Thinking Corner: Avant-Garde

I heard my in-person Architecture class talk a LOT about this fancy word during this final week (which by the way, ended well for all of us in my point of view). The teacher was telling us that not all of our ideas are gonna be completely original. No matter how hard we try, we are all going to incorporate some sort of inspiration or passion into our work. It makes me feel better knowing that even Shakespeare did that!

From these thoughts, I gather that Avant-Garde means one and only truly original. And lately, my mom and dad have been pushing me to start setting my sights higher than my Poptropica passion... Once I am ready to do that, that is. They started telling me this after I showed them my ultimate movie, which tells me that they believe I have what it takes to be avant-garde myself.

I've read about Avant-Garde in 'Calvin and Hobbes' as well. My fellow friends and fans have told me before that I've been taking such serious craftsmanship into my whole channel and I barely have any recognition to show for it. I've been given the suggestion to make more attention-grabbing videos such as common gameplays. This brings up what Calvin said in my favorite strip:

"The hard part for us Avant-Garde Post-Modern artists is deciding whether or not to embrace commercialism. Do we allow our work to be hyped and exploited by a market that's simply hungry for the next new thing? Do we participate in a system that turns high art into low art so it's better suited for mass consumption?... Of course, when an artist goes commercial, he makes a mockery of his status as an outsider and free thinker. He buys into the crass and shallow values art should transcend. He trades the integrity of his art for riches and fame."

I'm sure that's how a LOT of YouTubers make a living: by supplying crazy stuff for crazy customers that literally ANY crazy person can make! But I do know of a few channels that have become rich and famous with artistic integrity alone, including my all-time FAVORITE channel, Daniel LaBelle!

...One Avant-Garde Post-Modern Artist that has made it to the top is all I need to know that it's possible for ANY Avant-Garde Post-Modern Artist to make it to the top as well.