Abstract

What does it mean for something to be called “avant-garde”? The ambiguity of such a label fails to define the works of which it is typically applied. It’s more relevant to think of the term as an on-going process that explores new artistic possibilities. This thesis will look at some factors that helped propel such a process into motion and the shared aesthetics that came as a result. An avant-garde process began in the early 20th century as individuals and groups sought out a divergent worldview that began to question the rapidly developing Western worldview dominated by science and its frameworks. By looking at the works and statements of key individuals of the time such as the surrealist André Breton, psychologist Carl Gustav Jung and poet Charles Olson, one gets a clearer picture of the many factors that fueled this divergence. The most notable being World War I with its atrocities and globalized horrors, the splintering of social groups between capitalism and communism and increased secularization. In cataloguing the connections between both political and artistic groups it becomes clear how the collective skepticism and questioning of the then dominant worldview led to the eventual creation of an altogether new worldview centered around concepts and ideas not available in old. The development of jazz is seen within this light as a uniquely culturally positioned art form. From more traditional jazz styles to more experimental, jazz is looked at as following a parallel trajectory into a moment of avant-garde synthesis. In looking at the early development of progressive jazz musicians Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor and John Coltrane, this thesis aims to cement the 1950s as a hotbed in which an avant-garde aesthetic converged, ultimately resulting in music of the likes of free jazz and beyond.