · revolutionary · progressive · futuristic
surrealism
Irrational, dreamlike aesthetic
- dadaismAbsurdist artistic movement
- cubismGeometric, fragmented visual style
- futurismStudy of tomorrow's possibilities
expressionism · constructivism · minimalism · installation · abstract · collage · assemblage · readymade · happening · manifesto
counterculture
Rejection of mainstream values
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
- eccentricUnconventional in character
- beatnikFifties counterculture member
rebel · outsider · maverick · dissenter · unconventional · artistic · intellectual · salon · underground · alternative
connoisseurs
Expert judges of quality
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- collectorsThose who systematically acquire
- galleriesSpaces for displaying art
curators · tastemakers · cognoscenti · intelligentsia · literati · glitterati · salons · vernissage · highbrow · rarefied
- fashionfashion, clothing, apparel, attire, garment
- fashion worldcouturiers, gowns, designers, dresses, fashion icons
- film genreshorror, comedy, drama, action, romance
- French Loanwordsa la carte, ballet, a la mode, au revoir, bon appetit
- theatreBroadway, acting, theatre, stage, actor
- borrowed wordschic, naive, passe, faux, bon vivant
avant-gardetraditional
Following long-held customs
conventional · conservative · orthodox · classic · classical
avant-gardeold-fashioned
Belonging to earlier times
backward-looking · reactionary · retrograde · vintage · retro
avant-gardeestablishment
Founded organization or venue
mainstream · bourgeois · status quo · conformist · institutionalized
advance, advanced, advancement, advancing, vanguard, rearguard, advance guard, vanguards, advancers