Universal Principles of Art

82 SHOCK

SHAKING UP THE STATUS QUO

One of the potential strengths of a work of art is its power to shock, a feat that is usually accomplished by flouting a social convention or breaking a taboo. The artwork transgresses the cultural norms of the community or culture in which it is made and therefore faces ostracism. It may go on to garner support, in which case it will have functioned to shift the culture’s conception of what is acceptable to its members. Otherwise it will soon be consigned to oblivion. Shock art has the added potential of making the artist notorious and sometimes very famous.

A classic example is Manet’s Olympia, of 1863, a nude portrait of a well-known courtesan painted in a manner that had previously been reserved for classical ...