Western Painting – Transgressive Art

Transgressive Art – The Concept

As can be seen from the name, Transgressive Art is one that transgresses the basic norms or the traditionally accepted rules. In other words, Transgressive Art can be defined as Shocking Art, developed to insult social conservatives of one kind or another. The word ‘transgressor’ has a wide meaning that goes from offenses against God to the transgression of devotions and taboos and the trespassing of conventional limits. Anthony Julius (1956), an eminent lawyer and lecturer, in his book Transgressions: The Offenses of Art (2003) provides a useful typology for the Transgressions artwork, dividing it into the following categories:

o For violating his own rule

o Breaking taboos

o For being politically resistant

Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression by writer Jack Sergeant was the most comprehensive book on the early transgressive movement.

The history

In 1985, American filmmaker Nick Zedd in his ‘Cinema of Transgression’ used the term ‘transgressor’ for the first time to show his association with some of the filmmakers, such as Andy Warhol (1928-87), John Waters (b. 1946 ) and Kenneth Anger (born 1927). In the late 1990s, Transgressive Art expanded its borders from art to literature and music. Around the same time, the art form also gained popularity in China.

The details

Bordering on Dadaism, Surrealism and Fluxus, Transgressive Art deals with abnormal mental levels and psychological disturbances.

Artists and works of art

Transgression Art was a visual arts movement. The sculptures, collages and installations, designed to upset Christian religious sensibilities, are among the most infamous works of transgressive art. The landmarks range from ‘Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe’ (1862-63) by the French painter Edouard Manet (1832-83), to ‘Fountain’ (1917) by the French artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), passing through the photographer American Andres Serrano (born 1950) ‘Piss Christ’ (1987) – depicting a crucifix in a beaker of urine, to British painter Chris Ofili’s (born 1968) multimedia painting ‘The Blessed Virgin Mary’ – some parts were made of elephant dung, a ‘Jewess Tatooess’ (2000) by English performance artist Marisa Carnesky.

Several Chinese artists have also done iconic work in the field. Zhu Yu’s (b. 1970) images of himself eating human fetuses, Peng Yu’s (b. 1974) killing animals, and Yang Zhi Chao’s (b. 1963) extreme body art are some prominent works in the genre. . In the early 1980s, the famous American transgressive artist was Richard Kern (b. 1954). He started doing movies with some unpopular underground actors like Nick Zedd and Lung Leg.

Famous transgressive artists of the 1990s included the American writer Lisa Crystal Carver (b. 1968), the American punk rock singer and lyricist GG Allin (1956-93), the French performer Costes, and the American artist Dame Darcy (b. 1971). These artists significantly modified the art form. They were a source of influence for other artists, such as the American band Cock ESP, the German musician Alec Empire (born in 1972), the American action group Crash Worship, the American writer Liz Armstrong, the Iraqi-American filmmaker Usama Alshaibi (born in 1969), British artist Lennie Lee, American noise artist Andy Ortmann, American musician Walter Weasel, and American cartoonist Peter Bagge (b. 1957).