EXTENDED Panel for SAMLA 94: The Avant-Garde and Social Change
The term avant-garde usually applies to works of art, literature and music characterized by their radical experimentation and opposition to institutionalized culture. Leading unconventional and non-conformist lives, the avant-gardists antagonized the bourgeoise by attacking their social values, mediocrity and material interests. Instead, these iconoclastic artists engaged in acts of dissidence promoted in soirées, manifestos, journals and exhibits that interfered with public life. For instance, Marinetti paraded with the Suffragettes smashing windows through the streets of London, an act that echoes his fervor to destroy museums and academies, as described in the 1909 Futurist Manifesto.