Transgressive art

Transgressive art refers to art forms that aim to transgress; i.e. to outrage or violate basic mores and sensibilities. The term "trangressive" was first used by American filmmaker Nick Zedd and his "Cinema of Transgression" in 1985. Zedd used it to describe his legacy with underground filmmakers like Andy Warhol, John Waters, and Kenneth Anger, and the relationship they shared with Zedd and his New York peers in the early '80s.

Definition

From a collegiate perspective, many traces of transgression can be found in any art which by some is considered offensive because of its shock value; from the French Salon des Refusés artists to Dada and surrealism. Philosophers Mikhail Bakhtin and Georges Bataille have published works on the nature of transgression. Probably the most thorough book on the early transgressive movement is "Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression" by Jack Sargeant.

Transgressional works share some themes with art that deals with psychological dislocation and mental illness. Examples of this relationship, between social transgression and the exploration of mental states relating to illness, include many of the activities and works of the Dadaists, Surrealists and Fluxus related artists, such as Carolee Schneemann - and, in literature, Albert Camus's "L'Etranger" or J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye".

Changes in movement

Since the late 1990s a new group of transgressive artists has emerged. In China several artists became well known for producing transgressive art, including Zhu Yu, who achieved notoriety when he published images of himself eating what appeared to be a human fetus, Yang Zhichao for extreme body art, and Peng Yu for killing animals.

Artists

Perhaps the most famous transgressive artist of early 1980s, Richard Kern began making films in New York with infamous underground actors Nick Zedd and Lung Leg. Some of them were videos for artists like the Butthole Surfers and Sonic Youth.

Subsequent transgressive artists of the 1990s overlapped the boundaries of literature, art, and music, most notably GG Allin, Lisa Crystal Carver, Costes and Dame Darcy. With these artists came a greater emphasis on life itself (or death) as art, rather than just depicting a certain mindset in film or music. They were instrumental in creating a new type of visionary art and music, and influenced artists like Alec Empire, Cock E.S.P., Crash Worship, Usama Alshaibi, Natural Athlete, Liz Armstrong, Lennie Lee, Johnny Terris, Weasel Walter, Andy Ortmann, and the later work featured in Peter Bagge's Hate.

However, the term can also be applied to transgressive literature as well. Recent examples include "Trainspotting" by Irvine Welsh, "Blood and Guts in High School" by Kathy Acker, "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis, "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk, and J.G. Ballard's short story "The Enormous Space". These works dealt with issues that were considered to be outside the social norms. Their characters abused drugs, engaged in violent behaviour or could have been considered sexual deviants.

Among the most notorious works of transgressive art among the general public have been sculpture, collages, and installation art which self-consciously sought to offend Christian religious sensibilities. These include Andres Serrano's Piss Christ, featuring a crucifix in a beaker of urine, and Chris Ofili's The Holy Virgin Mary, a multi-media painting which is partially made of elephant dung.

ee also

*Cinema of Transgression
*New French Extremity
*Shock art
*Transgressional fiction

References

"Transgressions : The Offences of Art" (2003) - Anthony Julius ISBN 0-500-23799-9"Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression" (1995) Jack Sargeant