OUGD401 - Low Culture vs High Culture : Lecture Notes

High Culture/Low Culture 'Defining the Avant-Garde'

Objectives :

• Understand the term 'avant-garde'
• Question the way art/design education relies on the concept of avant-garde
• Understand the related concept of 'art for art's sake'
• Question the notion of genius
• Consider the political perspectives relating to avant-gardism 
• Question the validity of the concept 'avant-garde' today

Dictionary Definition :

Idea of doing art/design work that is progressive - innovating

Being avant-garde in the work you do - challenging, innovating etc.

Refers to the idea of there being a group of people being innovative

Being part of a group - being a member of the avant-garde

Avant-garde typeface (Gothic Bold)

Marcel Duchamp

Urinal sculpture - signed with not even his own name

Mona Lisa with moustache

Any artist is was avant-garde was very confrontational and rebellious.

Andre Duran

'Fauves' Wild Beasts

LCAD Quotes prioritise certain concepts :

• Innovation (creating new stuff)
• Experimentation (process involved in order to achieve new stuff)
• Originality (to copy is bad, to be original is good)
• Creative Genius (to bring out the hidden creative depth held deep within the student)

In the 18th century art was studied through a master. Master and Apprentice. Apprentices would copy their masters work for a number of years until they can do it perfectly. After this they would be able to paint a background on their masters work and they would take credit for it. Eventually, after a number of years, they would be able to go off on their own.

The individual genius..

Chatertton painting.

Young poet who kills himself because the world does not understand him

The notion of avant-gardism relies on the myth of the individual being a genius. 

Art for Art's sake

Whistler Nocturne in Black and Gold : The Falling Rocket (1875)

the painting is almost abstract.

When this painting was shown in 1875, a citric did a small character of Whistler looking ridiculous he accompanied this with an article explaining how Whistler was paid 20gs to throw a pot of gold paint at a canvas. 

End of the 19th/early 20th century

two approaches to avant-garde art

• art that is socially committed (artists being the 'avant-garde' of society, pushing forward political objectives
• art that seeks only to expand/progress what art is (in itself and for itself) art for art's sake.  

Clive Bell

Significant form 

The relations and combinations of lines and colours, which when organised give the power to move someone aesthetically. 

Cezanne Mount St. Victoire (1900)

A major problem for the avant-garde is that it seems to necessitate

'Elitism'

So for those members of the 'left wing' (interested in social change) there was a tendency to have to rely on 

What is Kitsch?

• This term comes from art critics which they used to describe high culture and low culture
• Aims to be high culture but fails in one way or another
• Struggles to be taken seriously 

Constable Haywain (1821) Not Kitsch

When is is reproduced as a print or on a plate it is Kitsch

Simplification of style - repainted masterpieces for the modern eye

Commemoration

Animal themes (Definitely kitsch)

Jeff Koons Michael Jackson & Bubbles the monkey (1988)

Carl Andre 'Equivalent VIII'

Sculpture in the Tate gallery