The belief that the artist should be an agent for change is what avant-gardism strives to achieve. The term is associated with art considered socially progressive, innovative and that which seeks to break down the boundaries of normality. Recently, however, the term has neutralised, without meaning. The origin of the term is often disregarded and is now applied to mundane 'things'. Nevertheless, contemporary designers constantly strive for new and progressive ideas as evident in the following designs:
Corporate America Flag [online] Available at: http://www.adbusters.org/cultureshop/corporateflag
Adbusters is an anti-consumerist organisation devoted to challenging consumerism and how our culture is led by commodities. It is well known for their 'subvertisements' - spoofs of popular advertisements. The 'Corporate America Flag' suggests our ever-growing commodity culture is, in this case, controlling America. The stars which depict the 50 states of the USA have been replaced with popular logos in order to connote their domination and manipulation in our society. The designer has challenged the social normality and disregards any potential copyright issues by using well known brands and their identities to portray an apparent corrupt culture.
United Colors of Benetton (1991) [online] Available at: http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/about/campaigns/list/newborn_baby/
The Benetton group is a fashion brand who appointed Oliviero Toscani, a famous Italian photographer, to direct the 'United Colors' campaign. It featured images which had social and universal relevance but evidently created immediate controversy. The majority of these striking imagery (in this case, a newborn baby) were set against a white background accompanied simply with their logo. This campaign was intended for peace, multiculturalism and harmony but has instead, instigated anger. Nevertheless, Toscani states it is not Benetton, but the media that presents us with a distorted image of the world:
‘We are getting further away from reality of the world. We have no point of view any more, because we read the paper, watch TV. Women have to be blond, tall and thin. Everything is based on the fact that we have to be accepted in society. Everybody needs consensus. Everything is getting flatter and flatter. People say that what I do is ‘just a provocation’. It’s not true.’
The aforementioned image encapsulates the definitive aspect of avant-gardism - to push the boundaries of what is considered socially acceptable by striving for originality.
