What does Avant Garde Mean?

Question

Does avant garde mean "organized chaos," pretaining to the jazz era or does it mean "advanced guard" or "Innovative," or is it just simply an ambiguous term

Answer 1

Avant-garde (n):  an intelligentsia that develops new or experimental concepts especially in the arts.

(In other words, people or an idea or concept that is ahead of its time.)

Answer 2

um.. my art teacher said it means 'breaking new boundaries'

Answer 3

if something is "avant garde" it basically means it is ahead of its time or pushes the limits of what is considered the norm.  This phrase is used a lot in cultural terms; i.e. a painting, or the artist, can be "avant garde", or a musician, etc.

In French it means "vanguard" or "advance guard".  It is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the term "status quo" which means something that follows tradition and form.

To be avante garde you basically push the limits of what is considered traditional, usually in the fields of politics, art, or music.