Can we talk about contemporary avant-garde outside Western cultures? The case of contemporary art in the Republic of South Africa

Abstract

_{The appreciation of the importance of the avant-garde, and of its re-thinking of the socio- -cultural reality, ensues from its fundamental role for 20th and 21st century art practice and theory. However, in the contemporary global world, asking about the persistence of the avant-garde, we should take into consideration the different social/historical/cultural conditions of the specific geographical regions. In the following article, I focus on postcolonial art in the Republic of South Africa, relating to postmodernism, demonstrating a critical, emancipatory approach and an artistic responsibility for the partial view of the world which the artist co-construes. I try to answer the question of whether we can talk about avant-garde ideas and approaches in South African art, though they have a different background and are not rooted in the tradition of western avant-garde.}