Transgressive art

Transgressive art refers to art forms that transgress; i.e. that go across or against basic norms or mores. While the term trangressive was first used by American filmmaker Nick Zedd and his Cinema of Transgression, 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.

Related Topics:
Art - Transgress - Norms - Mores - Nick Zedd - Cinema of Transgression - Offensive - Shock value - Salon des Refusés - Dada - Surrealism - Mikhail Bakhtin - Georges Bataille

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The term can also be applied to transgressive literature. Recent examples include Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. 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.

Related Topics:
Transgressive literature - Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh - American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis - Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk

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Transgressive influences can be found in music, probably best exemplified in outrageous punk rock singer GG Allin.

Related Topics:
Punk rock - GG Allin

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The themes common in transgressional works overlap considerably with those of art dealing with psychological dislocation and with mental illness. A good example is J.G. Ballard's short story The Enormous Space, from his 1990 anthology, War Fever. The Enormous Space was made into a television drama, Home, directed by Richard Curson Smith for the BBC. The leading character isolates himself from normal, routine society not only by physically shutting himself away, but also by inventing a new way to live which discards all normal ideas of what is possible, right and proper. It is, however, an experiment motivated by mental illness. Other examples of this relationship between social transgression and the exploration of mental states which may be defined as relating to illness, would include many of the activities and works of the Dadaists and Surrealists and, in literature, Albert Camus's L'Etranger or J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye.

Related Topics:
Psychological - Mental illness - J.G. Ballard - 1990 - Drama - Richard Curson Smith - BBC - Albert Camus - L'Etranger - J.D. Salinger - The Catcher in the Rye

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