The term “avant-garde” is used in a broad sense to describe any trailblazing movement — usually artistic or social — led by a small group of people to open new doors within their field of interest. The term refers to a period in the history of art that encompasses many schools and sub-movements.
While the term “avant-garde” was once reserved for cutting-edge movements, it has come to be applied to a wide range of movements that are no longer novel or groundbreaking. Dadaism and modernism, for example, are both considered avant-garde art movements, despite the fact that they have existed for nearly a century. Many people have labeled movements as historically avant-garde, implying that they are no longer cutting-edge forms of expression in the modern world.
When discussing a specific area of artistic interest, the terms experimental and avant-garde are frequently used interchangeably. Experimental theatre and experimental film are two examples.
Attempts to define and distinguish what is and is not avant-garde are inherently problematic, because the definition is ultimately a matter of personal opinion. To one group of critics, what appears cutting-edge and revolutionary may appear tame and overdone to another. While avant-garde schools like Pop art and Fluxus have fairly defined criteria for what constitutes a body of work belonging to their school, the word itself does not. Rather, a piece is considered avant-garde if it is avant-garde, which is a circular reasoning that leads to a lot of misunderstanding.
Recently, some attempts have been made to define the term more precisely; these attempts established the criteria for an avant-garde piece to be primarily concerned with pushing the boundaries of the artistic experience. Avant-garde works are those that exist primarily to make a political or social statement and are not focused on art.
A number of avant-garde artists have completely rejected the label, claiming that it is more trouble than it is worth. It’s perhaps ironic that the artists most likely to be given this moniker are the ones who despise labels and want to break free from them in their artistic expression.
The term avant-garde is sometimes used derogatorily, especially in non-artistic contexts. Philosophical and scientific ideas, for example, may be dismissed as avant-garde, implying that they exist as a token gesture to challenge established theories and traditions rather than to present new, substantiated ideas.