(also avant garde, avantgarde); French, literally "advance guard" (see avant + guard (n.)). Used in English 15c.-18c. in a literal, military sense; borrowed again 1910 as an artistic term fo [..]

French for “advanced guard,” this term is used in English to describe a group that is innovative, experimental, and inventive in its technique or ideology, particularly in the realms of culture, polit [..]

Avant-garde (pronounced avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard".1 The adjective form is used in English, to refer to people or works that are experi [..]

All things considered to be ultramodern, advanced, or ahead of its time.

As applied to art, avant-garde means art that is innovatory, introducing or exploring new forms or subject matter

refers to an experimental, abstract, or highly independent, non-independent film that is often the forerunner of a new artistic genre or art form; avant-garde films self-consciously emphasize techniqu [..]

literally meant the "most forwardly placed troops." The movement sought to eliminate or at least blur the distinction between art and life often by introducing elements of mass cultu [..]

Literally “fore-guard,” or vanguard; in the arts, collective terms for individuals or groups involved in a search for or in the use of untried, innovative, and unconventional styles.

(n) any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)(adj) radically new or original

A French military term for the vanguard or advanced guard, it was appropriated for artistic usage in early 19th-century France to describe art that was at the forefront of artistic development. The concept originated in socialist political theory and its first major artistic exponent was Gustave Courbet in his Realist paintings of the 1850s. Today [..]

French for 'in advance'; term used in all the arts to describe any work, style, or school that is considered in its own time to be radical, consciously breaking from previous tradition.

   Very current, modern, and experimental.

In French means front guard, advance guard, or forefront People often use the term in French and English to refer to people or works that are experimental, novel very innovative. According to its cham [..]

French for vanguard. Artists and their work which stand in the forefront of new ideas, often in opposition to established ideas and traditions; art that's ahead of its time, innovative, experi [..]

A group active in the invention and application of new ideas and techniques in an original or experimental way. A group of practitioners and/or advocates of a new art form may also be called avant-gar [..]

A group active in the invention and application of new ideas and techniques in an original or experimental way. A group of practitioners and/or advocates of a new art form may also be called avant-garde. Some avant-garde works are intended to shock those who are accustomed to traditional, established styles.

This phrase signifies artists and concepts that are remarkably new and radical in nature for the present time.

unconventional or experimental; ahead of its time; often used to describe progressive art, music, or literature

French term meaning at the forefront. Art which is innovative and producing new ideas and subject matter. First appeared in France during nineteenth century and is usually credited to Henri de Saint-S [..]

Represents works that are experimental or innovative; a pushing of the boundaries of what is accepted, normal or status quo. Art that is outrageous or intended to spark controversy

A term for culture that challenges tradition through experimentation and innovation. Originally a military term, in the arts it is particularly associated with radical movements in visual art, literature and music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

(obsolete) The vanguard of an army or other force. Any group of people who invent or promote new techniques or concepts, especially in the arts.

You know that challenge in Project Runway where the designers are given a basketful of playing cards and gummy worms and told to make an evening gown in forty-five minutes? Totally avant-garde.And her [..]

Writers, musicians, artists whose texts/practices are seen to influence or be in advance of (vanguard) other trends in music, writing, art, etc. Back to the top B